In preparation for the annual Presque Isle Elks’ “Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs”, Youth Fishing Derby, the Enfield Hatchery of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, will stock Mantle Lake in Presque Isle with six hundred (600) 8 to 11 inch-long trout on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Third and fourth grade students from the Easton Elementary School will be assisting with the stocking by distributing the trout around the lake with five-gallon buckets. Then on Saturday, May 31, 2025, during “free fishing weekend”, the Presque Isle Elks, Lodge #1954, will host its 25th annual fishing derby at Mantle Lake Park.
Registration for the free fishing derby will start at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 10:00 a.m. that Saturday morning. The fishing derby begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at noon. The fishing derby is open to all youth from 3 to under 16 years old, a responsible, supervising adult must accompany each young angler registering for the fishing derby.
The young angler registered for the fishing derby who catches the longest fish will get first choice from a wide array of prizes, including a lifetime fishing license donated by the Aroostook Sportsman Association. Every registered fishing contestant will be able to choose an outdoor activity prize to take home.
Adults accompanying a registered young angler will also be eligible to win prizes, including a weekend stay at a lakeside cabin, donated by Macannamac Camps and a season pass donated by North Maine Woods, Inc.
For any youth desiring to fish, but who is unable to supply a fishing pole on his own, a beginner’s fishing rod and reel will be given to that youth’s family to keep.
Moosehead Bait and Tackle of Rockwood, Maine, is again this year supplying worms free of charge for use by the young fishermen as bait.
The Presque Isle Elks will be providing, free of charge, grilled hot dogs, chips, juice, Houlton Farms Dairy ice cream, and water to all in attendance at the fishing derby.
For more information contact the Presque Isle Elks at 764-0985 or 764-0131.