What a whopper! Mundy lands 24 incher for 2023 Blowing Rock Trout Derby

April 2, 2023

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Blowing Rock Trout Derby is an annual family affair, now in its 43rd year. This group of fishermen and fisherkids is at Broyhill Lake. Photographic image by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — The newest attraction at Tweetsie Railroad may well be the nearby Middle Fork South Fork of the New River — because that is where Dalton Mundy reeled in a whopper: a 24-inch Brown trout.

And this is not a whopper that got away tale because young Mr. Mundy registered the fish at Blowing Rock Trout Derby headquarters on April 1. He was a double winner for the 43rd annual Trout Derby event: [1] largest fish caught in the boys “harvest” division and [2] the largest by species (Brown), earning a custom made Trout Derby trophy, a bunch of fishing gear, and $100 cash.

This young angler might have catching a ‘whale’ of a whopper on his mind at the 2023 edition of Blowing Rock Trout Derby, here fishing at Broyhill Lake. Photographic image by David Rogers

In the new “Catch and Release” competition hosted by The Speckled Trout Outfitters, Josh Herman ran away with the overall and Men’s Division title with what may end up being a legendary total caught (and released) during the day: 293.5 total inches of trout. When a fishing enthusiast registered for Trout Derby, The Speckled Trout Outfitters gave them a special, dated measuring device and the angler had to take a photo of each catch before it was released back into the river. Herman did not disclose his favorite fishing hole.

Something uncommon for Trout Derby this year was how late the “First Fish” caught and registered at the event headquarters, the Blowing Rock Community Club building off Clark Street. But perhaps of the early torrential rains the fish simply weren’t biting until young Renee Bolick brought in her 17-1/2 inch Brown at 8:30 a.m., from nearby Broyhill Lake. Previous years have seen the first fish award go to an enthusiast as early as 7:05 a.m., just five minutes after the season opening.

“We did see much activity early because of the rain,” explained longtime event director Kim Rogers. “As soon as the sun came out, though, it opened the floodgates. I can’t remember when we had this many people participating. We handed out 257 T-shirts by 1:00, as well as all of the 120 ‘Fish for Fun’ bags that were donated by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.”

Josh Herman was kept working hard during Blowing Rock Trout Derby, with 293.5 inches caught in the catch-and-release division. He is flanked by Philip Jamerson to his right (2nd place) and Asa Nelson (3rd). Photographic image by David Rogers

Kim Rogers’ father, Elmer Jenkins, was one of four Blowing Rock businessmen who started the event in 1980 to encourage kids of all ages to get outdoors and enjoy fishing as a form of High Country recreation. Rogers volunteered (or maybe was volunteered!) to help with the event from a very early age, so it was only natural for her to take the leadership reins when her father long ago retired.

“It is great to see many of the same local people coming back year after year, making their participation in Blowing Rock Trout Derby a family tradition,” said Rogers. “We have watched young boys and girls grow into men and women with their own kids coming to fish, extending the family traditions. This year, especially, we had a larger number of new participants in both the traditional harvest division as well as in catch-and-release.”

One of The Speckled Trout Outfitters employees holds up the winning art by McLean Miller of Hardin Park School. Photographic image by David Rogers

At least part of the additional interest in Blowing Rock Trout Derby in 2023 is attributed to the launch of The Speckled Trout Outfitters business and their taking a major role in organizing the catch-and-release competition.

“With the launch of the new Outfitters business we wanted continue to be involved in town,” said William Brinker, one of the owners of The Speckled Trout themed businesses. “One of our value is community, collaboration. Trout Derby is a long-standing community event. So with an our Outfitters business, this is a natural fit in helping to promote the outdoors and conservation.

“This was a great first year for us to be involved,” Brinker added. “This is the 43rd year and the folks who started it have a long legacy and we would like to carry that on. This is the first year that we introduced the catch-and-release division and I think that was a success, just trying to promote the conservation aspect of trout fishing. Catch-and-harvest is part of trout fishing heritage, too, so it is nice to be able to have a competition that allows for both.”

When advised that some people like to take their catches home for dinner, Brinker chuckled.

“That’s why we have a restaurant named ‘The Speckled Trout’! We serve trout six ways in the restaurant, so we know it is good eatin’,” smiled Brinker.

This is only about half of the art entries for the 2023 Blowing Rock Trout Derby. The judges had to cull out their favorites, then narrow down to the winners. Photographic image by David Rogers

The longtime ancillary competition in Blowing Rock Trout Derby is an art contest for primarily elementary school students. The 2023 edition of the art contest included entries from at least Blowing Rock, Hardin Park, and Valle Crucis schools. Although no official numbers have been kept, the number of entries may have been the highest ever, event officials noted.

The overall winning drawing from each year’s art contest becomes the featured T-shirt and poster art for the next year’s event, with three separate age group divisions. The 2023 overall winning masterpiece was entered by 7-yearold McLean Miller of Hardin Park School. (see other winners by age group below).

Tiny Renee Bolick (center) caught and registered the ‘first fish’ and won the Small Fry division — and just to show her versatility, was awarded 3rd place in the art contest’s 3-5 years competition. On the left is emcee Baker Stanley, Programs & Recreation Coordinator for the Town of Blowing Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department. Photographic image by David Rogers

A lot of the interest in the 2023 event may be owing to the growing number of sponsors supporting the effort. Sponsors included the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries; Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce; The Speckled Trout Restaurant, Bottle Shop and Outfitters; Jenkins Realtors; Hollars Construction; Lost Province Brewing Company; M-Prints, Inc.; Bolick and Traditions Pottery; Town Tavern; Chetola Resort; Mountaineer Maintenance; Booneshine Brewing Co.; Mike Calhoun’s Bass Club; Edmisten Heating & Cooling; Scientific Anglers; 4 Forty Four Construction; Jim Allen Home Solutions; Whitetail Properties; Snake Mountain Iron Works; Blowing Rock Ale House & Brewing Co.; A-1 Termite and Pest Control; Riversmith of Boulder, Colo.; Wingo Outdoors; NAPA Auto Parts of Boone; Temple Fork Outfitters; Costa Sunglasses; Cheeky Reels; and Mustard Seed of Blowing Rock.

All of the first, second and third place winners were on display at the Blowing Rock Community Club building serving as Blowing Rock Trout Derby headquarters on April 1 — with the giant fish sculpture by Aaron Bishop of Snake Mountain Iron Works. Photographic image by David Rogers

The fishing trophies were sponsored by Food Lion.

WINNERS – HARVEST DIVISION

First Fish: Renee Bolick, 8:30 a.m., 17.5 inch Brown @ Broyhill Lake
Largest Trout by Species
- Brook – none
- Brown – 24 inches by Dalton Mundy, Middle Fork South Fork of the New River
- Rainbow – 19 inches by Kevin Shaw, Price Lake
Small Fry (ages 11 and under)
1. Renee Bolick, 17.5 inches Brown, Broyhill Lake
2. Owen Jergersen, 17.25 inches Rainbow, Broyhill Lake
3. Nathan Byrne, 15.5 inches Rainbow, Broyhill Lake
Girls (ages 12-16)
1. Abigail Rich, 12.5 inches Rainbow, Broyhill Lake
Boys (12-16)
1. Dalton Mundy, 24 inches Brown, Middle Fork South Fork of the New River
2. T J Riley, 18 inches Rainbow
3. Coy Greer, 14.75 inches, Stony Fork Creek
Women’s
1. Janey Dancy, 13.25 inches Rainbow
2. Jennifer Triplett, 13 inch Brown, Price Lake
3. TIE – Carey Triplett and Pam Peine, 11 inches Rainbow
Men’s
1. Kevin Shaw, 19 inches Rainbow
2. Jack Triplett, 17.25 inches Rainbow
3. Nathan Peine, 10 inches Rainbow

CATCH AND RELEASE DIVISION

Small Fry
1. Eliot Clark (9 years old), 76 inches caught
2. Hollis Brinker (9), 55 inches caught
3. August Brown (7), 49 inches caught
Girls
1. Annie Willis
2. Ana Norris
3. Kate Rex
Boys
1. Dominic Trez (15), 120 inches caught
2. Sam Rex (15), 27 inches caught
Women’s (no entries)
Men’s
1. Josh Herman, 293.5 inches caught
2. Philip Jameison, 156 inches caught
3. Asa Nelson, 120.5 inches caught