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M/CLOUDY Temp: 50 °F Wind: W at 9 mph Tuesday, April 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 27, 2003 Four-year-old catches top honor at fishing tournament By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune It was a spring break trout-fishing tournament meant to give school kids something to do, but a 4-year-old Central Point boy stole the attention and the prize March 20 at Lost Creek Lake. R.J. Kochen caught the largest trout of the day and won a $45 ultra-light fishing rod and reel during the Spring Break Over and Under tournament billed as a Rogue Valley anglers’ version of spring break in Cancun or South Florida. The inaugural free tournament, which drew about 20 young anglers, was organized by Medford resident Dave Nadler as a way to give local kids a spring break getaway without having to venture far. "It was OK for a first time out," says Nadler, who founded the International Trouters Society that sponsored the tournament. "Everybody seemed to have a good time, in between the sprinkles and the dark skies." And its big winner was little R.J., whose 15-inch trout was the largest caught by kids that day. The tournament format is simple: The first kid under 16 years old who brings Nadler a Lost Creek Lake rainbow trout more than 16 inches long wins a rod and reel combination. Kochen was fishing with his mother, two sisters and an aunt in the Takelma Park area where Nadler’s derby was based. His mother, Rhonda, cast a Roostertail into the lake and hooked the trout, which R.J. fought and landed. Under Oregon law, the person who lands a fish — not necessarily the one who hooks it — is the legal catcher of the fish. Nadler says he witnessed the exchange of rod from mother to child, and decided that it didn’t violate the spirit of the derby. The trout, actually, was a chinook salmon stocked in the lake, but stocked salmon in lakes like Lost Creek legally are deemed trout and apply to the trout bag limit. Since no one caught a fish over 16 inches, 15 kids who caught trout that day had their names entered in a drawing, which R.J. won. The other entries received small gifts. Nadler, 45, runs the Medford-based society that he bills as a trout-angling club through which he also books fishing excursions for clients. Nadler says he got the idea for a trout derby while watching a television show about wild spring-break destinations targeted by thousands of partying college students. Nadler then dreamed up the 16 over-under format. The society bought an ultra-lightweight Bingo rod and reel for the prize, he says. He chose March 20, a Thursday, because it was the de-facto start of spring break for the Medford and Ashland school districts, who have cut some school days to make up for lost state funding. Under Oregon angling laws, Nadler needs no permit or official approval to run the derby because the prize amounts are less than $1,000. But the prize feels like it’s worth that much to R.J., who will see his rod enshrined in a personal angling hall of fame. His grandfather bought him a different rod and reel last week, and will turn his prize and photo of his winning fish into an award that will hang on the Kochen family wall. "It’ll be something he can look back at, how he won his first fishing tournament when he was just 4 years old," Rhonda Kochen says. Nadler says he plans to hold similar tournaments for kids during opening weekend of trout season and other holidays later this year. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S