Huntington Catfish Derby marks 40 years, draws families to Lions Park

Huntington’s Memorial Day catfish derby is still pulling families into Lions Park, but the 40th annual event also shows how much of the work now rests on a shrinking volunteer base. In a typical year, the Huntington Catfish Derby draws about 200 to 250 anglers, and merchandise is already moving at Huntington Bait & Tackle and T&T Country Store before the May 23-25 tournament even starts.

Mike Raney, who said he has helped run the derby for 39 years and has been involved since the beginning, said the Huntington Lions Club is down to about five members, all age 60 or older. That leaves fewer hands for the setup, registration, judging and other logistics needed to keep a weekend event of this size running in a town where the derby has become one of the clearest markers on the calendar.

Registration is set to open Friday, May 22, at Lions Park, with fishing to follow Friday through Monday. Entry fees are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 to 13. Daily prizes will be awarded in both junior and senior divisions, and the biggest catfish of the weekend will earn $500.

The derby has long been more than a fishing contest. Local event listings describe it as a Memorial Day weekend tradition that brings together duck races, a steak feed or barbecue, vendors, bingo, live music and other family activities at the park. Baker County Tourism has called it one of the county’s favorite small-town celebrations, a sign that the weekend’s value reaches beyond the riverbank and into the local economy and community calendar.

That reach has also shown up in county grant records, where organizers have sought help before to boost prize money for the heaviest catfish and daily awards. In earlier years, the derby was already deep into its history, with archived local coverage from 2015 showing it in its 30th year and noting a senior division winner at 31.06 pounds. County records from still earlier years also show support for the event as a way to keep the biggest-fish prizes competitive.

For Huntington, the question now is whether enough new volunteers will step in to carry the derby through another decade. The event has survived for generations of anglers and families, and it still gives Lions Park a reason to fill up every Memorial Day weekend. But with the Lions Club aging and its membership thinning, the derby’s future now depends on whether the next group is ready to haul in the work as well as the catfish.