The eighth annual Connell McCall Fishing Derby was held Saturdayin Nesquehoning near the CVS Pharmacy on Locust Street.

The derby was sponsored by the Nesquehoning Conservation Club and the Friends of Connell McCall, a Lansford resident who passed away in 2006. He was a son of Emmett P. McCall, Carbon County Recorder of Deeds, of Lansford, and the late Mary Ellen McCall.Since it was begun in 2009, the derby has resulted in raising thousands of dollars for the conservation club, which uses the revenue for creek cleanup operations and to stock trout in the waterway.The club was founded in 2005 to promote field and stream conservation and good sportsmanship, help stimulate public awareness of fishing in the Nesquehoning Creek, make sure conservation codes are followed and promote community involvement in field and stream activities.Following the installation of the Nesquehoning Borough Sewage Treatment Plant, the club, which now numbers about 60 members, began what has been a successful voyage that has transformed the waters into a popular fishing spot for trout-starved fisherman.The creek's cleanup has caught the attention of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, which stocks about 1,000 trout in the creek in two stockings per year.The club puts 900 fish into the waters for the derby and will stock about 500 more in October, according to Donny McGorry, club president.