With the 47th annual Trout Fishing Derby less than a month away, Rabbit Run Fish & Game is hoping to reel in more sponsors and gifts to support the event, slated for May 2.

The story of what happened to the club is more than a fish story of the one that got away. In fact, one sad day last summer club members checked in at the Rabbit Run lands to find that nearly all their trout were gone, stolen. The thieves also took a generator and other equipment."I don't know if we're going to have enough money to pull it (the annual fishing derby) off," said club President Bill Weaver of Tamaqua. "Our bill for the fish is about $3,000, and that includes 20 trophy-sized trout and 600 16-inch trout.""We also like to have enough prizes to give out so that everybody goes home with something," he said. "I hate to ask people for help, given these tough times, but I felt that we had to do something."News of the club's plight has aired on local Internet sites and also on television. The Rabbit Run club is a co-op nursery with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, which means that the fish commission supplies the club with young trout, which they raise. But those fish, which would have grown to be stocked for this year's derby, were stolen last summer."The fishing is free to the public and we normally restock every two weeks," Weaver said. "It's going to be close for us to be able to make it work, and we don't want to turn anybody away."Donations can be sent to the Rabbit Run Fish & Game, 207 Race St., Tamaqua."I really want to keep it going," Weaver said. "I was at the first one, and it's a great memory other youngsters should be ableto have the same experience."