Nate Hunsicker wanted to do a tribute to his brother Joel, who died in August.

Joel, a Palmerton resident was 45 when he died and he loved fishing, playing pool, shopping, and “uncle time” with his nieces and nephew.

A fishing tournament seemed a fitting tribute and Sunday the idea came to fruition with the first Joel Hunsicker Memorial Kids Fishing Derby held at Baer Memorial Park. The event drew 150 kids.

“We decided over the months afterward that we wanted to do something to keep his legacy alive. My brother Joel loved fishing. He loved the outdoors, he loved children,” Hunsicker.

“So what we ended up doing is we ended up organizing an outdoors expo, and then the proceeds from that we used to fund this fishing tournament,” he said.

He owns a business with his brother David, called Whippin Waters. The business was one of the sponsors. They were able to get more than 100 prizes.

They founded the Joel Hunsicker Memorial Foundation to create opportunities for outdoors activities for youth and special needs communities.

“We had gotten 850 fish that we stocked, 200 palominos, which are golden trout,” Hunsicker said. “We had over 200 fish that were from 17 inches to almost 30 inches. Some really big fish.”

There were two special needs sections in honor of Joel.

“So everything that we do is to keep his legacy alive, keep the memory of him continuing, and, you know, we all miss him,” Hunsicker said.

And it was a success. Carter Neff summed it up. “I caught five fish. Five big ones.”