Doug Thompson: A Boxing Day Fish Story
Our story begins in August of 1958 when 10-year-old Doug Thompson received a pair of hip waders for his birthday. So excited to get onto the river, he would even wear them around the house.
Doug’s Dad, Trevor "Bud" Moore Thompson, who drove a milk tanker to Vancouver for Fraser Valley Milk Producers, would take him out every weekend during coho season.
Sometimes they would fish across from the prison. "Some of the prisoners liked to fish but had no lures. Dad would put extra lures on his line and cast across the river so the fellows could fish. If you did that today, you would probably be joining them."
Doug’s passion for fishing was further fueled by Carl Wilson, the first King Fisher of the derby in 1938. Principal at Central School in Chilliwack where Doug attended, “Carl would come and pull me out of class and take me to the office where we would talk about fishing.”
On a wet December 26, 1958, Doug's faithful brother Ted (10 years his elder) brought him to the river for a 7:30 am shotgun start. Ted wasn’t fishing, “He was there to keep an eye on me so I wouldn’t get into trouble.”
"I was fishing right across from the Riverside store, which was a good spot.”, recalling the day’s events. “Dad had shown me where to fish, telling me to stay there and don’t move."
“Was using a triple hook with red wool for a lure.", explained Doug, "A 16-pound steelhead took the lure at about 9:00 am and put up a fight for about 15 minutes before I landed him."
"There were lots of people watching. So no one could say I had any help landing the fish.”
"After I weighed in the fish, I didn’t fish the rest of the day. I was too excited.”
And Doug wasn’t the only nervous Thompson boy, “Dad was working from 4:00 am until 12:00 pm. When Ted told him I was leading the derby, he had trouble backing the semi-trailer into the garage."
It was a long wait, as he watched fish after fish being weighed in - 18 more in total. But at the ripe old of 10, competing against 90 other seasoned anglers, Doug Thompson proudly hoisted the Ferguson and Furnell trophy. Becoming the youngest King Fisher of the Derby – a title he holds to this day.
A very special thank you to Doug and his daughter for taking the time to share the details of this wonderful day.
