This year's in-person derby was held in memory of Steve Banks, BVFF member and winner of the 2023 derby. Steve passed away in September 2023 and those present at this year's derby made a toast in his honor. He is remembered as a wonderful person and an exceptional Euro nymph angler.
On March 23rd, 14 hardy souls met at the Village Boat Launch on the South Fork of the Boise River to pit their nymphing skills against the 
formidable whitefish. The weather was frigid with rain turning to snow and strong winds ablowin'. 'Twas possibly a better day to have stayed home and cleaned the oven... Nah!
After 6 hours of head-to-head competition, the cold and weary anglers arrived back at the Village Boat Launch to compare stories and check in their catch (pictures only as this was a catch-and-release event). Alas no warm fire was roaring to greet them (it wasn't supposed to rain and snow this much fellas! Honest!); however, a warm bowl of chili was awaiting them.
Fishing conditions were sub-optimal and stories of woe abounded as the highly intelligent whitefish eluded even the best of our Euro nymphers (I bet that Steve would have caught a mess of fish).
In the end, Dennis Moore won the derby with a 17.5" fish (he landed 12 fish in all which was nearly more than the 13 other anglers combined!). Second place was taken by Kelly O'Dell with a 17" fish.
For their winning efforts, Dennis received a $25 gift card from Expo 2024 Gold Sponsor, Idaho Angler, and Kelly received a beautiful folding Buck knife with the BVFF logo printed on it.
Regardless of the weather and fishing outcome, I heard many terrific stories and positive comments about the derby during the après fishing activities. It's all about getting out in Idaho's great outdoors and connecting with others who share a passion for fly fishing.
Another BVFF outing has come and gone. Overall, I think that all who participated in this year's Steve Banks Memorial White Fish Derby went home smiling (could be that they were in a warm car with the heater blasting!) and with many memories of a day well spent On The Water With BVFF.
