The Happy Pike Fishing Derby as we know it today started in 1985 in a small barn on the Lake Shore Rd. With only a handful of fishermen the derby was only intended for friends to get together and have a good time. Tim Ryan is the man who came up with the wild idea of having a fishing derby followed by a killer party and good food. He came up with the name 'Happy Pike' after seeing a picture of a Northern Pike in a book and for some reason the fish appeared to be smiling. You can now see the smiling fish on the Happy Pike flyers and old T-shirts. The second year gave birth to the beginning of the infamous Happy Pike T-Shirt with the first colors being solid yellow and blue. If you are lucky you may be able to see some of those original shirts being worn on festival day by an original Happy Piker. Happy Pike experimented with Tye-Dye shirts at HP 8. Since then we have offered people tye-dyes at every Happy Pike, with every year boasting different patterns and colors
As a few years passed more friends started to attend the party, pushing the limits of the small barn it was held in. The decision was made to move to a new location with plenty of room and beer. What better place than Chazy's best know watering hole, The Weathercock, which is still part of the festival today. With growing popularity The HP soon stretched the capacity of "The Bird". We then moved to the Chazy Recreation Park and that's where its been ever since.
Tim Ryan, Founder of Happy Pike Fishing Derby
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