Fishing tournament memorializes late outdoorsman and funds restocking program

About 130 fishermen honored the memory of a former Lake in the Hills resident at the Connor Kincaid Fishing Tournament Saturday in Lake in the Hills.

Connor Kincaid was an avid fisherman and outdoorsman when he died in a car crash in 2016 at 22 years old.

“Connor grew up on this lake,” said his mother, Dawn, as she stood in the Connor Kincaid Memorial Garden, a place for reflection on the southern shore of Woods Creek Lake at Indian Trail Park. Connor's young cousins waded in the lake watching their bobbers nearby.

Two weeks after his funeral, his friends and family decided “let's go out and do what he would like to do,” Dawn Kincaid said at Saturday's event. So they all fished Woods Creek Lake as a memorial. A year after his death, his family turned the personal remembrance into a community event by hosting a fishing tournament to help fund the cost of restocking the fishing areas of the village. The catch-and-release tournament has drawn as many as 150 people whose $12 dollar entry fee puts their name in a hat for a raffle at the end of the day.

Anglers competed in two age brackets for four possible awards that included the largest fish, the smallest fish, the most fish caught and the most species of fish caught, with the latter award called the “Grand Slam.” There are at least nine species of fish in the village's lakes.

Each person uses the honor system to record their own catches on a tally sheet, which they turn in to the check-in table and receive a take-home lunch. Award and raffle winners will be announced Monday on Facebook Live.

“We want to give back. We want to encourage young fisher people to do what Connor loved,” said his mother.

Local businesses including Julie Ann's custard, Action Outdoors, Aroma Coffee & Wine, Bait Shanty, McGrath Printing and Tomo Catering helped sponsor the event.