Despite the rain on Sept. 30, a sizable crowd of nearly 200 people gathered at the second annual Catch Montesano Fish and Brew Fest for beer, music, cornhole and food at Fleet Park and Whitney’s detail shop in Montesano.

Before entering into the cornhole tournament or getting a bite to eat from Sgt. Brand’s BBQ at Fleet Park, most made their way to Whitney’s to get a glass of one of the many local beers on tap at the fest courtesy of O-Town Brewing, Triceratops Brewing Company, Matchless Brewing and Mount Olympus Brewing Company, to name a few.

O-Town Brewing of Olympia was at Catch Montesano in 2016 for the event’s inaugural year and decided to return again this year. Brewer Jason Stenzel noted that O-Town’s beers were so popular last year that event goers depleted their stock.

“Everyone was really excited to have us there,” Stenzel said of last year’s event. “It was a cool vibe and people enjoyed what we had to offer. They asked us to come back this year.”

Seldom was there not a line at O-Town’s booth. Douglas Smith happened to be in the area from Olympia and said while he was most enjoying what O-Town had to offer, he also was drinking his fill from the other booths as well. Dan Starks came to the event from Elma and saw some success in the cornhole tournament alongside his partner and son-in-law, Ryan Phillipi. The duo made it to the finals.

Montesano Fire Chief Corey Rux said the goal of Catch Montesano is to help highlight Montesano as a “gateway to fishing,” as well as to bring people together as a community.

Rux said during the event that the Brew fest was set up much like it was last year, only this year attendees had to brave the weather.

“Even with the rain I think we have a very nice turnout,” Rux said. “A lot of people came together to make this thing successful.”

For a time the rain prevented attendees from heading outside to grab food or play cornhole, but between the drinks and the music, there was still plenty being offered inside of Whitney’s. Chris Eakes and Shannon Delong Duo, DAMP Radio and Chris Guenther were among the night’s entertainment. DAMP Radio performed a variety of songs from different genres including country, rock and reggae. Chris Guenther closed out the night on a country note.

The fishing derby was before the beer garden. With 41 entries, Rux said the derby was a success again this year. First prize won $1,000 and went to Mike Lano at 10.8 pounds, while second received $300 and went to Rich Klinger at 9.4 pounds. Bryson Finch took third place.