Fishing with fathers and friends
- Details
- Published on Monday, June 26, 2017
By Hall Sveistrup
Submitted
A gloomy, windy, chilly Father’s Day did little to dampen the enthusiasm of 91 fishers, 21 youth (15 years and under) and 70 adults on Sunday, June 18. The event was the fourth annual summer fishing derby hosted by Rivers & Area Game & Fish Association on Lake Wahtopanah. A total of 135 fish, comprised of 69 walleye, 38 northern pike, 10 perch and 18 rock bass, were caught, measured on the water, and released.
In the youth category, the three longest fish, all northern pike, earned their captors a beautiful fishing rod and reel combo. The winners were: Bailey Salmon, Rivers, 61 centimetres; Cole Lelond, Rivers, 60.9 centimetres; Ethan Leefe, Brandon, 42.4 centimetres. The remaining 18 youngsters then had their registration numbers drawn for goodie bags containing fishing lures, activity books, peel and stick measuring tapes, pickerel rigs, bobbers, etc., donated by our association and by member/fisheries biologist Bruno Bruederlin.
The adult netting the longest fish in each of four categories was awarded a cash prize of $200 courtesy of Rivers’ Super Thrifty Pharmacy. M&M Drilling, Gill’s Plumbing & Heating and Rivers Home Hardware. Following is a summary of winners and fish lengths: Adrienne Beaudin, Rivers, 44.8-centimetre walleye; Shelley Moore, Brandon, 82.8-centimetre northern pike; Ken Pierce, Brandon, 26.8-centimetre perch; Evan Nachtigall, Brandon, 27.5-centimetre rock bass. The winner of a new category — a pool for the total length of fish caught — was Mike Perreault of Rivers, who amassed 647 centimetres.
Lucky winners of a special raffle and their prizes were: Ted Pierce, Brandon, propane gas smoker; Scott Ramsay, Rivers, cooler and $100 gift card; Calvin Douglas, Rivers, rod and reel combo; Shelley Moore, Brandon, filleting knife. Aaron Douglas of Rivers pocketed $133 from a 50/50 draw.
An on-site canteen served English muffin breakfast sandwiches, hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hot dogs, along with Richard English’s famous cucumber pickles.
