Ice fishing derby returns after hiatus

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This article was published 27/02/2022 (1678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RIVERS — The fish were biting in Lake Wahtopanah for the first major fundraising event hosted by the Brandon Wildlife Association since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lake, near Rivers, north of Brandon, became a lively fishing village on Saturday as 197 people — 172 adults and 25 youth — hit the ice and dropped their lines in the Jigging for Jacks Ice Fishing Derby. They were all vying for a chance to win cash prizes totalling $5,000 for the 12 largest northern pike, aka jackfish, caught during derby hours. Anglers met at the Brandon Wildlife Association’s boat launch to register. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., derby participants brought in their live catches to a measuring station, where they were recorded and released.

By the end of the derby, 39 pike were landed, measured and recorded. The biggest in the adult class was 94 centimetres, landed by Tanner Meyers of Brandon. It was all luck, said Meyers. He wasn’t using any special bait, only a smelt, and he caught the pike around 10:30 a.m. His success earned him a $1,500 cash prize.

“It’s the biggest pike I’ve caught in 10 years and the third biggest pike I’ve caught in my whole life,” he said. “I had just set up my line and the rod dropped pretty quickly. I thought there was something wrong with the stick, then the flag started to move and I thought ‘no way, there’s a fish already.’”

He has been fishing on the lake for years and after collecting his prize, he said he was heading back out to spend time with friends and keep fishing.

The top youth prize went to eight-year-old Charlee Flikweert for her 76-centimetre pike.

This was an especially important derby for the association because it was the first live event they hosted in two years. During the pandemic, some new members joined the association’s governing board and had the idea of restarting the ice fishing derby as soon as restrictions were lifted enough to host one.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do any event anywhere. It’s a good way to keep funds coming into the association, help build up our infrastructure, maintain our dock here and the gun range just south of Brandon,” said Nicole Epp, board secretary for the Brandon Wildlife Association.

Events like the derby also help raise awareness of the association, the work they do in Westman and encourage people to become members. For the derby itself, the association was lucky enough to have good weather and sunny skies to attract participants, a welcome change from the deep cold and blizzard conditions the week before.

Epp said many signing up said they were just happy to be outdoors again under favourable conditions. Once the derby started, the measuring station was a hive of activity, with people racing to get their fish measured and recorded.

People could enter as many fish as they wanted, said fish committee member Bruno Bruederlin, who was performing the official measurements, but they had to do it in the four-hour window, and all fish being registered had to be released. There were some jokes and ribbing over some of the smaller fish coming in, but on average most of the pike being registered were averaging from the mid-50 to high-60-centimetre range.

He explained the derby was pike-only because it is easier running a one-species derby.

“We try to have summer derbies, but the good thing about winter derbies is you can go wherever you want on the lake, and no flies” he said. “There’s a lot of people here and they have shacks here all season. I know a lot of people have been chomping to get out here because of the last week of -40 degrees [Celsius] has been pretty brutal.”

Finally having a live event is also refreshing for association members. They have been keeping in touch and conducting business through livestreaming and Zoom chat, Bruederlin said, but they are all part of the association because they love the outdoors and its conservation. As a retired wildlife biologist for the Manitoba Government, he made a career of working in the wilderness, so being a part of the association is a natural fit for his passion.

For many who participated, like Cheryl Sabiston, being outdoors has been a big part of their life. She and Betsy Sinclair, from Brandon, decided to join in on the derby with family and friends.

This was her first time participating in a fishing derby.

While Sabiston was not having any luck, she said she was just happy to be out doing something enjoyable for many reasons.

“We started late because we didn’t know we had to drill our own holes, so we had to go back to Brandon to get the auger. I come from north of The Pas, and we ice-fished a lot when we were there and it was a lot of fun,” she said. “I felt like I really needed to get out. My mother passed away a month ago and I just wanted to go do something fun to take a break.”

Despite the setback, it was a minor one for her and said overall she enjoyed the derby and the friendly company of the other derby participants.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com

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