The Kokanee Bay Resort had no trouble luring families in for the 19th Annual Lac la Hache Father’s Day Fishing Derby.
“It’s always a big weekend for families,” said Linda Baker, who helped organize this year’s fishing derby.
Baker said roughly 300 participants registered to fish over the course of the weekend.
“There was a lot of kids this year,” she said. “The weekend went very well and people seem to like it. We have people come from all over.”
The biggest fish caught was 20 pounds and one ounce, by Ed Miller, with Dan Stoelwinder coming in second place with a 19 pounds and 5 ounces fish. The largest rainbow trout fish was caught by Karen Monteith and the largest white fish was caught by Rob Burt.
The top four contestants all received a cash prize, with Miller winning $500, Stoelwinder winning $300 and Monteith and Burt winning $100 each.
Monica LaChapelle has been attending the annual fishing derby for the 19 years it has been on, along with fishing the lake for 11 years prior to the derby. She said it’s one of her favourite places this time of year.
“You get to see everybody outside and enjoying the weather,” said LaChapelle. “The last few years have had fantastic weather, and now we have our grandkids to enjoy the weekend with.”
Each year, all of the proceeds raised go to various organizations in the surrounding communities; 100 Mile House, Lac la Hache and Williams Lake, to name a few.
As of right now, Barker doesn’t know how much this past weekend reeled in but to date, they have raised approximately $29, 000.