Most of the 160 die-hard fishers who registered for last weekend’s Horse Lake Fishing Derby faced temperatures that dipped under -20C.
Some took cover in tents but most braved
the elements in order
to try their luck at winning cash prizes of up to $300.
Fishing was slow with only 14 fish caught in total, and according to Mark Roseboom, derby co-ordinator, most were frozen solid by the time they made it to the weigh-in station at Bonanza Resort.
Cash prizes of $300, $100 and $50 were offered for the three heaviest fish in each category of lake trout, rainbow trout and kokanee.
Only three lake trout were caught and Bruno Sprecher reeled in a 9 lb. 11 oz. lake trout to win that category. Second place went to Dan Mobbs for his 18.3 oz. laker and Don Dickerson was third with a fish weighing in at 13.6 oz.
The prize for heaviest rainbow ended up in a tie between John Warman and Brian Gardner who each caught a fish weighing 30.5 oz. They split the $300 prize. Second place went to Dallas Orling for his 24.7 oz. rainbow and his dad, Garry Orling, weighed in a 21.6 oz. fish for third place. A total of seven rainbows were weighed in.
Just four kokanee were recorded with first place going to Paul Carey for a 35 oz. fish. Chad Frizzi won first and second place with a 21 oz. fish and another that weighed in at 19.3 oz.
Close to 100 prizes in total, donated by local businesses and sporting goods distributors, were handed out.
“It was a pretty
good day all around,” says Roseboom. “People really liked the cash
prizes.”
Sprecher, who is also owner of Bonanza Resort, says Roseboom did a great job of organizing the derby.
“We are looking forward to hosting the next derby here again.”