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Merritt
Ice Fishing Derby – Fun Times
(Originally
published in the Merritt Herald, January 14, 2009)
©
By
Othmar Vohringer
On
Sunday,
hundreds of fisherman, women and children ventured to Mammette Lake for
a
fun-filled day of ice fishing.
This was the 9th Annual Ice Fishing Derby organized by the Nicola
Valley Fish
& Game Club (NVFGC).
The weather was perfect with a blue sky and brilliant sunshine and by
10
o’clock in the morning the lake was crowded with over 260
people.
It was
particularly encouraging to see so many children and families in
attendance –
proving the point that fishing truly is a sport to be enjoyed by the
whole
family.
Over the years the NVFGC ice fishing derby has become a traditional
event with
a solid reputation for good organization and generous money and goods
prizes.
The event draws participants from Kamloops to Chilliwack and every
community in
between.
Over the course of the day a slow but steady number of fish arrived at
the
scale, and by 2:30 p.m., the official end of the derby, over 30 trout
and
coarse fish were weighed in. The numerous and varied derby prizes were
generously provided by Merritt business owners.
During the event, two Conservation Officers were present handing out
goodies to
all the children. They also provided the concession tent for the event.
Merritt Search and Rescue Team generously provided a second tent, but
due to
the exceptionally nice weather it wasn’t set up as additional
shelter.
The club provided free coffee, hot chocolate and donuts, and for the
modest
price of $1 hot dogs were available too.
An event of this proportion couldn’t go smoothly without all
the
fine people in
the background volunteering their time and effort in organizing it. The
many
volunteers from the NVFGC made sure that this year’s ice
fishing
derby would be
remembered by everybody who attended.
Mammette Lake is not known as a trophy fishing lake; but still, the
fish that
had been weighed in at the checkpoint were respectable specimens.
The first prize in the children’s trout class weighed in at 2
and
3/8 lbs and
second prize went to a young fisher with a beautiful 2 and 1/4 lbs
rainbow
trout.
The ladies didn’t do too shabby either with the first prize
going
to a woman
with a 3 and 1/8 lbs rainbow that was followed by a 2 and 1/16 lbs
trout.
The men didn’t hold back either with first trout prize
weighing
in at 3 and
11/16 lbs and second a close 3 and 3/8 lbs. In the coarse fish class, a
monster
sucker weighing a solid 4 and ¾ lbs won first place and
second
place came close
with 4 and 5/8 lbs.
-----------------------------------
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