Sports

Anglers cast their line for largest Northern Pike at Island Lake Derby

February 17, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

It was cold and the wind was blowing steadily across the frozen water at the Island Lake Conservation Area during opening day of the annual ice fishing derby. But that didn’t stop a lot of people from turning out and dropping their lines in a bid to catch the largest fish.

The ice fishing derby got underway on Saturday, February 12, and will run through to February 20.

Around 65 anglers turned out for the first day of the event.

Fishing on an open lake can be quite comfortable if you bring the right gear. Many of the anglers brought their own ice fishing tents and heaters.

“We weren’t able to do the derby last year, (due to COVID) but we’re hoping to have more people out this year,” said Conservation Area assistant supervisor, David Riseborough. “We had ice fishing last year but not the derby. People are coming from all over the place. We have lots of locals from Caledon, Orangeville and Shelburne, but we’re also getting a lot of people from Brampton, Mississauga, Guelph, and the Kitchener-Waterloo area.”

The derby gives out prizes for the largest, second largest, and third largest Northern Pike, as well as prizes for the largest Yellow Perch and Black Crappie.

When you’re out on the ice and you reel in a big one, you can call the rental shop to have someone come out and measure your catch.

“There’s a phone number on the back of their ticket,” Mr. Riseborough explained. “They give us a call and we run right out to them and measure the fish right away. If they want to release it, they can put it right back down the hole. If they want to keep it, we’ll measure it out there as long as it’s not frozen solid.”

As of mid-day on the first day, someone was in the lead with a 24-inch Northern Pike, but that’s not even close to the larger size of fish in the lake and it is expected someone else will bring in a much larger fish.

Northern Pike in the lake grow up to 36 inches.

You can take part in the derby even if you don’t have all the equipment.

The rental shop at the Conservation area rents ice fishing rods, snow shoes, and other accessories.

Most anglers use live bait for ice fishing. If you plan on using minnows you will have to buy them at the Conservation Area as outside bait is not allowed. This is for protection against disease or viruses that can spread from other bodies of water.

The ice fishing derby allows outdoor minded people to take advantage of, and enjoy the winter by having fun and spend the day doing something they enjoy.

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