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Island Lake Bass Derby reels in hundreds of anglers

July 21, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Island Lake Bass Derby got underway July 16 – 17 at the Island Lake Conservation area.

It was the first Derby since 2019 after the pandemic forced organizers to put the event hold for the past two seasons.

As of noon on Saturday, over 170 anglers were registered and more were signing up as the day went on.

The Derby had a grand prize for the largest bass, and smaller prizes for other fish species.

Bass were weighed and measured with the total creating a score for each fish that was then placed on a leaderboard that was updated as larger fish were brought in.

This was a catch and release derby. Fish had to be kept alive in a live well on a boat or brought directly from shore. The fish were placed in aerated tank at the official’s booth where they were weighed and measured before being released back into the lake.

“It’s a fundraiser for the Friends of Island Lake,” explained Sandy Camplin, senior coordinator of conservation parks for Credit Valley Conservation. “They are using this event to raise money specifically for the Island Lake Conservation Area. One of the projects they are working on now are re-configuring some of the lake side trails. It’s a two-day tournament. It’s mainly a bass tournament – the big prizes are for bass, but we have a category for pretty much every fish that’s in the lake. We have a first prize for pike, perch and crappie for the adult category. The kid’s category has five categories for fish because they’ll bring in all sorts of fish. It’s $2,500 for first place and overall, we’ll [be] giving out about $5,000.”

Anglers started bringing in their fish early and there was a steady stream of people bringing in their catch to the weigh and measure station all day long.

The weather turned out to be perfect for an outdoor event with warm temperatures and sunny skies.

Some anglers went out on the water in small boats while other chose to cast their line from shore.

The Derby is a popular event that provides a fun and the opportunity for bragging rights and a big cash prize if you manage to bring in the biggest catch.

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