Frozen lake, cold weather makes for successful ice fishing derby

February 22, 2024 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

There were seven inches of ice and plenty of pike looking for something to eat at the Island Lake Conservation Area during its 14th Annual Ice Fishing Derby that ran from Febryary 10 to 19.

The derby brought people from all over Ontario who enjoy ice fishing and hoped to reel in the biggest fish along with the $1,000 first prize for the largest Northern Pike. There were also prizes for the largest Yellow Perch and Black Crappie.

A youth category also had prizes for the top three longest fish of any species.

The derby is held in partnership with Credit Valley Conservation, Credit Valley Conservation Foundation, and the Friends of Island Lake.

“We started this derby years ago just to see what kind of Pike we had in the lake,” explained Island Lake Assistant Supervisor Dave Riseborough. “It’s turned into a fundraiser for the Friends of Island Lake and Credit Valley Foundation. They fund projects that go on around the park. There’s an adult derby and a youth derby. The youth derby is for the three longest fish. For the adult derby there’s top three prizes for Northern Pike and first place for Black Crappie and Yellow Perch.”

The derby has been growing in popularity every year. This year, a mid-winter thaw caused some concern as the ice started to melt.

“We’ve been really lucky,” Dave said. “It’s a really shallow lake and if freezes really quickly. We lost a couple of inches of ice when it was around 12 degrees, but the shoreline held up and the ice is about seven inches thick, so we were able to put the huts out.”

Over 130 registered to take part in the week-long fishing event.

Some people enjoyed fishing for just the day, while others came out several times during the derby.

“Some people come out every day,” Dave explained. “We’ve got people coming from all over the place, London, Barrie, and Eastern Ontario. They might come out for one day but some local guys are out here every day.”

The contest wrapped up at 3 p.m. on Monday, February 19, at which time organizers announced the winners and handed out prizes.

When the final results were tallied, Makaylah G. won first prize in the Northern Pike category reeling in a fish that was a whopping 37.5 inches. In second place, Brittany B. brought in a Pike that was 29.45 inches.

In the Youth category, Colby L. was the winner with a 23-inch Pike.