Saturday, Feb. 22 was the perfect day for the Rick Bourre Memorial Fishing Derby. Brilliant sunshine and mild temperatures had about 150 participants pour onto the ice of the Rainy River at the town’s Hannam Park.
Dozens of holes were drilled awaiting the enthusiastic anglers, young and old, wanting to try their luck. The canteen was kept hopping, serving hot chocolate, coffee, snacks, burgers, and other treats.
A cleared off rink surface near the dock was well used by several NHL hopefuls looking to hone their hockey skills, while further out on the river packs of power sleds snarled up and down the waterway enjoying some of the best snowmobiling conditions we have seen this winter.
In the puddles around several drilled holes several future fishing greats who had become bored with the jigging action were busy trying to either bail the river dry or simply scoop out a little slush ice. Final count on the number of soakers is still untabulated.
There was a whole slew of door prizes for kids and adults as well as the cash prizes for tournament winners in the adult and kids classes. A big thank you to the generous prize contributions from area businesses and a donation from the RRBB Lions Club.
Winners:
Early Bird Draw: Norm Meuller
Adult: 1st James Hartnell; 2nd Cheryl Thunder; 3rd Corey O’Neill; 4th Zak Quran
Kids: 18 and under 1st Kyle LaPlante 2nd Elli Yeo Forsyth; 3rd Dax LaPlante
The only thing missing from the great fishing Derby was an abundance of fish. Fishing was great, just the catching was a little slow.
