The Squam Bay Fish Derby traditionally occurs on the second Sunday in July, and this year, for the 57th annual, that date of July 8 turned out to be a wonderful day.
There were 162 entries this year, with 41 fish weighed in.
“We had more prizes than fish,” said Jackie Van Sickle, “So we drew some names out of a bucket; and this is always fun, because you don’t even need to catch a fish to win a prize.”
Winning anglers were:
First place went to Nathan Chilibeck of Pinantan, with a 13 lb. 10 oz. dolly, winning $600 and a keeper trophy
Second place was Dan Stoelwinder of Kamloops, with a 7 lb. 10 oz. gray, winning $200 and a keeper trophy
Third went to Brook White of Qualicum, with a 7 lb. 5 oz. gray.
Fourth place went to Ken Van Sickle of Squam Bay, with a 6 lb. 8 oz. gray, (of note is the fact that Ken has participated in all 57 derbies).
Fifth place was Krista Turner of Kamloops, with a 6 lb. 2 oz. gray.
Sixth and seventh place was a tie for brothers-in-law, Wayne Keller of Barriere, and Harold Bittner of Kamloops, with a 6 lb. 1 oz. catch.
Eighth and ninth was also a tie for Bernard Guilbault of Sorrento, and Mary Van Sickle of Squam Bay, with a 5 lb. 11 oz. fish.
Tenth went to James Rempel of Clearwater, with a 5 lb. 10 oz. fish
Largest rainbow was 4 lb. 8 oz, placing 17th in the draw for prizes was Chase Davidson of Kamloops, also taking home a keeper trophy and his name will go on the Ralph Keller Memorial Trophy.
Dayton Fraser won 40th place in the draw, and the hidden weight prize with a 2 lb. 2 oz. rainbow.
“Having the sponsor’s donations makes the prizes that much more exciting for our fishermen,” said Van Sickle.
