Saturday, March 2 was a beautiful day at Cowichan Lake, and lots of hopeful anglers headed out to see if they could catch the winner in the Lake Cowichan Legion’s 2019 Frostbite Fishing Derby.
But, many anglers reported it was so cold the fish just didn’t seem to feel like biting.
It was a day that explained to those who hadn’t participated before exactly why it’s called the Frostbite Fishing Derby.
By 4 p.m. only one fish had been brought into the weigh station behind the Legion hall. However, the fishermen did start to report in a little later, and by the close of the contest at 5:30 p.m. Len Smith caught the largest fish, a cutthroat trout, weighing in at 2.51 pounds, which netted him a trophy and a cheque for $250.
He and his friends laughed as he came in to the weigh station, because he was the only one in the boat who caught a fish at all, and he caught two.
Second prize and $150 went to Jamie Russell, with a 2.37 pound fish, and third place and $100 went to Jody Friday, with her 2.11 pound fish.
Jennina Russell took fourth place and $75 with her 1.91 pound fish, and fifth place and $50 went to Rob White and his 1.69 pound fish.
Mike Wilson’s 1.55 netted him the hidden weight prize.
