On Feb. 25, 2017, Mattagami First Nation held their 7th annual Pike Derby on beautiful Mattagami Lake. Registrations picked up in the last two days before the Derby, from 230 to 355.
With a week of unusual weather in the plus 5C, which caused the snow to melt on the ice before the derby, anglers started the morning off on a slush-free lake with 20 inches of solid ice.
Although the morning started off -15C and freezing rain, this quickly changed as the day progressed, making for an enjoyable day on the ice.
The Derby Committee was so busy due to the unexpected turn out this year that they are already looking at new ways to improve the Saturday morning of giving packages, inspections and new registrations.
To help them improve the Derby in the years to come, the MFN Fishing Derby Committee put together a short survey on their Facebook page in hopes that anglers are able to take some time to give their feedback, good or bad, so they will be able to improve next year.
As in all derbies and tournaments there is always a slight chance of injuries occurring.
Angler Ken McLeod was so excited to land his pike, that when reached in the hole to pull out his pike, he accidentally ended up lodging his hook deep into his finger. After the paramedic removed the hook, Kevin continued fishing in true angler fashion.
In many derbies, word gets around quickly who's in first and second place, however third and fourth place are always a little harder to find out.
The derby committee decided not to post the weights after the end of the derby.
This made for an enjoyable time as the committee watched the anglers try to figure out who was in third and fourth place before the prizes were hand out.
The final results were as follows:
First place: Gilles Paradis 19lbs 15oz
Second place: Keith McLeod 10lbs 11oz
Third place: Richard Comeau 7lbs 5oz
Fourth place: Clarke Bradley 6lbs 6oz
Second place: Keith McLeod 10lbs 11oz
Third place: Richard Comeau 7lbs 5oz
Fourth place: Clarke Bradley 6lbs 6oz
The lucky winner of the Can-Am Commander XT 800 Camo side-by-side was Lee Roy.
I had the opportunity to ask the winner of the derby, Gilles Paradis, some questions regarding how he won the derby and how the rest of the day went for him.
"I was fishing with a handmade tip up made of an old hockey stick handle and an open-face reel. Once I set the hook I said to myself I think this is a nice one. I can't lose this one," said Paradis.
"While fighting it I said to my brother-in-law 'it's a nice one, I think it's going to be one of the top four prize.' I got it up to the ice pretty quick but it decided to take a run so I let it go. I didn't get to see it so I pulled it up again to the ice. This is when I saw the head and it seemed to be a nice one, but I was unable to line it up in the hole so I let him go back down.
"I must have let him go about 5 or 6 times before I was final able to line its' head in the hole.
"As I started to pull the Pike up through the hole, I told my brother-in-law to get ready to grab it.
"I kept telling Leonard Naveau to take is gloves off to grab the fish. I guess he was afraid to get bit.
"When we saw the belly start coming out of the hole, I said 'holy crap it's a very nice one.' I was surprised at how big it was.
"That's when the adrenalin kicked in and my sister, Sue Naveau, Leonard and I all said that's a winning fish for sure.
"The whole fight took about 10-15 minutes before I finally got it out however it seem a lot longer
"I was all excited that I caught a big fish as this was the biggest fish I ever caught.
"After I weighed in my fish I went back to where I was fishing and reset my lines and kept fishing with my sister and Leonard.
"The day went by pretty good after that as I just kept fishing. First thing I new it was 3 o'clock and only had one hour left before the end of the derby.
"Since I didn't hear of anyone else catching a bigger fish, I wasn't too worried about winning one of the prizes.
"Any prize is good as it's just the idea of being out their and having fun.
"I would definitely recommend the Pike derby at MFN to everyone. It's a great day out with friends and family.
"Anybody can get the big one. I did and who knows next year it could be you.
"Just to add a little something, the secret to getting big pike is to have someone take your bait out of the freezer a few days before the derby. It stunk so bad that I had a hard time to put it on the hook."
Paradis would like to thank the staff that organized the derby, saying they did a great job again this year.
The derby committee, Jessica Naveau, Crystel Vallee and Dominique Morin, would like to thank all the anglers for their patience Saturday morning.
They would also like to send a big shout out to all the amazing volunteers:
- Cindy and Joanne in the kitchen (thanks Cindy your spaghetti sauce was excellent!).
- Chantal Mantha for your total devotion throughout the day. You girl can take the heart smile emoticon:)
- Larry Naveau for your passion for these tournaments. You are our get it done dad. Thanks for all the little last minute requests and for being there for us.
- Sebastien Lizotte for stepping up and came to help us out Saturday morning and
- Uncle Kelly.
- Last but not least to all our families for all their support.
If you didn't have a chance to fish the Pike Derby this year, be sure to watch for it next year and sign up. As this year's winner Gilles said, "Anybody can get the big one."
Whether you're an angler or hunter; a camp, lodge, resort owner; or just holding an outdoor event and would like some exposure, please feel free to email us at [email protected].
