This year’s edition of the Flinty Fishing Derby is now in the books and four anglers are heading out with thousands of dollars in prizes.
Almost 500 fish were logged and entered in this year’s edition of the derby, which was organized as a remote competition instead of the one-day event on Lake Athapapuskow that is normally held. The derby was organized chiefly by the Flin Flon Rotary Club.
The most competition was in the northern pike category, where almost 180 fish were entered as part of the contest. Out of all the entries, it was two fishers from The Pas who led the category, with Devin Salisbury’s catch just outdoing Hunter Rambow’s pike for first place and a $2,500 prize.
The largest pickerel category was almost as busy, with 140 fish being sent in to the tournament leaderboard. Creighton angler Rob Galbraith picked up the top spot in that category, taking home $2,500 and bragging rights.
Out of 90 burbot caught and submitted as part of the derby, it was Chantelle McDermott of Denare Beach who won the top spot in the category, holding off all competition.
The only category that went to a non-northern angler was the largest lake trout category. Out of the 71 fish caught and submitted as part of the contest, Trevor Athmer from Watson, Sask. ended up winning. Athmer’s prize trout led the category from not long after the competition started all the way to the finish.
“The derby featured anglers from all three prairie provinces and there were some huge fish caught,” reads a statement sent out by derby organizers.
“Warm sunny days brought the anglers out in force over the last three days and there was fierce competition on the leaderboards.”
Other prizes, including winners for mystery length categories and top-ten finishes, were not available as of The Reminder’s press time.
Out of the fish entered into the competition, more than fifty met the minimum requirements to be considered master anglers. The minimum requirements in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan for the categories on the board are 89 centimetres for lake trout, 104 centimetres for northern pike, 71 centimetres for pickerel and 76 centimetres for burbot.
Proceeds from this year’s fishing derby will go toward the Aqua Centre Community Committee, with that money going towards building a new pool complex within Flin Flon to replace the now-demolished Flin Flon Aqua Centre. As of The Reminder’s press time, an estimate of how much money was raised was not yet known.
The 2020 and 2021 editions of the derby were both cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. Organizers have said that the derby will continue next year, most likely in the familiar one-day on-site format that has been done in the past.
“On behalf of all of the Rotary Club of Flin Flon, thank you to all the anglers for supporting the Derby and our community,” reads the organizers’ statement.
