Bill Cederholm’s 49-centimeter catch earned him first place in the Clearwater Rotary club’s 21st year of hosting its Rotary Icebreaker Fishing Derby.
On Sunday, January 29, anglers competed to catch the biggest trout or kokanee, with a first place prize of $300. The popular event drew 55 participants, with $20 entry fees going toward the club’s community efforts, organizer Abbey Bates said.
In second place, Kathy Braaten received $200 for her 47cm fish. Andrew Mann’s 32.2 cm fish earned him a third title and a $100 prize. Ken Dale won a consolidation award for ‘biggest wind’ by taking a 24cm bottom feeder.
The local rotary club also held a raffle for a four-person ice fishing tent donated by the local Home Hardware, which went to Eric Buck. The club couldn’t put on events like these without sponsors and donations from the community, Bates added.
It was raining earlier in the week, so Bates was worried the club would have to call off the event.
“We had good ice, very deep. It was cold, but the sun was shining, so it was perfect,” Bates said. “I’ve never seen the lake like this before. It was a good thing the lake was freezing over for a couple of days.”
Driving the snowmobiles over the ice to deliver hot dogs to the fishermen was a bit “interesting,” because the snowmobiles made a lot of noise when traveling without a couple of feet of snow on the ice, Bates added.
The club’s community efforts fund scholarships and educational opportunities, such as an international exchange program, said Alex Kramer, president of Clearwater Rotary.
Clearwater Rotary’s next big event will be “Rotary Richard,” which will begin in mid-to-late February when the club places a plywood cutout of a man on the ice of Dutch Lake, Kramer said. Participants will guess accurately when the ice will finally break, and the closest guess will receive a prize.
The club meets approximately every other Wednesday morning at the Wells Gray Inn.