Yesterday was the second annual ice fishing derby at BJ Tackle in Bewdley, Ont. Anglers spread out across Rice Lake in search of the biggest panfish they could find. Three species were included in the prizing. Perch, Sunfish and Crappie.
This fun event was a great day to spend time with your friends and family in a fun derby.
The winds pick up during the late morning and having any form of a shelter made things more comfortable. The portable ice hut made focusing on the fish and not the weather more enjoyable. Spending my day targeting perch over clear water produced some good jumbos. The action was hot and at one point I had a school of all jumbo perch come through. Both rods down with 11 inch perch makes for a fun trip.
We packed up by 1:30 to get to Bewdley for the 2pm weigh-in.
BJ Tackle was a busy place, with anglers weighing some great panfish. This is only the third winter since an ice fishing season for panfish was introduced in the Kawartha's and angler's are starting to figure out the patterns to consistently find bigger fish. Lots of jumbo perch were weighed in along with sunfish and some true slab crappie. Most of the crappie action takes place at night during the winter at Rice Lake but some anglers have found the fish during the day and using ultra light tackle are putting them on the ice. A 1.2b crappie took the honors at the event with several others over a pound.
One of the greatest things about this derby is the fun. Lots of young anglers get out for the fun and after the weigh-in there was some awesome chili, deserts and hot chocolate to enjoy. The mood is light and everyone has a great time.
Sign me up for next year!
No comments:
Post a Comment