The Timmins Fur Council held their 5th annual Kids Fishing Derby on Porcupine Lake in South Porcupine this past Family Day.
Since the weather was around -40C for the past week, many would have thought the lake would have been frozen solid.
However, this was not the case.
Saturday afternoon Timmins Fur council members Steve Lemieux, Andy Chartrand and Cliff Dumond went to check the ice thickness.
As they drilled a couple of holes in the ice, the pressure of the snow on top of the ice caused water to come up from the lake which turned the snow in the area to slush.
Sunday morning Steve and Andy returned to the lake at 9 a.m. to see if the slush turned to ice from the overnight -40C temperatures.
Unfortunately the slush didn't freeze.
Steve and Andy then decided to drill holes along an existing skidoo trail that was made by people travelling across the lake.
The ice was so bad Sunday that on Monday morning members of the Fur Council helped the people that provided the fireworks from the night before hook up their trailer to a skidoo and pull it to the parking lot for them.
Once they got the trailer out, Steve Lemieux decided that he would try to clear a path on the ice for the kids and their parents to walk.
Once on the ice his truck was soon engulfed by the slush.
Even though this year's ice made it very difficult to find a dry spot, around 115 kids out of the 121 that registered showed up for the derby.
Although the temperature was expected to rise, the wind chill was another story.
Many of the kids fished for 20 to 25 minutes before heading for hot chocolate and the fire pits to warm up.
President Steve Lemieux said we have to understand that sitting on a pail was brutal for those little kids, not to mention for their parents as well.
Despite the weather, the Timmins Fur Council said that they had an excellent turn out.
Every kid received a free toque and a free kid's meal from Wendy's.
Throughout the day the Timmins Fur Council held draws for go-getters, and free laser tag passes.
Only one pike was caught this year by Logan McGregor that measured 18 inches. Way to Go Logan!
The Timmins Fur Council would like to thank all the kids and their parents for coming out in such brutal weather, along with their sponsors for making the derby another success.
Just a little reminder for all you anglers that Mattagami First Nation will be holding their Annual Pike Tournament, February 27, 2016.
For more information on registration and ice conditions please contact Jessica Naveau at 705-221-4248.
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]
