The Friends of Hoople Creek Society volunteers were very pleased with the turnout at their 2nd Annual Ice Fishing tournament out in Hoople Bay near Ingleside, Ontario. On Saturday February 17, 2024, the Bay became a small village with many people braving the cold temperatures to venture out on the ice. The cold helped ensure there was an appropriate thickness of ice to support the participants, their Ice Huts and even their vehicles in some cases.
Over 100 (111) registered participants enjoyed the early morning sunshine and cool temperatures on this Family Day weekend as they worked to secure their favourite fishing hole in the hopes of catching one of the largest fish. Friends of Hoople Creek officials and volunteers were on hand to ensure the fish were caught fairly and to measure the length! The fisher who caught the longest Northern Pike, largest Yellow Perch and largest Walleye were each awarded $1,000 in prize money!
Mr. Travis Read, Derby Director reports that the group were quite pleased with the day and enjoyed spending this Family Day weekend on the ice. The results of the Derby will be provided to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests and to the scientific community such as the Raison River Conservation Authority and the St. Lawrence River Institute.
fish caught between the hours of 8 am and 12 Noon on Saturday. The Fishers and Officials recorded well over 100 fish, of which most were Yellow Perch, 9 were Northern Pike and 1 was a Walleye.
One of the FOHC Society key mission statements pertains to the replenishing of Walleye Stocks to the glory years of the late 1900’s. Mr. Read noted the fact that only one small Walleye is a good indicator of the need for restocking. In fact, names had to be drawn at random for the 2nd and 3rd place winners of the Walleye category.
The FOHC Society was very appreciative of the many sponsors from local businesses stepping up to support this initiative. In particular, there were a group of small volunteers from the Society who were tasked to walk amongst the various Ice Huts in these frigid temperatures to provide assistance to the participants and ensure everyone was following the rules.
