42nd Annual Wawa Salmon Derby – Big Fish!

Organizers, volunteers and of course, anglers were happy to enjoy some spectacular weather for this year’s 42nd Annual Wawa Salmon Derby. Although the lake was a little ‘bumpy’ Friday night, Municipal Councillor Mitch Hatfield had no difficulty firing the flare gun to start the derby off.

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, and some anglers sported a little more colour Sunday afternoon from all the bright sun of both Saturday and Sunday.

Derby Official Jonathan Gatz offered thanks to his fellow organizers, volunteers and the anglers for a great weekend of salmon fishing. Some very large fish, 335 in total were brought in – some anglers explained that these salmon have been enjoying the abundance of herring in Lake Superior this year.

A huge thanks goes out once again to the OPP and Sault Search and Rescue who watched over Michipicoten Bay and the mouth of the river to ensure that all anglers were safe.

Pre-Derby Winners

Saturday, August 17th – Team 10, Scott Nuttal – 28.65
Sunday, August 18th – Team #10, Scott Nuttal – 37.95
Monday, August 19th – Team #10, Scott Nuttal – 31.50
Tuesday, August 20th – Team #9, Randy Ortiz – 29.05
Wednesday, August 21st – Team $13, Ken Martel – 39.70

Largest Salmon of the Day

Friday, August 23rd – Team #56, Eric Longelier & Yves Fortin – 32.55 ($500 TBay Tel)
Saturday, August 24th – Team #91, Dawson Bernath – 35.10 ($500 JJAM)
Sunday, August 25th – Team #35, Dan & Gaetan Bouchard – 24.45 (Trans Canada Chrysler)

The Early Bird winner was Team #18 (Joan Koob) who took home $500 prize from Brookfield Power/Evolugen.

Salmon Awards (Top 3)

1. Team #18, Dawson Bernath with a 35.1lb winning $3,000 (Red Pine Exploration & Wawa Salmon Derby)
2. Team #69, Mark Foster & Joel Shier, 33.85lb winning $2000
3. Team #56, Yves Fortin & Eric Longelier winning $1,000

Lake Trout Awards

1. Team #63, Dean & Adam Domich with a 7.6lb
2. Team #6, Keith Barr Sr. & Keith Barr Jr. with a 7,2lb
3. Team #62, Calvin Nuttall & Joe Nuttal with a 6.95lb

The Mystery Weight was 2.88lbs which gave those who did bring in a small salmon to be weighed. The team that weighed in a salmon closest to that weight without going over was Team #49, Brent Barry & Joel St. Amand with a 2.2lbs salmon to win $500 from TBayTel.

The angling team to win The Harry Aho Memorial Award or Total Weight was Team #79 Andrew & Rebecca Paisley with 244.35lbs of fish.

The best award was the Child’s Prize that was awarded to Isaiah Dereski with a 30.9 pound salmon. His name will be engraved on the Bill Young trophy.