Perchin for MS Fishing Derby was a huge success this year. In its first year, we drew in 78 teams from all over Ontario and the United States and raised $4000.00 for MS Research and Awareness!
Next year we hope to make it bigger and better. We will be promoting bigger and better this year and attending the sports show and using our website.

The tournament was more than just about the fish or the weather however. “I started this event because I wanted to promote education and awareness around MS and I thought what better way to do that than through a fishing derby.” As an avid angler and Conservation Officer who lives with MS daily, Poirier knows firsthand about its limitations, but says that unless you have a friend or relative with it, people seldom have a good understanding of the disease. “The goal of the event was also to raise a bit of money for MS and I am pleased to announce that thanks to some generous monetary donations we raised almost $4,000 that will go directly to the MS Society of Canada,” said Poirier.
Although most anglers who fished the MS Perch Fundraiser were from the GTA, others came from Owen Sound and Niagara in the west to Muskoka and Halliburton in the north and east to Ottawa. There were even some anglers from the US. Many were hard core competitive anglers who look for competitions like this to test their skills. Others were recreational ice anglers who enjoy meeting others in a fun-filled event where proceeds go to a worthwhile cause.

Not only did anglers come out in force to support the fundraiser, but so too did sponsor and individual support. “The prizes supplied by companies and individuals far exceeded my expectations. Our community really showed the true meaning of “Community” with the way they all came together to sponsor this event!” said Poirier.

Perchin for MS

View all 86 images of “Mystery Lake 2004″…

PS- I will be posting a 2010 contributor contest entry tomorrow morning!

The good folks at Koppers must have paid close attention in biology class, because they have covered all the details with this lure. Not only is the profile more realistic, but the smallest details have been covered right down the the smallest fin.

After having a good look at this lure I was very impressed. One detail that I found unusual was the large LIVETARGET logo on the back of the lure. Sure there are other companies that have their logo on their lures, but for a company that worked so hard to achieve the most realistic lure they could, I found it a very odd design choice.

Just like the real thing...wait...real smelt don't have logos - or do they?

To test out these lures, I felt that I needed to try a different approach. So I asked my son Ash to try them out. You see, he doesn’t really care what his lures look like. Hell, he doesn’t even know what a smelt is, he’s two. Now, I’m not saying I’m a pro or anything, but I’m fairly certain I could catch a bass on the least realistic lure ever made. So to truly test this lure I handed the rod over to my son, a two year old with no concept of how the lure should be retrieved – how fast or how slow or how it should move through the water. Without the dexterity to create a provoking retrieve, Ash would have to rely solely on the lures good looks. I’d be lying if I said I expected him to catch a lot of fish, but thats exactly what he did.

Now none of the fish we caught were big, but between us, we landed about 10 fish – more then I have ever caught in that spot at one time. Not only did we catch a bunch of fish, but water temperatures are still below the ideal temperature. For sake of comparison, I usually fish this spot with small Rapala X-Raps, but I think that these LIVETARGET lures may have just taken their spot in my tackle box.

Stay tuned for a more in depth review!

These Stubby Steve’s look promising, they’re 100% biodegradable which I know we all love and appreciate in a lure. I’ve got about 10 packages which should make for quite a few rounds of testing, and hopefully some leftovers to giveaway to you. I think they’ll be a great bait here in Ontario for salmon, trout, panfish, carp, catfish, even bass. I especially like the idea that it can be combined with traditional lures to make them more effective. I’ll be putting them to the test in the next week or two and will report back with a full review!

Pictured above (left to right): Storm Kickin’ Stick 5″ and 6″ fire tiger pattern, Storm Kickin’ Stick 6″ chrome perch pattern, Koppers Blueback Herring 5.5″ silver blue and silver green, Koppers Blueback Herring 4.5″ silver blue and silver green, Sebile Magic Swimmer 5″ smallmouth pattern. Bottom: Reaction Strike Revolution Shad 5″

You can check out WIFC’s website for the the official WIFC results and Go North Photos for some event shots.

Obviously, the USA contingent had the home advantage as some members fished Boom Lake last year in the North American Ice Fishing Circuit (NAIFC) competition. They all knew how crappies, perch and bluegills bite. The European contestants had never seen these species until this weekend.

After Sunday’s weigh-in, Mike Boedeker of Lansing, Mich., figured he was in contention for the bronze in individual honors. He had eight fish, all crappies, on Sunday. He used a Fiska glow jig both days. He fished with the USA team last year in WIFC competition held in Poland. The typical target fish were golden shiner- and smelt-type species, he said.

Myron Gilbert, a USA team member from Brooklyn Mich., was understandably ecstatic about the win. No matter where the other teams finished, he said, they will all remember the warm reception Rhinelander gave them. “They were big-eyed” after participating in the downtown parade and seeing the thousands of well-wishers, he noted.

His key to scoring fish was to keep moving when there was no bite for a time. It’s not unusual for him to drill hundreds of holes during other tournaments where power augers are allowed. USA team members shared information gained from pre-tournament fishing the areas immediately around the zones when power augers and graphs were allowed

via Rhinelander Daily News

Rafa and a superb 0.72kilo(1lb. 11oz.) Perch. Big Perch do that to some people…

via Slainte Fishing League

This is the way we usually clean a fish.

via OFNC

I’m always delighted when people send in photos of fishing trips with their kids. Adam send in these photos of himself and his son fishing back in July. I cant wait till my son is old enough to explore new lakes with me!

photo via Anglers Times

Thanks Mark!