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Sebago Derby's 'Codfather' Hoping for Record Turnout

January 12, 2010 - SEBAGO -- The Sebago ice fishing derby began in 2001 as a fish management tool to help cull the non-native togue in Sebago Lake and to give the native landlocked salmon a chance. And it was a massive fundraiser from the start.

It draws several thousand people to Sebago on a weekend in February.

The derby's creator, director and "codfather," as Tom Noonan is known among derby volunteers, said he saw the derby's potential from the start. And Noonan's not done.

The festivities around the Sebago Lake event were scaled back last year to put more of an emphasis on the ice fishing. But the man who travels Maine to check scales at 25 weigh stations for the statewide version of the derby, which is held a week later, wants to grow this event in other ways.

This year, in addition to the two-day Sebago derby, the statewide derby and the carnival festivities woven into both, there will be two kids' derbies. Noonan envisions several kids' derbies around Maine – that and a world record ...

Q: The derby started 10 years ago as a fish management tool and fundraiser for charities. It's really grown. Do you see it evolving further?

A: Yes. I'm hoping the statewide derby turns into something more, as more people find out about it and find out what they can win. The more people that enter the tournament, the more charities get.

Q: Is it what you thought it would become?

A: Yes. The statewide (derby) has become bigger. I still expect single-digit growth in the Sebago derby, not growth by 10 or 20 percent in one year. But in the statewide (derby), I feel it has the potential to become one of the largest derbies in the country. I like to think in five years it will be close to being the largest ice-fishing derby in the country.

Q: You know what the biggest is?

A: It's Brainerd, Minn. They have over 16,000 for a three-hour derby. It has a huge prize pool, and is three times bigger than ours.

Q: You've scaled back the festivities around the Sebago derby, is that right?

A: We are sticking to fishing. There is still stuff going on around Raymond Pond, the snowmobile speed run. Last year, we had a snowmobile go 144 miles per hour. That raises some eyebrows. ... Also we have the fly-in and hot-air balloon rides, helicopter rides. We'll still do other stuff. What we are growing is the kids' derbies. There are two kids' derbies now the Friday before the derby. I want to get several of them running the same day around the state. We moved from Thompson Pond over to Range Pond State Park on Friday, Feb. 19. Kittery Trading Post is giving the first 500 kids free traps. The other is in Monmouth, on the pond there sponsored by Jack Traps (of Monmouth). I'd love to see six of these around the state. ... It costs us money, but there are rewards. And they will help me get over the hump with the world record. Just kidding.

Q: No, you said it. It's on the record. What is the record? I know you know it.

A: It is in Korea, where there were 110,000 people. That's incredible. We could get the North American record. Brainerd has it (now).

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Staff Writer, Portland Press herald, January 9, 2010


Lakes: Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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