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Little Ossipee Lake Fishing Derby Draws Big Crowds

February 27, 2011 - Waterboro – On a blustery but sparklingly clear day on Sunday, fishermen and women from around Maine, New England and beyond gathered at Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro to test themselves against the elements, each other, and – of course – the fish, in an attempt to take home up to $3,500, the top prize in the Cold Water Division of the 12th annual FET Little Ossipee Lake Fishing Derby.


Many caught nothing, a few reeled in something, and a lucky handful were able to see their catch hanging in the sunshine by the judge’s line. There were no real losers here, though; proceeds from the event fund the Hooked on Fishing Not Drugs program, as well as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Division for Fish Management and Conservation of Southern Maine Waters.


Colin Canning, the president of FET Inc., said attendance for the event was down just slightly over years past, with 948 adults and 251 children taking part, but he added that slight dip was not unusual since the event grew rapidly within the last seven years.


Ice fishing is a sport of patience and perseverance, and even then there’s a fair amount of luck involved. But empty buckets and loose lines were hardly an indicator of enjoyment. Smiling faces were everywhere, albeit bundled up against a below-freezing wind chill.


“No (I haven’t caught anything),” said 8-year old Blake Masse of Waterboro, as he sat atop a flipped-over Lowe’s bucket and peered eagerly into a small hole alongside his father, Jim. “I would like to catch a togue because I have an adult ticket, and I am trying to go for the big money. (Time is) kind of running out, though. We came out at 4 this morning. It was (a little slippery) out on the ice. Last year my dad caught a rainbow, but it didn’t win. It’s been nice out, like last year, but it’s been a little windy.”


Blake wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen a fish yet. And, certainly, in only his second year on the ice, his struggles paled in comparison to those of North Waterboro resident Arden Davis, who in 12 years of attending the derby, has never caught a single thing. He keeps coming, though, because the true reward in ice fishing is the experience, rather than the catch.


“I have never missed one (of the derbies), but I have yet to catch a fish,” Davis said with a laugh.


He had chosen a spot very close to shore, but said that in other years he had gone further out on the ice.


“I’ll mix it up,” he said. “We’ll come out, we’ll go in. I’ve been out here with up to 20 guys before, but this year I am fishing alone. I just never have happened to catch a fish during the tournament. I was actually fishing here on Thursday when they stocked it and they came over and dumped a bunch in my hole. I didn’t catch any then, either. They won’t bite when they’ve been stocked. But it’s a good time – I’ve won some door prizes over the years to Kittery Trading Post and stuff like that. It’s a good opportunity to get out and get some exercise.”


Mike Parker of Buxton, who fishes year round and competes in ice fishing tournaments across New England, also hadn’t caught anything, and wondered if perhaps the confined nature of Little Ossipee combined with the near-constant snowmobiling on the surface might have something to do with the difficulties. Parker referred to Ossipee as a “difficult spot” compared to other venues, which is part of the reason why he hadn’t hit the derby for the past two years.


“I’ve been (fishing) for probably 20 years,” Parker said. “The last two years I haven’t been to this derby, but prior to that I came. This is tough; this lake is tough to fish. There’s a lot of people, a lot of action, a lot of snowmobiling, and I think that’s creating a lot of vibrations, which plays a big factor. When you get on the bigger lakes, you’re not all bunched up together. But fishing here, I usually catch a couple bass and a salmon, so this could just be a down year for the lake.”


The derby winners hoisted some big fish out of Ossipee’s depths to bring home the major prizes.


Winners in the children’s division, with prizes of a $100 savings bond each, were: Dilan Menard with a 1.26-pound rainbow, Kolby Lambert with a 1.30-pound rainbow, and Hayden Pomereleau with a 1.55-pound trout.


In the bass division for adults, with prizes of $250, $500 and $1,000 respectively, the victors were Sean Heavin with a 4.77-pound large-mouth bass, and Adam Frith with a 5.55 pound large-mouth bass (there was no third place winner this year, as the division requires a 20-inch minimum fish length, and there were only two qualifiers).


Finally, in the cold water division, Matt Courrier placed third with a 2.17-pound brook trout for $500, Dan Roy took second with a 3.62-pound lake trout for $1,000, and Josh Worster took home the grand prize of $3,500 with a 4.35-pound lake trout. In the bonus divisions, Tim Boucher won heaviest pickerel with one weighing in at 2.87-pounds, and the award for “Heaviest Bucket o’ Fish” went to Bill Kesport at 38 pounds.


As to the low fishing totals, Canning chuckled.


“Well, that’s fishing,” he said. “To be fair, totals will always be down in February over January, and that’s part of the reason why we schedule the event in this month – because we want to minimize any damage to the lake stock. Although our total weights for the winners were down over some years, I was assured by our biologist that this was just a typical slow February day for fishing. Do I want some 10 or 12 pound lake trout as the winner each year? Absolutely! That’s exciting, and it’s good for the state, it’s good for the event, and it’s good for the people who stocked the lake. But, at the same time, I don’t like to turn away people who caught really big fish and who can’t place because everyone had something larger.”


“The people who fish the derby are often a little unfamiliar with Ossipee, and those who fish out on the middle of the basin have selected an area that’s never really been a big habitat,” Canning added sagely. “And, I, too, have spoken with many people who have never caught anything. But they keep coming back because ice fishing is fun.”


Emory Rounds, Keep Maine Current, February 2011


Lakes: Little Ossipee Lake
Regions: Sanford


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