Fishing License Sales Increased

© By Othmar Vohringer

Bill Otway, one of BC's leading conservationist and fishery advisers, who also happens to be a good and much valued friend of mine, advised me a few days ago that the annual fishing license sales for 2009 and into 2010 have increased by over seven percent.

This means, according to Bill, that there are over 21,000 new anglers in 2009. This in turn means that an additional $ 211,000 will flow in the coffers of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, where the money will be used to in enhancement programs pf fish stocks and the fishery.

Gaining over seven percent new anglers also means that the provincial government receives an additional $700,000 into their coffers. From a different source I learned that hunter numbers in BC, and with that hunting license sales – more money for the BE government -, have gone up considerably too.

With this upswing it is surprising for me to hear that our provincial government has announced further cuts, again, in the range of one million dollars for the Fish and Wildlife Service Branch. Our Conservation Officers are stretched to the limit financially and if these cuts keep up I cannot see how the CO’s will be able to fulfill the ever-growing mandate of wildlife conservation, policing and environment protection.

Apart from that I am thrilled to see more anglers and hunters in the field. This means that the tireless promotion of our many angling and hunting lobbying groups, organizations, and the many dedicated individuals is starting to pay off. We’re still a ways off from where we eventually want to be but it’s a good start and an encouragement to keep the work up.

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Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club Family Fishing Day Event

© By Othmar Vohringer

On Fathers Day Weekend, June 20, the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club hosted the Family Fishing Day event at the kids’ pond, located between Kentucky and Alleyene Lake. This was the fourth annual hosting of this event and to date by far the most successful with well over 120 people and families attending with well over half being children, including a group of Beavers (boys and girls aged 5 to 7) led by local conservation officer Jeff Hanratty. For once the weather was cooperating, providing much appreciated sunshine and comfortable temperatures.

The Family Fishing Weekend is a program initiated by the non-profit Family Fishing Society. Recreational fishing is a key part of British Columbia’s way of life and the Society’s goal is to celebrate this fact while at the same time promoting it to new anglers, especially children. Sports anglers contribute nearly $1.2 billion annually to B.C.'s local and regional economies while supporting thousands of jobs throughout the province. To maintain this robust industry there must be a strategy in place that continues to develop the vibrant and growing sports angling community and that is where the Family Fishing Day events come in.

The event started at 9 am and by the time it was over at 2pm many young anglers caught fish. For some it was their first fish and, judging from the smiles on their faces when they proudly displayed their catch, some of them are probably now ‘hooked’ to the sport! The fish caught ranged from small to a respectable 3 lb. Thanks to the generosity of the angling industry and organizations we had many prizes to give away to the children, among them over 50 Shakespeare rod and reel combos.

It goes without saying that such an event would not be possible without the tireless volunteer work of many Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club members assisting in the registration of the anglers, manning the hospitality tent, organizing the event, plus the many guides assisting the anglers and providing their knowledge and tips on how to catch fish. A special thank you to Conservation Officer Jeff Hanratty and his team for the time spent on the event and all their assistance to the anglers. Our conservation officers are an often-underestimated community asset. These fine men and women in uniform do a tremendous job ensuring a future of our natural resources and providing community assistance on events like the Family Fishing Day.

All in all it was a wonderful event that each consecutive year grows in popularity far beyond the borders of our region. I look forward to next years Family Fishing Day and hopefully will see even more children attending than previous years. It is important that we get the children outdoors and teach them to become future stewards of our heritage and nature.

A large crowd gathered waiting for the registration booth to open.

The action is on.

Conservation officers and children play an important role in the future of hunting, fishing and nature stewardship.

The smile on this boys face says more than a 1,000 words.

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Tags: Family Fishing Day, Trout, British Columbia, Fishing Event

British Columbia – Family Fishing Day

© By Othmar Vohringer

There are few outdoor events that I look as much forward as the annual BC Family Fishing Day appropriately enough held on Fathers Day, June 20th, 2010. Many different clubs and organizations throughout British Columbia host the BC family Fishing Day in an effort to promote our rich fishing heritage and the family.

The Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club, of which I am currently serve as 2nd Vice President, hosts the Family Fishing Day at the lake between Kentucky and Alleyne Lake in the Kentucky and Alleyne Provincial Park (map)

The Event begins at 10 am on Sunday June 20 and ends at 2pm. There will be many prizes to be given away for the children. Experienced anglers and the Conservation Officers will be on hand with advice and tips. There will also be a concession tent serving coffee, soft drinks, hot dogs and burgers.

If you can make it I would love to welcome you personally to this unique event, celebrating fishing and family. The lake will be stoked with for that special day with 20,000 rainbow trout in addition to the fish that are already in the lake. This particular lake produces some very large trout. Fish in the range from two to three pounds are not uncommon

Here I leave you with a few pictures from last year.

A long lineup at the registry boot. Despite rain mixed with sunny spells over 60 adults and children took part on our Family Fishing Day event.

Little girl, big fish. This young lady is proudly presenting her catch of the day, a 2lbs. rainbow trout.

Here is another young and proud angler with his catch. The Conservation Officer officially weighed the fish at just under 2 lbs. Rainbows of this size are not uncommon in our lake.

It's time to hand out the prizes. There are so many prizes from the fishing rod combos to lures provided by organizations and companies that we are truly able to say, "No child left behind (without a prize.)"

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Toddler Catches 20 Lb. Musky

© By Othmar Vohringer

This is not your average trophy fishing story but one that the family of 2-year old Ella Windschitl no doubt will talk about for many years to come.

Ella caught the big one, a 20 lb, 30” brute of a Musky to be exact, and she did so with her Barbie Doll toy fishing rod. Kelly Haag says she was fishing with her granddaughter, Ella Windschitl, off the family's pontoon boat tied to the dock in three feet of water on Round Lake near Randall, MN. Ella was using her Barbie fishing rod and hooked a small sunfish on the line.

That's when a muskie came out from under the dock and attacked the sunfish. Haag grabbed the line as the fish headed for deeper water. After a five minute fight, Haag was able to reel the fish back to the boat where Ella's grandpa, Dave, was waiting with a net.

Talk about a news worthy story, read the full story and view the pictures here.

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Boating Safety Begins At Home

By Othmar Vohringer

As the spring hunting season nears its end my attention is turned to a summer of fishing fun. The preparations for the fishing season go much further than just putting new line on the reels, checking all the lures, rods and doing maintenance work on the reels. Getting ready for the fishing season also means that I pay special attention to the boat and trailer, which have been parked all winter behind the house under a tarp.

A few years ago I saw a horrific accident on the highway involving a utility trailer that had become disconnected from the towing vehicle and had turned into an uncontrolled projectile shooting at considerable speed across a two-lane highway. In it’s course the trailer hit a car that in turn veered off and hit another car. Two people died in that accident and one person was seriously injured.

The main problem with pulling a trailer is user complacency. There is much more to ensure that your boat trailer is safe than just checking if it hooks up properly to the towing vehicle. When was the last time you checked the tires? Electrical connections? The straps that tie the boat to the trailer? The trailer brakes and other essentials that should be checked every time you hook the boat trailer up?

Of course the same attention to detail needs to be paid to the boat. Check the boat for leaks and loose rivets, bolt and screws. If your boat is furnished with pedestal seats check the mounting plates and the seats themselves to make sure it is all in safe working condition. The engine is the heart of the boat. If you didn't change the oil at the end of last season, do so now. After running your boat all summer, it's likely that water, acids and other by-products have built up. It's important to change the oil to prevent corrosion and excessive wear, which can lead to loss of power, poor fuel economy or engine failure. At the same time you change the oil, be sure to change the oil filter too. Finally, replace the batteries if necessary and have them fully charged and then perform a test run on the engine and trolling motor before taking the boat on the water.

Once you have the boat on the lake and the motor quits on you or wont start it is usually to late to wonder why. I still remember a particular fishing trip with a friend. We had been about a half hour on the lake when I noticed a puddle of water around my feet. “Where the heck is this water coming from?” I wondered aloud. We soon found the culprit. It was a small leak at the boat floor. The hole used to be home to a rivet that must have popped sometime during the winter storage. Had my friend have taken the necessary care and diligence to check the boat from bow to stern we would have been fishing instead of cussing and hurrying back to shore.

Do yourself and other road users a favour and check your trailer and boat before you head out to your favourite fishing spot. With due diligence and proper maintenance of boat and trailer you can save yourself and others a lot of problems, even lives. I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable fishing season.

Maple Ridge Fishing Derby 2010

© By Othmar Vohringer









The Maple Ridge Chamber of Commerce and their partners, encouraged by last years success, announce the continuation of the fishing derby held on Sunday, June 13, 2010.

The derby is to be held at the Alouette Lake, Golden Ears Park. Each team will be a family consisting of one or two parents and up to four children.

This event is going to be a blast! There will be vendors displaying their goods, fun activities for the whole family and tons of fish and lots of great prizes! The prizes include but are not limited to a $5000 mystery fish and a fishing getaway. Also there will be a great shore fishing contest as well.

Registration is $50.00 + GST per adult (18 years+), $25.00 + GST for youth (11 to 17 years) and $125 for a family + GST (2 Adults & 2 Children). Children 10 and under and seniors are free however they need to complete a form to be eligible for prizes.

To view fishing derby rules read here.

Read here what fish species are in the lake. (Pdf. file)

Download registration form. (Pdf. File)

Contact


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Merritt Ice Fishing Derby – A Popular Local Tradition

© Copyright by Othmar Vohringer

On Sunday, January 17, the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club hosted its 10th annual ice fishing derby at Mamette Lake. Like the previous year the weather was beautiful and lured over 200 people and families to the lake. Over the years this has become a traditional event for many local anglers and it attracts people from as far away as Vancouver Island and Washington State. The warm weather leading up to the derby had the organizers worried a bit about the ice conditions on the lake but measurements on the previous day confirmed a solid 18-inch thickness of the lake’s ice.

As scheduled, at precisely 8 am a siren blast marked the official start of the derby which lasted until 2 pm. Anglers were prepared with augers, fishing rods and bait in anticipation of hopefully catching a fish that would score high enough for one of the many prizes that were available.

At the start the fishing was slow but picked considerably toward lunch time and right up to the end of the ice fishing derby. At 2 pm the siren blared and it was time for the fish to be brought to the weigh-in station and anglers walked in from all directions on the lake’s surface to find out who the winners would be:

Trout Adult Class:
Alex Mentes came in first place with a 3 lb. 2 oz. Rainbow trout, second place went to John Richter, whose trout weighed in at 2 lb. 13 oz., and Kevin Andrew took third place with a 2 lb. 11 oz. trout.

Overall Heaviest Weight Coarse Fish:
That prize was won by Steve Gillingham with a 4 lb. 8 oz. Sucker Fish that left everyone else far behind him.

The hidden weight prize went to Tod Bilawchuk.

Despite there being no entries into the Children’s Class there was a great deal of participation by the youngest anglers and they had a fun time doing it too. And, thanks to the generosity of Merritt’s business and merchant community, and the BC Angling Ambassador Program, no child left the ice without a giveaway prize.

After all the weighing and counting was over there were 21 trout on the list and 30 coarse fish, plus a few more that were released by the anglers due to small size. All in all not a bad day of fishing by any standards despite a slow start. A special thank you from the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club goes to the Merritt Conservation Officer team that was present throughout the event and who also donated their tent for the event. Also a huge thank you goes to the Merritt Search and Rescue team for loaning the second tent and all the many volunteers that provided their personal time and effort to make this ice fishing derby the event anglers from Merritt and around the province have come to expect and look forward too.

For more information about the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club and the many community based events plus wildlife and habitat conservation programs they conduct, please visit: www.nvfishandgameclub.ca

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