MANITOULIN—Manitoulin Island did very well in the Ontario Ice Fishing Challenge.
“The Manitoulin Island collective placed third in the community standings overall,” said Luke Wassegijig of Wiikwemkoong Tourism. “Manitoulin Island finished in third place based on the number of fish caught and the point system in the competition.”
Wiikwemkoong Tourism partnered with Explore Manitoulin and the Wiikwemkoong Anglers to enter Manitoulin Island in the ice fishing challenge. The Ontario-wide ice fishing event had anglers competing for $8,000 in five main categories: lake trout, brook trout, walleye, northern pike and yellow perch.
The month-long ice fishing tournament took place February 1-28 across Ontario. Local anglers had the opportunity to not only compete in the five main categories, but the partners teamed up to offer exclusive Manitoulin Island prizes. Anglers competed for the top spot in four Island categories: rainbow trout, whitefish, lake trout and northern pike.
Local prize-winning anglers who took home Marcus V485c underwater cameras included: overall longest northern pike, 107.3 cm, Robert James; overall longest rainbow trout, 69.2 cm, Brandon George; longest lake trout, 78.4 cm, Jeff Bailey; and longest lake whitefish, 52.7 cm, Luke Wassegijig (who donated his prize to local youth).
“A big shout out to all the local anglers that competed and thank you to our sponsors,” said Mr. Wassegijig.
