ST. AGATHA, Maine — Kids were the star performers of the day Sunday at the Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby.
After spending Saturday night huddled in heated cabins, waiting out the storm on the lake, fishermen returned to the ice Sunday for day two of the 17th annual event.
The first youth at the weigh station at the Lakeview Restaurant in St. Agatha was 13-year-old Camden Caron with a brook trout weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces, measuring 16.5 inches long, earning him first place in the youth group ages 13 and under.
Caron said he caught his fish right off the shore in Van Buren Cove within 10 minutes of setting his flag Saturday morning. He waited until Sunday just before noon to bring his catch to the weigh station, but said he would continue fishing for the remainder of the derby.
Harper Fortin, age 2, was next. She had been fishing with her parents out on Cross Lake since Saturday evening during the storm. Fortin’s family stayed on the lake overnight, bringing in the yellow perch Fortin had caught that morning. Weighing in at 1 pound and .7 ounces and a length of 12.8 inches long, Fortin’s fish took third place for all perch caught in the derby overall.
Ten-year-old Sophia Toussaint arrived at the weigh station with a salmon of her own. Toussaint had been fishing with her family Saturday through the nor’easter and into Sunday morning.
Her sister Ava previously held third place for salmon caught in the 13-and under age group, but when Sophia weighed in her fish she knocked her sister out of the running, taking third place herself. Her Salmon weighed in at 3 pounds, 11.6 ounces.
Sunday is the last day of both the Long Lake and Moosehead ice fishing derbies. Results for the Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby can be found on the newly developed app downloadable on the Google Play store. People can register for the derbies directly through the app as well as compare their fish caught with those listed on the app’s result page.