FORT KENT, Maine — Maybe the fish are getting smarter and have noticed that every year at about this time in August for the past two decades, anglers have come by the hundreds to participate in the Fort Kent International Muskie Derby.
It’s been a slow start to fill the derby leaderboard, which sported only one muskie as of Friday afternoon.
The Muskie Derby was established 22 years ago to draw tourists to the greater Fort Kent area, bringing their dollars to a remote area of Maine where the economy could use them. The St. John River and all of its tributaries are open each year to derby fishing. The derby continues through Sunday afternoon.
Madawaska resident Peter Daigle caught this year’s first muskie, a respectable 43 ¼-inch and 24.93 pounds, shortly after the tournament opened Friday morning.
Last year Presque Isle angler Scott Haggerty took first place in the annual tournament with a 46 ⅜-inch muskie weighing in at 25 pounds, 6 ounces. Two bass also made their way to the leaderboard on the opening day of the tournament.
Muskie Derby President Dennis Cyr said the most likely reason the fish are not biting as much as usual is due to murky water caused by recent heavy rains over northern Maine.
“Saturday and Sunday should be better days out there because the water will be clear by then,” Cyr said. “It’s extra slow compared to what we’ve seen in the past, but the fish are still out there.”
Despite issues that prevented online registration for the 2022 tournament, the number of registrants was nearly on pace with last year, which saw 275 fishermen.
As of Friday afternoon, 225 had registered for the three-day tournament, and more are expected to turn up before the registration deadline at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Registration is only available at Up North Outdoors on Main Street in Fort Kent, which is also the site of the Muskie Derby headquarters and one of two tournament weigh stations. The other weigh station is located in Grand Isle.
The weigh stations are staffed by volunteers and open until 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and until 4 p.m. Sunday.