Saturday marked the fourth annual ice fishing derby at Belgrade Chains, raising funds for St. Michael School in Augusta.
This year, 918 anglers registered, with 1,006 tickets sold, a dramatic increase from the 25 participants in the first derby. The event covered Great, Long, North, East and McGrath ponds, Salmon Lake and Messalonskee Lake.
Derby sponsor Alyssa Quintal said she loved seeing anglers of all ages enjoying the event.
“We had anglers traveling from Massachusetts, Aroostook County and even as far as New York,” she said.
The largest cash prize went to Kevin Capponi, who earned $4,000 for his 22.56-pound pike, caught on a tip-up in about 18 feet of water using an XL shiner.
“To be honest, I’m not much of a pike fisherman and only went because my cousin Mike invited me,” Capponi said.
He credits his cousin, who spends a lot of time on the ice each year, for helping him find good fishing spots. This was only the second pike he had ever caught on a tip-up.
While winning was exciting, Capponi said the most important part of the day was spending time outdoors with family and friends, especially his 10-year-old daughter, Kamber.
“Those are the memories that stick with you and what makes enjoying the outdoors so great,” he said.
Cash prizes were awarded in the pike, perch and panfish categories, with the top trout catches including brown, brook and splake, and the largest panfish being white perch and crappie.
In the youth pike category, 12-year-old Aubrey Crews took first place with a 17.17-pound fish, caught on a tip-up with a live sucker. It was only her second derby, and the catch marked her biggest fish to date. She had narrowly missed the smallest fish prize at last year’s Lovejoy Pond derby.
Her father, Kyle, said Aubrey had joked about doing a thousand cartwheels if she won, but he thinks she was even more excited to share the news with her friends.
“She loves fishing and was really happy,” he said. “She’s been watching videos of other anglers catching big pike and lake trout, so when her line went tight and she saw the fish, she couldn’t believe she had actually caught one.”
In addition to cash prizes, the derby also gave away three custom wood stoves, made and donated by Dufour Welding and Machining. One stove went to the angler with the newest biggest fish on the board at 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
There was even a prize for the smallest fish, which went to Ellis Kennedy, who caught a mud puppy and won a mystery tackle box.
“It was a fun derby within a derby,” Quintal said.
A raffle offered prizes including custom ice shacks, jet sleds, fishing gear and Buddy Heaters, along with guided trips, ice shack rental certificates and lifetime fishing licenses. The first 50 kids to arrive at the weigh station at noon also received a free trap from “Traps for Kids.”
Gina Liberty was among the participants. While she didn’t win a prize, she had a blast with her kids and friends — and even pulled in a large pike from Messalonskee Lake.
“Can’t wait for next year,” she said.