Big Fish Classic Information

 

Past Champions

Year	Winner	Winning Fish
2002	Kurt Christadler, Newmarket, ON	3 lbs 6 oz - Northern Pike
2003	Jeff Scott, London, ON	3 lbs 2 oz - Smallmouth Bass
2004	Kurt Christadler, Newmarket, ON	10 lbs 11 oz - Northern Pike
2005	Steve Peddle, Mississauga, ON	5 lbs - Largemouth Bass
2006	Dave Newman, Newmarket, ON	11.2 lbs - Walleye
2007	Ken Wilson, Hurdville, ON	4.5 lbs - Largemouth Bass

 

 

Tournament Recap Letters

These letters, written every year after the big fish classic by Bob Docherty, detail little things that happened at that particular tournament.

 

2005

As I sit here looking out the window, the snow is beginning to fall. Yes that’s right, winter is here. The boats are put away and ice is starting to form on ponds. Soon the lake will be frozen and ice fishing will be upon us.

I think now is a good time to reflect on the weekend of September 23rd, 24th, and 25th. The tournament was a huge success again this year. Paid entries more than doubled from forty-two last year to ninety-four this year.

Day one started out kind of slow, probably because of the cold front the night before, but there was still a lot of nice fish. By the end of day one it was Dan Walton with a pike at 4 lbs 7 oz in the lead, followed by last year’s third place finisher Rob Peddle with a largemouth bass at 4 lbs 2 oz and Glen Thomas with a walleye weighing just over 2 lbs.

Day two was a beautiful day and the fishing seemed to pick up as well. By noon on Saturday the leader board didn’t change at all, but lots of quality fish were still weighed in. I guess all of us were thinking about the annual shore lunch a little too much.

Thanks to: Ken Wilson, Dan Walton, Brian Geddis, Dennis Leclair, Ray Morris, Dario Zawada, Josh Docherty, Al Last, Richard Holloway, Charlie Launder, Jeannie Derouck, Carrol Burke, Lorna Desmaris for the cooking and preparation of a wonderful shore lunch.

Day two ended with lots of changes. The biggest pike was caught by 2003 winner Jeff Scott with a 10 lbs 7 oz fish. Rob Peddle still was atop the leader board in the bass category with his 4 lb 2 oz fish. The biggest walleye of the day was caught by Tim Eckert and weighed in at 2 lbs 9.6 oz.

The final day didn’t start out very nice, as it was cloudy and raining. Lucky for us, it held off just long enough to get the prize ceremony in. The biggest pike was never challenged as Jeff Scott easily took the pike category. Guy Moraglia moved ahead of Rob Peddle in the bass division with a 4 lb 2.5 oz largemouth, but that didn’t last very long as Steve Peddle weighed in a 5 lb largemouth to take the bass division. In the walleye division Sanduch weighed in a 2 lb 9.8 oz fish, not big enough though as Perry Christadler weighed in a 3 lb 1 oz walleye to take the walleye category.

This year a draw was held between the winners of each category to determine the top three prizes. First prize, a boat and trailer supplied by McKellar Marine and Mr. Ken Wilson, was awarded to Steve Peddle with a 5 lb Largemouth Bass. Second Prize and winner of a peddle boat donated by McKellar Marine went to Perry Christadler with his 3 lb 1 oz walleye and third prize, a print donated by wildlife photographer Richard Holloway was won by Jeff Scott with his 10 lb 7 oz northern pike. This year there was a hidden weigh prize donated by Glenwood Cottages. The prize was a cottage and boat and motor rental for a weekend. The prize was won by Justin Peddle with a smallmouth bass at 2 lbs 9 oz. Thank you to all of our other sponsors including Jeannie’s Bakery, Diver’s Nook, Digital Design Imaging, and Steve Bradley of Manitouwabing Taxidermy for mounting the winning fish and to those of you that helped in any way you could.

Thank You All Very Much and I hope to see you all next year.

Sincerely Yours,

Robert Docherty
Lake Manitouwabing Big Fish Classic Tournament Director

 

 

2006

Well it’s another beautiful day out with a high of two degrees, not to bad considering how close it is to the holiday season, but if you are like myself, I welcome the snow and cold. Just think about how close we are to be able to go out and go ice fishing, snowmobiling, skating, snowshoeing and much more.  Hopefully by the middle of January, McKellar should be a winter wonderland.

I figured now is a good time to write my annual letter and reflect on this year’s tournament.  It took place from September 22nd to the 24th, and was a huge success, turning out to be the best year yet.  We had one hundred twenty seven people out this year, increasing from ninety-four a year ago.  There were a lot of changes to this year’s tournament.  We added a second weigh in location at Glenwood Cottages and added live release tanks at both Glenwood and at the Docherty’s cottage.  The main tournament was shortened to a Friday and Saturday event, with a smaller event taking place on the Sunday.  The shore lunch was changed to a dinner on Saturday night, held at the McKellar Community Centre.  More than one hundred sixty people attended the dinner, including tournament participants, sponsors, and members of the McKellar Conservation Association.

Every year, we work hard to make sure the prizes are better than the year before.  Now is as good a time as any to thank our valued sponsors for their very gracious donations and support of our tournament.  The Big Fish Classic would like to thank the following sponsors:

Richard Holloway of Brampton, Ontario with a pike weighing close to three pounds, won Sunday’s Fish-Off.  He won a seven-piece deep fryer kit supplied by Mitch’s in Parry Sound.  Out of all the fish weighed in during the two-day event, only eight were harvested due to foul hooking, two of which were crappy.  All the fish were consumed for the dinner.  It is great to see catch and release during the tournament.

This year has been a busy and challenging year for myself.  The McKellar Conservation Association Inc. was created in August 2006 and currently has more than twenty active members and continues to grow.  The Big Fish Classic added nineteen new sponsors from all over Ontario and the United States.  I have been actively involved in planning projects with the Ministry of Natural Resources.  The proceeds from the tournament will be used for a Walleye spawning shoal enhancement project.  The project will be done at the Tait’s Island shoal on Lake Manitouwabing between February 3, 2007 and March 3, 2007.  The date is depending on final approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Department of Oceans and Fisheries.  Twenty-five yards of four to six inch rock will be towed out using snowmobiles and sleighs and dumped onto the ice and spread out.  The second project planed is a wood duck box construction project.  If you wish to participate in either event, please email me at ldocherty@cogeco.ca or phone me at (905)-844-3554 or at the cottage at (705)-389-3092.

Our next event is the first annual ice fishing Tournament.  Fishing is on any inland lake.  The date is Saturday March 10, 2007.  For more information contact Al or Lesley Last at last@vianet.ca or (705)-389-1786 or visit www.mckellarconservationassociation.com.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to email me at ldocherty@cogeco.ca or phone me at (905)-844-3554 or at the cottage at (705)-389-3092.

Thank You Very Much and See You In March When the big one’s bite,

 

Bob Docherty
Lake Manitouwabing Big Fish Classic Tournament Director
President, McKellar Conservation Association Inc.