Fishing for fun

Children were hoping to pull some big prizes out of the Kaministiquia River over the weekend.

On Saturday, the fifth annual Angler and Young Angler fishing tournament hit the water. The event sold out in 24 hours, drawing teams from the region and even as far away as Illinois. AYA director Sandro Fragale said he was overwhelmed by how quickly people wanted to sign up this year.

“It’s awesome,” he said near the weigh-in spot Saturday afternoon. “It’s just awesome.”

The team consists of one adult angler and two under 17. They head out onto the water at 8:30 a.m. in search of one fish that’s more than 18 inches and two that are under. Whichever team has the highest cumulative weight wins. While the tournament is all about fun, Fragale said it’s also a good way to introduce children to the world of competitive angling.

“It teaches the kids at a young age how to respect the resource. We’re out there, you’re looking after fish ,you’re keeping them alive, you’re learning that you’re going to put them back at the end of the day. You don’t necessarily have to take something home which is good,” he said.

Instead of fish, the teams got to take home everything from a Playstation 3 to new rods and reels. The grand prize winning Joe Bahry team drove away with a new boat, including a motor and trailer. They will now get to represent Thunder Bay at the AYA championship in Kenora next month. The winner there gets a trip for the whole family to Disneyland.