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Tri-Lakes Fishing Derby Held On Lake Metacomet
Tuesday,
February 2, 2010
It was sunshine and blue skies on Sunday, January 31 as the Tri-Lakes Association held its 15th Annual Ice Fishing Derby on Lake Metacomet. Although the event started at 6 a.m., some spent the night preparing. Some ice-fisherman brought out some form of shelter while others braved the elements.
Craig Skawski, David Bihler, Kurt Bihler, and Gene Bihler traveled from East Longmeadow, Chicopee, and Southampton to compete. Skawski thought that it was a good turn-out, but didn‘t feel that the ice was thick enough for his comfort level. “You can’t drive out here…but it’s (the ice-thickness) good enough,” said Skawski. Tip-ups are the tools used to catch the fish under the ice.
Justin Allen of Belchertown and Kyle Nobes of Granby set up camp as early as 5:30 p.m. the night before the derby before the third member of their ice-fishing party, Garret Nobes joined them. Allen said that he spent the evening listening to the sounds of nature. “I stayed up and listened to the ice crack,” he said. They beat the cold with the use of a heater in their tent/ice-fishing shack. While the boys were having a good time, they didn’t catch any fish.
“You’re going to have to misspell my name because I’m supposed to be at work,” said Dave of the NB team whose last name has been omitted because he was supposed to be at work. His teammates Justin Sypek and Amy Letendre woke up at 3:00 a.m. and were out on the lake at 4:30 a.m. Donning their trademark orange hoodies, the NB team had the most points during the derby. One member even caught a five pound bass.
Competitors spent their time differently while on the lake: some were enjoying a few cold ones, and some enjoyed food prepared on an open flame, some kept warm by the fire. Still others took the time to clear the snow from the ice and played a little hockey. Robert Mileski has been fishing in Belchertown for 40 years. He said that fishing in the morning was good, but the frequency of bites waned. “There’s a certain time they stop biting so you got to play hockey,” said Mileski.
In addition to the fish already in the lake, the lake was stocked with 150 fish. None of the tagged fish were caught, according to Tri-Lakes Association President Fran Bodzinski. They were worth $2,000.
But there were some winners and awards presented this year. William Roberts, M. Smith, and Andy Blair won the contest for largest Pickerel for $100, $30, and $20 respectively. The largest Pickerel was 22 inches and 2.125 lbs..
The largest bass was caught by Rob Cote at 20.75 inches and 1lb. 10 oz. Cote took the $100 prize with J. Boisuen and M. Kwasgiany taking 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
The largest trout was caught by Austin McDonald at 15.24 inches and 1lb 1 oz. for a $100 prize. Mike Brewer and Mike Kwarcianey took 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Lesser cash prizes were also awarded for Yellow Perch, which went to Riley McCarthy and Riley Roman McCarthy for their 10.25 and 9.75 inchers. The awards for White Perch went to David Daughtry Jr. and Keven Harkey for their 10.5 inchers, but Daughtry’s weighed two ounces more securing him the $30 first place prize. The prizes for Calico Bass went Tom Mileski for his 10 5/8 incher that narrowly beat David Meffen’s 10.5 incher.
Only one cash prize was given for the largest Bullhead, Pumpkin Seed, and the First Fish Caught of The Day. Steven Becker won the $30 for his 14 inch 1.5 lb. Bullhead; William Thompson walked away with the $20 prize for his 7.5 inch Pumpkin Seed; and Terry Carnes caught the first fish of the day—a 13.5 inch trout.
The NB Team was the big winner. They won first place for largest Pickerel, largest Bass, and largest White Perch. They were also awarded second place for the White Perch category. The Moonshiners took 2nd and 3rd place for the largest Bass and 2nd place for largest Trout.
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