Big Rock Fishing Derby successful despite controversy

Mistissini’s second annual Big Rock Fishing Derby offered competitors a shot at close to $100,000 in cash and prizes July 17-19. The top three finishers in the main Walleye category – Eric Menard, Ian Langdon and Martin Boisvert – walked away with $30,000, $15,000 and $7500 for their cumulative catches over the three days, reeling in 22.31, 21.9 and 18.37 pounds, respectively.

“It was an awesome weekend,” said organizer David Iserhoff. “Everyone had a blast. I saw people from Nemaska, Chisasibi, Oujé-Bougoumou, Waswanipi, Wemindji, Waskaganish and all over the James Bay.”

Standard derby rules applied at the event, allowing groups of fishers a single rod and reel per person, requiring a minimum length of 15 inches to weigh and register a walleye and enforcing strict fishing hours, recorded on time cards each day. Only the two biggest walleye caught per day could be registered and marked, leading to a three-day overall total.

A coin toss determined that competition would alternate between the north and south sides of Lake Mistissini for the first two days, leading to some controversy and confusion, as some participants thought they would have access to the whole area for all three days.

“Flip a coin for next year,” one person commented on the Facebook event, “because according to the rules people already assume that they can fish both sides.”

The rules for the Big Rock derby state, “The fish entered must be able to swim away after the weigh-in” to be counted towards one’s overall total. Some on Facebook complained about the number of boats in one area, the lack of weigh-in stations potentially affecting the chances of fish surviving long enough to be tallied, and the unexpected closure of one side of the lake on Friday and Saturday.

Coordinator Evadney Matoush responded to people’s questions and concerns via social media, appearing to calm the controversy and maintain the derby’s goal of creating a friendly atmosphere in the community.

Apart from the prizes in the main walleye competition, event organizers also dished out a number of awards for participation, including an Arctic Cat four-wheeler. A separate competition was held for the largest pike caught each day and a three-day total based on one pike per day.

Contestants finishing fourth to tenth in the overall walleye competition took home outdoor products including a canoe, a fish finder and electric motor, a 3500-watt generator, fishing gear, a chainsaw, propane stove and a GPS. Sylvain Deschenes, Daniel Hein, Jonathan Otter, Ginette Leberge, Jacob Gull, Johnny Awashish, Yvan Belanger and Stanley Mianscum rounded out the top 10.

Charity Taylor won the overall pike category, reeling in 27.77 pounds, and was followed by Melanie Coon Come, Wapikun Coonishish, Lizzie Mianscum and Willy Bosum in the top five. Pike winners, in order, went home with $2000, $1500, $750, fishing gear and a GPS. The largest pike caught each day snagged a $500 cash prize while the largest walleye each day garnered a cool $2000.

Hundreds of people participated in the three-day derby in Mistissini, which attracted outdoor enthusiasts from all over Eeyou Istchee and the James Bay region.

“Overall it was definitely a successful event,” organizer David Iserhoff told the Nation. “An awesome weekend and a great success.”