FISH TALES BLUEWATER ANGLERS NEWSLETTER www.bluewateranglers.com www.facebook.com/groups/1513538452226134 June 12 July 7 August 10-11 September 11 SUMMER 2018 CLUB ACTIVITY CALENDAR For June - September 2018 General Membership Meeting Family Fun Fishing Day Walleye Derby General Membership Meeting Check the Bluewater Anglers website or FACEBOOK for current information on upcoming club events www.bluewateranglers.com/events.html www.facebook.com/groups/1513538452226134. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Tuesday, June 12, 2018 Point Edward Arena & Community Centre 210 Monk Street Doors open at 7:00 PM Meeting starts at 7:30 PM HATCHERY REPORT April & May have been busy times around the hatchery. Mid-April we started with the Chinook salmon stocking. Approximately 60,000 were released at Port Franks, Hickory Creek on Brush Line and Cow Creek on O Brien Side Road. This was followed with the Rainbow Trout being released at the same locations. The early stocking was about 25,000 fish. We graded the Rainbows and kept about 8,000 of the smaller fish for fall stocking. Once the river temperature warmed in mid-may, we stocked 8,000 Rainbow Trout to the St. Clair River. These were all nice size fish at an average of 35 grams. The 2,800 Brown Trout that we held over from last fall s stocking were also released to the river in mid-may at over 90 grams. After Kid s Training Day on May 26 th, we stocked 140 large Rainbows and Browns to the river. The fish averaged over 8 lbs. a fish and some weighed over 15 lbs. In keeping the cycle going, the hatchery currently has 20,000 Brown Trout nicely started at 2.5 grams. We just started 50,000 Rainbow Trout which are starting to eat. We are also growing 150 domestic Rainbow Trout for replacements to the outside pond next spring. The hatchery tours program has seen a major increase this year. By the end of June we will have toured 700 school children through the hatchery. The summer months will bring some needed hatchery maintenance and hopefully a lot of fishing. Jake AGENDA Hatchery Update Salmon Derby Report Family Fun Fishing Day Walleye Derby Fishing Report SPEAKER / TOPIC Captain George Haynes Lake Pilots Association, Port Huron Sharing The Waterways With Large Vessels
SCHOOL MINI-HATCHERY PROGRAM This year s school mini-hatchery program came to a successful conclusion in mid-april. The children made the trip to Port Franks and released their fish into the water along with our hatchery raised fish. Each school received eyed-up Salmon eggs in November and helped hatch and grow them to be salmon fry ready for release into Lake Huron. The seven schools plan to return for next year s program along with possibly up to five new schools. BLUEWATER ANGLERS FAMILY FUN FISHING DAY Saturday, July 7, 2018 from 8:00 AM 11:00 AM This is a FREE activity for families. You do not need an Ontario fishing licence during the June 30 July 8 Ontario Family Fishing Week. Sign-in will be at a booth set up by the Bluewater Anglers in Centennial Park near the fishy fountain in the parking lot just south of the end of London Road at Front Street. Everybody must sign in to receive a bucket to be used to collect your gobies and get your ticket for a free hot dog & pop back at the weigh-in. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. A limited number of fishing rods and bait will be available at the sign-in booth. You will fish as a family. If your children have brought friends, they will count as part of your family for the derby. Boundaries are from Ferry Dock Hill to the Government Docks. Bluewater Angler volunteers will be located in the fishing area. They will be able to assist you as well as measure any fish over 8 inches. This will allow you to live release the fish you do not want to keep. The weigh-in is at the Hatchery (... north of the Bluewater bridges in Pt. Edward) between 11:00 AM and 11:30 AM. Bring your bucket of gobies to be weighed-in and redeem your ticket for a hot dog & pop. There are prizes for the most gobies caught. The number of gobies caught divided by the number of people fishing in your group gives you your total score. There will be a variety of prizes in the biggest fish category. NOTE: The $100 member big fish prize does not apply to this family event. The event will still occur if it is raining. If there is thunder and lightning in the area, the event will be cancelled. The mini-hatcheries we are using were supplied through the Lake Huron Fishing Club in Kincardine and funded by donations from Bruce Power. Contestants compete in this event at their own risk and agree to hold the Bluewater Anglers and members harmless from any liability, claims and/or cost of any nature whatsoever.
VILLAGE OF POINT EDWARD AND THE BLUEWATER ANGLERS WALLEYE DERBY 6:00 PM August 10, 2018 9:30 AM August 11, 2018 Any person is eligible to enter the Walleye Derby provided they have a valid fishing license and have purchased a $10.00 entry ticket. This is a BOAT and SHORE event. If fishing in a group, everybody in the group must have a ticket. Tickets are available at Bucks Baits and The Outdoorsman until 4:30 PM on Friday, August 10th. Any money raised will go to support the Bluewater Anglers. Start time is 6:00 PM Friday, August 10, 2018. Weigh-in will be at the Hatchery from 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM on Saturday, August 11th. You MUST be in line by 9:30 AM to have your entries qualify. This is a single fish event... you can only weigh in one (your largest) walleye. The Bluewater Anglers Salmon Derby boundaries apply... in the St. Clair River south to the south end of Fawn Island, east to the harbour at Grand Bend, and north to the trailer park north of Lexington. CLUB SPRING DERBY Saturday, April 21, 2018 Conditions were good for the club derby on Saturday, and the fish co-operated nicely. There were 18 fish entered (... 7 by shore anglers, 11 by boaters). The numbers were up significantly from recent years. Since it was a single fish per person per category derby, this total doesn t reflect the overall fishing success. Several people had 2 or 3 fish, think one person had 5. There were probably 40 or so fish caught overall. No Chinook Salmon or Brown Trout were entered (some small coho). Walleye predominated, but there were several Rainbow Trout and some Laker Trout. Shore Caught Category Winners (from right to left) 1st Michael Straub 3.20 kg Rainbow Trout $100 2nd Clayton Rennie 3.00 kg Walleye $75 3rd Blain Brazeau 2.89 kg Rainbow Trout $50 4th Rod White 2.81 kg Lake Trout $25 5th John Kurian 2.70 kg Rainbow Trout $25 Prizes will be awarded for the 10 heaviest walleye. 1 st $500.00 6 th $25.00 2 nd $250.00 7 th $25.00 3 rd $125.00 8 th $25.00 4 th $100.00 9 th $25.00 5 th $50.00 10 th $25.00 PLUS... $100.00 for the biggest fish (by weight) entered by a Bluewater Angler member. Winners will be announced immediately after completion of the weigh-in. There will be a minimum of 5 draw prizes with winners drawn from all Walleye Derby entrants present. You must be present to win a draw prize. Come out and participate in the event. Special thanks again to the Boat Caught Category Winners (from right to left) 1 st Mark David 3.04 kg Walleye $100 (also largest fish by a BWA member, won an extra $100) 2nd Ryan Sharpe 2.89 kg Lake Trout $75 3rd Stefan Jackson 2.72 kg Lake Trout $50 4th Scott Dezort 2.17 kg Walleye $25 5th Dave Graham 2.15 kg Lake Trout $25 VILLAGE of POINT EDWARD Progressively Independent Since 1878 for their generous donation of the $500 first place prize.
KIDS TRAINING DAY Saturday, May 26, 2018 10:00 AM 2:30 PM Another full house of 158 young anglers plus their parents and/or grandparents took part in the Bluewater Anglers 2018 KIDS TRAINING DAY held at the Hatchery. It was a picture perfect day overcast and warm! Even the fish in the pond cooperated by providing a steady bite during the day. A good time was had by all kids, parents and volunteers. Over 140 Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout were caught during the day and later released into the St. Clair River. The fish averaged around 8 lbs. each and several fish weighed over 15 lbs. They provided a lot of enjoyment for the kids and the volunteer helpers too! A special thanks to everybody who helped make this annual event so successful, including - Bob Izumi s Kids, Cops & Canadian Tire organization for sponsoring the event and providing prizes, - Kaeden Brown Foundation (cash donation for prizes), - Lambton OPP Marine Unit, - Lambton Children s Safety Village, - Point Edward Fire Department, - Dave Ash & Point Edward Optimists (hotdogs & pop), - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry, - RCMP Marine Unit, - The Outdoorsman (for providing the hooks), - Jo-Anne & Ralph Eves and Sue Brook for handling the kid s registration and scheduling (... Great job!), - Bob Daly, Henry Kock and the kid s casting group, - Chris Poyser, Frank Turnbull for the knot tying demo, - the many helpers around the pond who baited hooks, netted & released fish, and helped the kids, - Chefs Dan MacDonald and Larry Doan... and helpers. LAMBTON RURAL GAME PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION donated $226 to the Bluewater Anglers.
INSULATORS LOCAL 95 DONATION Bill Gray presented a cheque for $1,000 to Jake Van Rooyen, Hatchery Coordinator, and Ed Holubowicz, Bluewater Anglers President, at the 2018 Salmon Derby Awards Night on behalf of Local 95 of the International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators & Associated Workers. The donation was made towards the Bluewater Anglers hatchery program. SHORE ANGLERS BEWARE... SARNIA AQUARIUM SOCIETY DONATION THERE ARE LUNKERS LURKING OUT THERE!!! Bruce Hart presented Jake Van Rooyen, Hatchery Coordinator, with a cheque for $500 on behalf of the Sarnia Aquarium Society. The donation was made in support of the Bluewater Anglers hatchery program.
2018 SALMON DERBY REVIEW April 27 May 6, 2018 The Bluewater Anglers 42 nd Annual Salmon Derby appears to have been another successful event. Both the Mother Nature and the fish, at least the Lake Trout and Walleye, cooperated this spring. Unlike last year, Salmon Derby participants were able to get out on Lake Huron or the St. Clair River most days during the derby. One thousand six hundred and eight (1608) fish were entered in the 2018 Salmon Derby. This is the third highest total entered in the past 10-15 years. The water temperature in lower Lake Huron was several degrees lower than normal (5C 8C) due to the colder than normal weather in late May and April. This may explain the record number of Lake Trout caught (1055) and the lower than normal number of Salmon caught (284). An above average number of walleye (196) were entered including several large walleye from the Port Franks area. The type and number of fish entered this year are summarized in the table to the right. Derby ticket sales (978 singles and 57 families) were about 8% higher than last year s sales (890 singles and 59 families) and comparable to 2016. While the final Salmon Derby profit is not known at this time, we hope the 2018 Salmon Derby will raise around $15,000 for the operation of our hatchery. There will be more information available at the June 12 th General Membership Meeting. The Bluewater Anglers would like to thank all the 2018 Salmon Derby sponsors and everybody who participated in this spring s derby. Your support is essential for the continued success of the Salmon Derby. We hope to see all of you again next year! 2019 SALMON DERBY The Bluewater Anglers Salmon Derby is a multi-species, in-shore event intended to maximize local fishing opportunities for both shore anglers, and big & small boat anglers. The early spring timing is chosen to take advantage of the predator fish being drawn closer to shore to feed on the bait fish that are gathered in the shallow, warmer waters of the lake at this time of year. Late April / early May are generally the optimum times most years. We are looking for a few new Salmon Derby Committee members for 2019. If interested, contact Paul Heckley for more details (519-869-2593 or pheckley@outlook.com). The 43 rd Annual Salmon Derby will start on Friday, May 3, 2019 and end on Sunday, May 12, 2019.
SALMON CATEGORY WINNER LAKE TROUT CATEGORY WINNER LADIES DAY WINNER Rick Scott, St. Marys 14.12 lb. Salmon TROUT-BOAT CATEGORY WINNER Justin Tadgell, Grand Bend 26.64 lb. Lake Trout Nicole McCullough, Strathroy 10.05 lb. Lake Trout KID S BIG FISH WINNER to all the winners in the 2018 Salmon Derby. Craig Beaubien, Sarnia 12.42 lb. Rainbow Trout TROUT-SHORE CATEGORY WINNER WALLEYE CATEGORY WINNER Elijah Brown, Petrolia 15.74 lb. Lake Trout SENIORS DAY WINNER Nick Vallee, Sarnia 9.69 lb. Rainbow Trout Ryan Smith, Corunna 9.60 lb. Walleye Ray Core, Sarnia 12.60 lb. Lake Trout
The winner of the SALMON DERBY BONUS DRAW PRIZE #1, an Excalibur Crossbow, compliments of The OUTDOORSMAN, is John Sipkens from Wyoming. The winner of the SALMON DERBY BONUS DRAW PRIZE #2, a 1 day Tuna Charter compliments of Waypoint 04 Deep Sea Fishing & Marine Adventures plus 2 nights for 2 people at the Island s End Motel is Justin Tadgell from Grand Bend. The winner of the BLUEWATER ANGLERS PRESIDENT S DRAW PRIZE, a tackle assortment, is Tim McKellar from Sarnia. The winner of the BLUEWATER ANGLERS MEMBERS ONLY DRAW PRIZE, a $1000 Canadian Tire Gift Card, compliments of CANADIAN TIRE, is Scott Dezort from Sarnia. Action Fishing Adventures & HOTFISH Lures The winner of the HOTFISH LURES DRAW PRIZE, drawn from all Lake Trout entered, is Peter Geerts of Arkona. The winner of the OUT FISH STEVE DAY PRIZE, a $500 shopping spree at The OUTDOORSMAN, is Jamie Peters from Strathroy. 2018 SALMON DERBY SPONSORS Our sponsors are the reason that the Salmon Derby is so successful each year. We appreciate the continued generous support. Please support our sponsors when you make your purchases.
BLUEWATER ANGLERS SHORELINE CLEANUP April 21, 2018 9:00 AM 11:00 AM due to bad weather. BLUEWATER ANGLERS AND OFAH MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION The Bluewater Anglers are an affiliated club of the Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters (OFAH). Membership in the Bluewater Anglers includes membership in Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters (OFAH) since all members of an affiliated club must also be members of OFAH (www.ofah.org). Members can choose between a basic OFAH membership which includes the personal insurance and OFAH benefits but not the Ontario Out of Doors (OOD) magazine or the full OFAH membership which includes the personal insurance and OFAH benefits plus the Ontario Out of Doors (OOD) magazine. If you have a current Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters (OFAH) membership through another club or organization, then you only need to pay for your regular Bluewater Anglers membership. Complete the form below to become a Bluewater Anglers member or to renew your current membership. More information about membership benefits can be found at www.bluewateranglers.com/membership.html and www.ofah.org. Contact Ralph or Jo-Anne Eves (519-383-0873 or r_gary_1217@outlook.com) for more information. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -