Poster

This year’s Friends of Bridge Lake Fishing Derby will be held on June 12th. Once again, the Moondance Bay Resort on the north-west corner of the lake will host the event and provide parking and moorage space for boats. Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase at the resort throughout the day.

All profits from the sale of tickets will be donated to the Bridge Lake Community School and the Bridge Lake School P.A.C. Your ticket gives you two chances to win. All tickets will be entered in the Grand Prize Draw featuring a collection of unique and valuable prizes.

Entry to the Fishing Derby is free if you buy a ticket for the main draw. At the weigh-in you will need to present the ticket stub as proof of entry. For the Derby itself, we will be offering fabulous prizes from Lone Butte Sporting Goods. Prizes will be awarded for the heaviest Rainbow Trout and Kokanee.

You may start fishing at dawn. Weigh-in periods will be between 10:00am and 12:00pm and from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at Moondance Bay Resort. The Friends of Bridge Lake encourages the use of “fish-friendly” tackle (barbless single hooks) and techniques and would like to remind all competitors that the daily catch limits are as follows; five Kokanee, five Rainbow Trout, and one Lake Trout.

At the weigh-in station at Moondance Bay Resort we will set up a cooler to store the fish and keep them fresh for you throughout the day. We are hoping for a big turn-out, the same gorgeous weather as last year, lots of fun on the water for all participants and nice, big winning fish.

For a list of all prizes click here. Note, prizes are added as they are donated, so check this page repeatedly.

On Saturday, June 13th, the Friends of Bridge Lake held its 1st Annual Fishing Derby. The event was hosted by Paul and Celine Desaulnier at Moondance Bay Resort and the Highway 24 Interlakes Lions Club provided a food and beverage service.

The weather was fabulous and an estimated 100 fisherman contested the event, bringing in about 100 fish between them, split fairly evenly by species between Kokanee and Rainbow Trout. The winning fish was a Kokanee caught by Sylvia Hoogstins and weighing in at an impressive 2lb 3.7oz (1.01kg). Rolf Kirmse finished in second place with a 2lb 2.9oz (0.99kg) Rainbow, and in 3rd place, Joe Panni had a 2lb 2.2oz (0.97kg) Rainbow. In the Kids Division, Heather and Hunter Kellerman each presented fish of an ‘indeterminate’ species in the 3.5lb (1.5kg) range. While not strictly eligible for the derby, the fish were caught off the Moondance Bay Resort dock and were returned to the lake unharmed. As nobody under the age of 16 presented an eligible fish, Heather and Hunter were both awarded prizes for their efforts.

About $800 worth of prizes were awarded to the winning anglers and an additional $2,200 worth of draw prizes were handed out to winning ticket holders. The event raised $500.00 each for the Highway 24 Interlakes Lions Club and the Bridge Lake Community School.

The overwhelming response to the event was extremely positive with many anglers expressing their delight that Bridge Lake can once again boast a major annual fishing derby. This being our first fishing derby, we really had no idea what to expect or whether we were ‘doing it right’. Judging by the response though, we did okay and, as an organization dedicated to lake stewardship, the Friends of Bridge Lake would like to express its sincere appreciation for the excellent spirit in which the derby was contested. Despite the large number of boats on the water, the lake was quiet all day, the silence broken only by the gentling chugging of small outboards, the hum of electric motors, and cheerful bantering of the contestants. There was no disorderly conduct and only one person fell in the water! The boating etiquette and respect for our lake shown by the contests was a pleasure to see and we look forward to next year’s event.

For a list of all the winners and their prices click here.