Along with the derby on the ice, the event featured a 27-participant darts tournament inside the hall as well as a draw for over 80 door prizes donated by local businesses and organizations, including a 58-inch Roku television set.

Plus, with cash prizes on the line, the participants set up their ice-fishing stations all over the waterway to hopefully catch the longest fish in the pond.

A supplied participants with all sorts of tasty treats and refreshments throughout the day, including hamburgers, hot dogs and homemade chili.

In the evening, participants headed inside the RA hall for a dance party with music provided by DJ Disco Joe.

Richard explained that the derby was the continuation of a tournament formerly hosted by the local fire department for more than 20 years before they had to stop because of a lack of resources.

Desperately wanting to offer the local population something to do during the weekend, members of the RA committee jumped on board right away and made everything happen in less than a month.

“It was a very quick thing,” she said.

With 207 participants registered for the fishing derby, lack of preparation certainly wasn’t an issue and the sunny weather and the event’s history in the town were important factors in the high levels of participation, Richard said.

“We’re very fortunate that we have a beautiful day and we’ve always had this in Otter Lake,” she said. “So, it’s great for the community and the community always comes out and supports. We just didn’t want to disappoint.”

In total, 16 fish were caught, Richard said.

In first place, with the largest fish of them all, Martin Leduc pulled up a 27-and-a-half-inch (full length and around the belly) bass and walked away with a $300 grand prize.

In second, Annik Lance went home with a sum of $200 with a 27-incher. Catching a 26-and-three-quarter bass, Manon Racine took third place honours along with $100.

Looking at the number of people who crowded the lake outside the RA, Richard was very happy with the overall turnout.

“It was a great success,” she said.

All the funds raised from the tournament will go towards upgrading the fence at the local ballpark to enhance safety measures, Richard said.

“We had a couple of incidents with our fence at the ball park tournaments,” she said. “It’s too low and a couple of kids got hurt from the ball going over. So, we’re raising the fence. We’re going up about eight to 10 feet all around. It costs in the tens of thousands.”

Megan Lafontaine, Annick Lance, Zoe Lafontaine, Talia Lafontaine and Martin Lafontaine take a family photo alongside the Otter Lake RA’s mascot.

Serge Lance rides his snowmobile as the Otter Lake RA mascot during the organization’s ice-fishing derby on Saturday.

The Otter Lake RA’s first ever ice-fishing derby also included a dart tournament with 27 participants. Pictured, Henri St-Aubin fires a laser towards the dartboard on Saturday afternoon.

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