Donald Teuma-Castelletti
CHAPEAU July 14, 2018
Anglers in Chapeau were met with some relieving weather Saturday morning, enjoying a dark, cloudy sky as they competed in the 33rd annual Chapeau Lions Pickerel and Bass Fishing Tournament.
With 61 teams competing from 7 a.m. through till four in the afternoon, Lions President Dave Brisard was proud to say that the participation was up and that they had a great turnout for the coinciding breakfast.
In fact, the only thing that wasn’t up this year was the water levels.
“The water is low this year,” said Brisard. “Already, a couple of [boats] hit some rocks this morning.”
Serving up breakfast at 5 a.m., the Lions prepared 15 dozen eggs, a box of bacon, plus a box and a half of sausage as the participants fueled up ahead of their time on the Ottawa River. The group expected to go through many more orders of burgers and poutine in the afternoon, as the accompanying barbeque welcomed everyone back.
Of course, as the weather changed from cloudy to sunshine shortly after noon, many anglers would be most anxious to cool off with a refreshing beverage of their choice. The Chapeau Lions had them plenty covered, too.
Serving up the drinks that afternoon was the hardworking veteran of the group, Henry Sallafranque, who has been with them since the event’s inception in 1985.
“I’m 90 years old, I came here at three this morning and it’ll probably be 8:30, nine o’clock tonight when I leave,” he said.
Sallafranque said, having seen the tournament since the beginning, that there’s less people in it than there used to be, but he chalks that up to the number of tournaments increasing.
“There’s so many going on, people can’t afford to go to them all,” he continued.
Following the fishing, Brisard said many anglers had great feedback on the tournament and were excited to return once again next year.
The winners of the 2018 tournament were: Lester Lamarche and Les Carroll in first; Carry and Ryan Clouthier in second; Mike Augot and Carl Best in third; Clancy and Cale Mulvihill in fourth; and Rick and Debbie Klatt rounding out the winners with fifth place.
Funds raised by the tournament continue to support the Lions’ local endeavours, and Brisard said that the continued support of the community, participants and sponsors is always appreciated. Next up for the group is their duck race, taking place on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m.
