Fishing derby going strong on Lake Pend Oreille

SANDPOINT — The Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club’s annual spring fishing derby pushed off the dock Saturday.

The derby runs through Sunday, May 1.

Prize packages range from $2,500 to $500 for the top five finishers in the Adult rainbow trout division and $1,200 to $200 in the Mackinaw division. A $2,000 prize will be spread among club members who finish atop the standings in the Adult rainbow contest. A $150 prize will be awarded for the largest lake trout caught by an adult angler during each day of the derby.

Along with the Youth A (9- to 13-year-olds) and Youth B (8 and younger) divisions, there will again be a Junior division for anglers between the ages of 14-17.

The LPOIC board voted to continue the Junior division in next fall’s derby as well.

Barb Gillespie, president of LPOIC, said the junior division was a project by a club member, Ryan Roslak of Newman Lake, Wash. Roslak gathered donations and individuals to support the new division.

Roslak’s objective, Gillespie said, was to improve continuity between the long-established Adult and Youth divisions and encourage youthful anglers to keep competing in the derby.

“We hope that this new division will catch on and become an outlet for young adults to spend more time with their families in outdoor activities,” said Gillespie.

Gillespie said the three non-adult divisions brought a total of 36 entries for the 2015 fall derby.

“That is the most we have seen in a long time,” she said.

LPOIC Vice President Clint Nicholson said there have already been some big fish caught this year and encourages anglers to be prepared.

“The lake has been chock-full of kokanee for the past few years and the Gerrard rainbows have been feeding well. This could be a year for the record books,” he said.

There will also be prizes for the largest German brown trout ($150) and a photo contest ($100) for adult derby participants.

There is a $40 derby entry fee. Tickets are available in Bonner County at All About Chimneys, the Alpine Shop, North 40 Outfitters, Pend Oreille Valley Sportsman, Priest River Hardware and Sandpoint Marine.

Weigh stations can be found at The Captain’s Wheel, the Captn’s Table, Holiday Shores Resort, Hope Marina, MacDonald’s Hudson Bay Resort and Odie’s Bayside Grocery.

The spring derby’s awards ceremony is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, at the Bonner Mall in Ponderay.