Couple fishes together on Valentine's Day

[Spiel]

Couple fishes together on Valentine's Day

 

 

February 14, 2009

Henry Bury / www.intelligencer.ca

 

 

TWEED – Newlyweds Laura and Ken Daniels spent their first Valentine’s Day as a couple sitting over an ice fishing hole on Stoco Lake near here.

 

“It’s not too often you’re allowed to go fishing on Valentine’s Day,” Ken Daniels said with a big grin Saturday afternoon.

 

“It’s very romantic,” Laura Daniels quickly added with a laugh.

 

The Courtice, Ont. couple was among the 50 anglers competing in a charity fishing derby Saturday at Cozy Cove on Stoco Lake.

 

The annual February event was organized by Larry and Bonnie Jones, whose year-round home backs onto Cozy Cove. The Jones hold various fundraising activities every year to raise money for research into multiple sclerosis and cancer and to support local community projects.

 

This was the Daniels’ second consecutive year competing in the fishing derby and they had no qualms that Saturday was Valentine’s Day.

 

Laura’s uncle, Bob Spicher, helped plan the event and he fished as well.

 

“We’re just lucky my uncle lives right beside the lake and we get some time to spend with family as well,” said the 35-year-old who got married Dec. 6, 2008.

 

Laura said she enjoyed the hours spent outdoors watching fishing lines in three different holes.

 

“It’s a nice day, not that cold,” she said. "Besides, we want to win a prize for the biggest fish.”

 

Ken Daniels, 36, said he couldn’t think of a better way of spending Valentine’s Day.

 

“I have my two favourite things right here, my wife and fishing,” he said. “We’re just lucky Laura has family here.”

 

Larry Jones said the fishing derby has become a popular February event with many couples coming from as far away as Bowmanville and Peterborough.

 

The 8th annual event, however, drew less than the 80 anglers from last year’s event and Jones said he believes it may be due to Valentine’s Day falling on the Family Day holiday weekend.

 

Many participants fished from inside the comfort of ice fishing huts while others, like the Courtice couple, sat in chairs on the frozen lake.

 

Each angler paid $10 to compete and there were prizes for the largest pike and pickerel.

 

“This is Family Day weekend and no fishing licences are required to fish, so we’re getting lots of kids out here and they just think it’s great,” Jones said.

 

The derby also featured a barbecue and an evening chili cook-off among six contestants at the Jones’ residence.

 

Larry and Bonnie Jones began holding annual charity events a decade ago. They manage to raise between $8,000 and $10,000 each year.

 

“We’re community-minded people,” she said. “We love doing stuff for people and getting together with friends and neighbours,” she said. “And today’s even more special because it’s Valentine’s Day.”

 

They held the first fishing derby eight years ago, Larry Jones explained, to raise money for the multiple sclerosis and cancer societies.

 

“Our daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 20 years old. She’s 36 now and has to take medication for her condition. We just wanted to raise money so that researchers can find a cure for multiple sclerosis,” he said.

 

Two years ago, the couple founded the Friends of Stoco Lake Association and some of the proceeds from the fishing derby goes to support its work in improving the quality of the lake.

 

“We’ve already used some of the money to run our weed harvesting operation in the summer months on the lake,” he said.

 

The association, in partnership with the environment ministry, also conducts regular tests of the lake water.

 

“I think anything we can do to help the environment to make this a better place for our children and grandchildren, we will all reap the benefits,” he said.