jediangler Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) Decided to try my luck at the Valens "Burns Memorial Derby" today. I arrived with the kayak at 10am and people were already pulling out at the launch. The big bass on the leader board was 5lbs 15oz, so I started to fish for pike. The leading pike was only 24" and under 3 lbs so I thought that would be my best bet. After 2 hours of fighting the wind and dodging other boats I decided to pull up on shore for a break. I then went to my ultralight and panfish jigs to make sure a skunking wasn't coming my way. I caught 5 crappie, all small, and a big bluegill in the next hour while hiding from the wind behind the island. I was banking on winning one of the draw prizes now and as the rain started, I pulled the kayak out. It was 1:15pm and the scales were closed at 2pm followed by the draws and presentations of awards. Here is a shot of the hardware. On the left is the trophy for biggest pike and on the right for biggest bass. You get your named engraved as well as a gift certificate, hat and shirt from Valens. The kids get a trophy for winning biggest bass, pike & panfish. These trophies they can keep and they also got a tackle box and hat. The winning panfish was actually a catfish that they allowed a kid to enter. It was 1lb 8oz. As it says on the sign, all live release fish get an added bonus weight of 6oz. There was a boy of about 5 that showed up to weigh a bass in the last 10minutes and take the lead with 2lbs 4oz. The senior big bass winner was the 5lb 9oz largemouth (5lb 15oz with bonus) but all the pike came in under 5lbs. Last year there were 2 over 10lbs and 8lbs took 3rd. The top three draw prizes were a $300 fishfinder, a $200 portable fishfinder, and a electric anchor winch from Minn Kota. There were also loads of other stuff from water jugs and coolers to BBQ utensils and rod & reel combos. There was even a cool golf bag from Gatorade and some Hamilton Tiger Cats tickets given away. I got squat but had a great time watching all the kids that won stuff. It was my second time at this derby and I think I'll do it again. Edited July 10, 2008 by jediangler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakeshore Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Thanks for the report. When I was a teen a few year back (20), that was one of my favorite destinations for pike and Largemouth. I just may have to take my kids there for a day of fishing. I remember that the bluegills were at the back end of the reservoir (far end opposite the dam). Thanks for reminding me of that place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joonmoon Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Nice try out there and good on ya for braving the wind/rain. Bet there were less boats than last year? Anyway good report and too bad ya didn't win a draw prize. I would have thought you might have had an advantage with the yak being stealthy and all, guess the fish didn't wanna play this year...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbouck Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 I had no idea there were fish that size there! Since I'm only about 10 minutes away I better give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike the Pike Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 |Sounds like a great tournament. MTP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danw Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Thanks for the report. Sounds like a fun day. Your kayak seem so versatile, I am itching to get one myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunkerbasshunter Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 i remember about 6 or 7 years ago there was a alot of 2 pound bass therer and i remember talking with a buddy saying that give it some time and there will be lots of tropy bass in the lake if the cnr keeps up. a 5 and a half pound bass proves that. Wonder how many more there are in there. Good on valens! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jediangler Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 I wonder if people have been keeping all the bigger pike that they've caught. A lake that size, with that kind of panfish population should produce many 10lber's. I just hope that despite the huge numbers of boats that were out there on Saturday, maybe the big ones got tight lipped or managed to keep a low profile. I also forgot to mention in my report that only one bass died out of all that were brought to the scales. That's a testament to the good work done running the derby by Gord and the girls, sorry, ladies looking after the scales, measuring, and witnessing proper release methods. Congrats to the winners and thanks to staff and sponsors that made it a fun time on the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickNblock Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Jedi............ You know what man...... That was one darn nice report, period. The info was great to hear about, but your report of the kids coupled by your involvment in a kayak no less is priceless....... Thank you...very refreshing. and informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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