A Great 2012 Belwood Lions Pike Derby

Since Darrell introduced me to this crazy obsession called fishing, I have been wanting to participate in the Belwood Lions Pike Derby at Belwood Lake. I don’t exactly know why I wanted to participate so badly. Maybe it was because it was the first derby Darrell ever told me about. Maybe it was because it was held on the first lake we took the boat out on. Maybe I just liked the idea of competition. Whatever the reason, I was unable to participate in the event in my first two years of fishing and I was determined to make it to the derby this year.

Fortunately, there seemed to be nothing preventing me from getting to Belwood for this year’s edition of the derby. Darrell and I got out to do some scouting the weekend before the event, and I even managed to pick up a new boat trailer that I hoped would reduce our time spent setting up. Rods were chosen and rigged by mid-week so we would be able to cast as soon as we hit the water.

The boat’s days as a car-topper are now greatly reduced. While there are still times it will be thrown in the back of the truck, as was the case on the first day of the derby since we had not had time to set it up, most of the time the boat will be sitting on it’s trailer and getting launched at a ramp.

While the initial plan had been to hit the water at 5AM on Saturday, it was 7:30 before we found ourselves setting off. There are two launches on Belwood Lake for the public to take advantage of and both are part of the conservation area. Normally you would have to pay for entrance to the park (even if launching at the smaller place in town), as well as paying to launch the boat. During the pike derby we were able to just pay for the launch, not the park fees. It’s a nice thing for the Grand River Conservation Authority to do since all we wanted was to be in the water.

I was waiting for my ride to pick me up at the dock… I have to admit, it may just be a 12ft aluminum boat, but I absolutely love it! This boat will forever hold a special place in my heart.

This is the tidiest the boat looked the entire weekend.

I figured the day would start off chilly and get hot by the afternoon so I dressed accordingly and brought lots of sunscreen. What I hadn’t counted on were the bugs. I did not pack bug spray and I really should have taken a picture to show everyone just how many bites I received! Darrell seems to be immune to them. Lucky him.

I had been warned to expect a lot of boats on the lake, but actually getting out there and watching as Darrell maneuvered us through boat traffic, I realized how hard it was going to be to find an area to fish on our own. I could have cast out my lure and hit several boats. It was odd to be sharing the lake that many boats as we usually try to avoid heavy boat traffic. However, it did give me the chance to look at a lot of boats. There are many lucky anglers with some beautiful Lund boats.

Our previous scouting trip had us starting just in front of a particular dock and casting towards the small willow trees. The trees make excellent cover and the weeds had really grown in the past week, providing even more ambush points for predatory pike. My starting rig was never in question – I grabbed my heavy rod and started tossing my Strike King Bottom Dweller Spinnerbait, my absolute favorite new spinnerbait.

The Strike King Bottom Dweller Spinnerbait. I’ll likely do a review on this in the near future. I love this lure!
www.tacklewarehouse.com

We worked along the shoreline and I took cast after cast, hoping to find Big Momma. I entered a trance-like state where I focused on my rod and my line and nothing else. It was very peaceful. That peace was broken by Darrell shouting that he had one, and the unmistakable arc of the rod as he set the hook. A couple of seconds later he had the fish to the boat and found he had brought in a nice little walleye that had eaten his Rapala Husky Jerk. Unfortunately, as I reached for the camera it seemed the fish had decided the water was more inviting, and after a quick move, it was gone.

After fishing a few more hours with nothing more than a tiny pike to show for my efforts, we decided to run down to the other end of the lake and try our luck there. There’s not much I love more than taking the boat for a run. Even with only a 9.9HP motor on the back, it’s always fun to take the boat for a run. We were closing in on the dam when I looked at the conservation area and did a double-take. Trucks and boat trailers were everywhere. I’ve never seen it like that.

This picture doesn’t do it justice, but that’s a heck of a lot of trucks and boat trailers.

Going around into the bay I was amazed to see even more trailers. I’d never been back there before.

Fishing around the bay did produce a small pike for Darrell, but little else. We moved on to find more structure that wasn’t already being assaulted by several anglers, although that was a difficult task. It seemed like every time we moved into an area, more boats would follow. However, it was a beautiful day, I was on the water and I had a fishing rod in my hand. I was a pretty happy camper. Having to stay on the move kept the heat from getting to me.

By mid-afternoon it was time for a siesta.

We eventually moved back to the other end of the lake, and between trolling and casting, managed to find a few more small pike. To win the derby you need to bring in the longest pike, but there is a minimum length of 24-inches. We weren’t landing anything bigger than 18-inches. Despite a few lure changes, we ended the day with only the hope of catching a big fish on Sunday.

The big fish at the end of the first day was brought in by Jim Fraser and measured 31-1/2 inches.

On Sunday we arrived at the lake at roughly the same time as the day before, and I noticed a huge reduction in the number of vehicles in the parking lot, as well as the number of boats on the water.

The plan for the day was similar to the previous day – work the weeds and the sticks and see what we could entice into biting. We stayed at the end of the lake we knew best and cast the lures we were comfortable with.

The temperature was more comfortable than the day before, and I think that helped to get the fish biting. I quickly landed two smaller pike on the spinnerbait, fishing it high in the water column. One fish was much too short, but the other was 20-21 inches. That got the day off to a good start.

Another great day on the water.

While we were fishing along the sticks there was a commotion from the boat across the lake. I turned around in time to see a fish being brought in, heard some shouts of joy, and watched as a boat took off for the Lions Hall. Turns out, that fish was the winner.

Thanks to there being fewer boats on the water, we decided to try trolling up the river and see what we could find. This is where Darrell’s abilities to drive the boat come in super handy – he managed to weave us through the other boats without getting any lines tangled. In the shallower water I had to take up some line to keep the Bottom Dweller off the bottom.

I love this sight!

I was just starting to lay back and relax for a nice trip up the river and when my rod started jumping. I jumped in turn, and started reeling in a pretty ticked off pike. Once I had it to the boat I thought there just might be a chance this fish would make the minimum length and I asked Darrell, since he had unhooked the pike and was currently holding it, to measure it. Was it 24-inches? Nope. Just short at 23. So, despite the cheers I had received from a passing boat, I had to say goodbye to my fish and watch it swim away.

Really? You couldn’t have been just a little bigger?

Despite fishing the full two days, we never managed to get one pike that was big enough to take in. All of the small ones at least kept us entertained. We headed back to the launch knowing we wouldn’t be on the leaderboard, but happy to have spent two full days on the water doing what we love most.

The room was too small to hold everyone for the awards presentation – many people stayed outside and listened over the loudspeaker. The table was full of door prizes.

In the end, there were five fish entered in the Adult category, and two fish entered in the Youth category.

The winning youth was Devon Pinga with a pike of 26-1/2 inches.

The winning adult was Glen Billings with a pike of 34-3/4 inches. Glen was splitting the $2,000 first prize with his daughter Abby.

The prizes that were left over from each category were added to the door prizes and given away. There were a lot of prizes. I was lucky enough to get a collapsible rod, which is something I’ve been wanting for when we take the dogs for a hike.

Registration for this year’s pike derby was up substantially from last year – which was attributed to a better mail out campaign that got the entries to everyone much earlier. This year’s weather was certainly an improvement over the rain from last year and likely helped with getting more people on the water.

One thing that will be under consideration for next year is the minimum length requirement. It may be dropped an inch or two in order to get more entries on the board since the big fish do not seem to be cooperating.

All-in-all, the 2012 Belwood Lions Pike Derby was a fantastic event. Huge thanks to all the Lions, a great group of people who volunteer their time for this event. I can’t wait to return next year.

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argosgirl

Sporadic blogger and sometimes podcaster who loves fishing, the outdoors, hanging with her animals, gardening, and reading manga.

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