Although it may have lacked the raucous atmosphere of previous events, the 14th annual Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby went off without a hitch, according to Toby Pennels, a member of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club which hosts the tournament.

“I think people were out fishing,” Pennels said. “I think everybody has fun, but there’s been past years when you looked out from Raymond Beach and there were a lot of people out there that were doing barbecuing and they were fishing – but I don’t know how hard they were fishing.”

According to Raymond resident David Lind, who lives on Main Street and was fishing with his wife, Marissa, a few hundred yards off Raymond Beach on Saturday, turnout for the derby was modest compared to previous years.

“It’s a moderate turnout because there was no derby last year, or the year before that, and the year before that it was sketchy,” said Lind, who volunteered with snow plowing at the derby. “So people get up here, they get all set to go, then there’s no derby. So if we have a couple of good years of good ice and people getting here, it’ll get big again. There used to be concession stands all out there.”

In previous years, Pennels said, the derby had fielded 2,200 entrants at most. This year, he said, there were about 1,200 entries.

“It didn’t look like the flash mob out here, because I think people were all over the lake, at least Jordan Bay, Lower Bay, around Frye Island,” he said.

At the speed run, which was filmed by an Animal Planet network television crew, Pennels said, several sleds surpassed 150 mph but failed to break the state speed record.

One record was broken, Pennels said. Steve Lothrop, a contractor from Lewiston, caught a 39 and 3/8-inch togue that weighed 22.42 pounds – a derby record. Lothrop won a Polaris Sportsmen HO 500 ATV for his efforts.

Lothrop, who described himself as a “fishing freak,” said the massive lake trout was the only fish he caught all weekend.

“For some reason where we was it was real slow,” Lothrop said. “But I can’t complain. And I ain’t complaining. And I got a smile on my face.”

Lothrop said he planned to sell the ATV. After catching the prize-winning fish on Saturday, Lothrop ventured onto Sebago Lake again on Sunday, he said.

“I know that there’s probably bigger [fish] in the lake and I was just trying to hope that we could maybe get hold of another good one, you know?” Lothrop said. “Maybe get first and second.”

“Hey, it’s the derby, you’ve got to dream big,” Lothrop added.

On Saturday, near the Standish Boat Launch, Al Rouillard, a truck driver from Buxton, said he hoped to beat the state record and net the $100,000 prize. Rouillard, who had caught an 18-inch and 22-inch togue, said he had been on the lake since 4 a.m., and planned to stay up all night fishing.

“Sleep?” Rouillard said. “I’m a truck driver. I don’t sleep. I’ll get my rest when I go home. It’s a tournament. There’s $100,000 on the line. If it bites my line, he’s coming out of the hole, and I’m going to have him on the board in the morning.”

At Raymond Beach, many ice fishermen reported difficulty catching anything. The Linds patiently watched a jittery yellow line – indicative of a fish – jumping on the display screen of their $1,200 fish finder. Marissa Lind said she had been trying to catch the fish for two hours.

Was Lind demoralized?

“Not at all,” she said. “I could care less.”

“It’s called fishing,” David Lind said, “not catching!”

Brandon Mey and Ra Sim, residents of Lynn, Mass., had not caught a fish. Neither had Carl McAlpine, of Burnham, although his daughter, Danielle, had let one go, he said.

John Narkun, a gas serviceman from Wakefield, Mass., had achieved similar results. But hanging out with his “valentine,” Karin, on the lake, was satisfying enough, he said.

“I’m still having a beautiful day,” Narkun said. “We fried up our hot dogs a little while ago. We had a handful of coffees and some hot chocolate, just passing some time away.”

There was a bit more action at the annual Shaw’s Polar Ice Dip, which took place at Raymond Beach under the scrutiny of a National Geographic camera crew at noon. The TV channel crew was there shooting for an upcoming reality show based on ice fishing.

Austin Bragdon of Casco was one of dozens of people who jumped into the 32-degree water to help raise money for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.

“It was more a shock than anything,” Bragdon said. “I didn’t even really feel cold until about 30 seconds after.”

Austin Hudson, a 12-year-old from Waterboro who survived brain cancer, said he helped raise $1,500 for his jump into the cold water.

“I jumped in today because I felt that, since I had cancer, I need to help those kids that are sick,” he said.

“It was alright,” Hudson added. “Very cold.”

Tara Studley, development manager for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, said she expects that the dip will raise about $60,000.

Pennels, accustomed to dealing with weather-related emergencies out on the ice, said that derby organizers faced few problems this year.

“The biggest issue that I had in the entire weekend was removing snow in time for the polar dip, and to me, that’s wonderful,” he said.

Participants brave the frigid waters during the Shaw’s Polar Ice Dip at the 14th annual Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby. The dip raised about $60,000 for the Maine Children’s Cancer program this year.From left, Al Rouillard of Buxton, Brandon Aiken of Sanford, Kevin Beavers of North Las Vegas, and Bud Aiken of Sanford, take a break from fishing near the Standish Boat Launch on Saturday during the derby.  Steve Lothrop from Lewiston had the big fish, making him the big winner in this year’s fishing derby. He caught a 39 and 3/8-inch togue that weighed 22.42 pounds – a derby record.