Joe Donnelly, 12, of Windham shows off the 9.2 pound togue that earned him first place. Courtesy photo
WINDHAM — About 850 participants caught a record 1,200 pounds of fish that was donated to food pantries last weekend at the annual Cumberland County and Sebago Lake Fishing Derbies.
“That’s more (weight) than we have ever gotten to bring in,” said Cyndy Bell, executive secretary of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club, which organized the derbies.
The fish was taken to Nova seafood in Portland for processing and flash freezing before being delivered to local food pantries.
Joe Donnelly, 12, of Windham came in first in the togue category with a 31 incher weighing in at 9.42 pounds. Terrence Daigle, 28, of Rumford, won the pike category, reeling in a 16.2 pound, 39.5 inch fish. Mike Chamberlain took first in the pickerel category with a 3.96 pound fish measuring 24.75 inches. Pat Woodbrey came in first for the perch category, with a 1.52 lb fish at 14 inches long.
This year, the derby offered $2,500 in bonus cash prizes for togue and pike, along with the Kittery Trading Post Gift Cards for first, second and third place winners, plus another $2,500 in cash prize drawings for every togue and pike caught and brought from Sebago Lake to the weigh stations.
For coming in first for togue, Donnelly walked away with a $1,000 giftcard to the Kittery Trading Post and $750 in cash. Daigle won a $500 Kittery Trading Post gift card and $250 cash. Chamberlain and Woodbrey both won $500 Kittery Trading Post gift cards.
The weight record comes in spite of dwindling participation in the derbies due to warm conditions in previous years.
“That (number) is good considering challenging ice conditions,” Bell said.
The Cumberland County Derby was cancelled in 2015 due to deteriorating ice conditions, and the Sebago Lake Derby was cancelled in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017.
Terrence Daigle of Rumford with his first place, 39.5 inch pike. Courtesy photo
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
