15th Annual Northern Pike Classic Results (2024)
Congratulations to the winners of our 15th Annual Northern Pike Classic held this past Saturday at Lake Wahtopanah.
101 Adults entered: (combined length of up to 4 legal sized Northern Pike)
#1 Dallas Barber , Brandon 212 cm $1500
#2 Charlene Ryan, Brandon 184 cm $500
#3 Justin Frank, Virden 176 cm $250
#4 Jaryn Orr, Brandon 144 cm $150
#5 Craig Lelond, Rivers 130 cm $100
12 Youth entered – only 1 fish caught – Parker Robinson, Brandon 45cm
Parker received a $50 gift card from Jo Brook Outdoors as well as a bump board from MWF. Random draws were made from entries for 2 additional JB gift cards as well as assorted fishing accessories.
5 lucky anglers brought in fish closest to the hidden times for $20 Chamber bucks donated by Rivers Chamber of Commerce. Those winners were; Jaryn Orr of Brandon, Rick Reid of Oak River, Brayden Deedman of Brandon, Randy Jay of Rivers and Charlene Ryan of Brandon.
We wish to thank our major sponsors Jo-Brook Outdoors, StillWater Adventures, R.W. Baits and Johan’s Construction; Rivers Lions Club for providing delicious hot lunch; our dedicated volunteers and our faithful competitors for making this a great day for RAGF. It was a beautiful day to be out on the hard water.
14th Annual Northern Pike Classic Results (2023)
Call us crazy, but with a snowfall warning and 45 km/h winds, we said to heck with it and went ahead with our derby at Lake Wahtopanah. Thank you to all dedicated volunteers and participants for coming out and enjoying the lovely spring weather!
14th Annual Northern Pike Classic–March 11, 2023–See you there!
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14th Annual Northern Pike Classic (2022)
The annual Winter Derby for 2021 was cancelled due to Covid restrictions. Unfortunately, the 2022 event has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control. We look forward to a big summer derby.
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13th Annual Northern Pike Classic (2020)
March 14th on Lake Wahtopanah marked the day of our 13th annual Northern Pike derby. With typical fashion we were presented with a slightly chilly day with winds in the afternoon. With the smell of $3200 in prize money to be had…participants came from far and wide and battled the elements. We had 215 adults registered along with 34 kids. 38 Northern Pike were recorded. Largest fish was 79.8cm and smallest was 46.0cm. Take home for the 50/50 draw was $290. Other draws consisted of a framed Dueling Tigers trout print from the Fisheries Enhancement stamp and 3 spirit draws. I can never say this enough and apologize for saying it over and over; The Rivers and Area Game and Fish cannot thank you the participants, sponsors, and volunteers enough.
Adults:
1st – $1000 – 79.8cm – Timothy Usunier
2nd – $750 – 77.8cm – Rae Wiens
3rd – $500 – 75.0cm – Chris Greenaway
4th – $250 – 73.0cm – Brandon Radiator
5th – $200 – 71.5cm – Cory Burke
6th – $100 – 70.6cm – Matt Tower
7th – $100 – 70.0cm – Struth Construction
8th – $100 – 70.0cm – Micheal Elcock
9th – $100 – 68.3cm – Cory Burke
10th – $100 – 68.0cm – Bruce Wrightson
Smallest Fish – 46.0cm – Alex Kerr
Children:
1st – 54.2cm – Aivah Kennedy
2nd – Draw – Dexter Connolly
3rd – Draw – Brayden McKinnon
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12th Annual Northern Pike Classic (2019)
Lake Wahtopanah hosted the 12th annual ice derby March 9th. There were 48 youths and 227 adults registered. Wind was a little chilly but with the sun out it made for a nice balanced day. Every year it seems mother nature throws something at us. This year with the frigid temperatures and abundance of snow, it made for some deep drilling and rough travels. There were a total of 34 fish caught this year. Largest fish was 85cm and smallest registered was 41.8cm. This year the club changed from giving out rod combos to a 6 pack random jig goodie bag. I take no responsibility for any names that may be spelt wrong. In the event of a tie in measurements placement goes by who measures in first. Our derbies have been getting better and better. This is only achievable by the continued participation of anglers and sponsors of the event.
| Adult | ||||
| Place | Prize | Name | Location | Size (cm) |
| 1 | $1,000 | KEVIN WRIGHTSON | OAK RIVER | 85.00 |
| 2 | $750 | ABBY MAZIER | FORREST | 77.20 |
| 3 | $500 | DALE VREEMAN | BRANDON | 75.40 |
| 4 | $250 | JAKE MCCARTHY | SASK. | 75.40 |
| 5 | $200 | IVAN SOLOWAN | BRANDON | 73.60 |
| 6 | $100 | JODY TURNER | – | 73.60 |
| 7 | $100 | GLEN BANANYSH | – | 72.80 |
| 8 | $100 | JASON ROBINS | – | 72.40 |
| 9 | $100 | KYLE FISHER | – | 71.80 |
| 10 | $100 | M+M DRILLING | RIVERS | 71.60 |
| Smallest | TRAVIS FROESE | DELORAINE | 41.80 | |
| Youth | ||||
| Place | Tix # | Name | Location | Size (cm) |
| 1 | 14 | OLIVER VREEMAN | FORREST | 57.80 |
| 2 | 3 | CLAUDIA VREEMAN | BRANDON | 51.40 |
| 3 | 10 | AYLA CHURCH | BRANDON | 46.80 |
| Smallest | AYLA CHURCH | BRANDON | 46.80 |
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11th Annual Northern Pike Classic (2018)
March 10th, 2018
It was a beautiful day for a derby on Lake Wahtopanah (River’s Reservoir). Mother Nature kept the temperatures on the warmer side, some sun would have been nice. The morning consisted of an overcast day with very little wind. In the afternoon wind started picking up bringing in colder temps, but by then the derby was over and people could warm up.
A combined total of 328 participants braved the snow covered lake in search of that elusive Northern Pike. Out of those we had 241 adults and a WHOPPING 87 youth. 33 fish were registered. Smaller than average number of fish caught. That is why it is called fishing and not catching. It seems that fish were being caught all over the lake and not one particular “Hot Spot”. Three of the prize money fish were caught by some of our derby sponsors. Kudos to them for helping sponsor the derby then to win some prize money back. Again this year we gave out $3200 for the top 10 lengths. There were other various prizes which included a beautiful framed Northern Pike, 50/50, and perfume draws.
I apologize if any names are spelt wrong. I am at the liberty of copying other people’s writing. In the event of a tied length the person who measures first gets position rights.
Results of the derby
| Adult | ||||
| Place | Tix # | Name | Prize | Size (cm) |
| 1 | 21 | M&M Drilling | $1000 | 77.20 |
| 2 | 66 | Michael Elcock | $750 | 71.20 |
| 3 | 6 | Super Thrifty | $500 | 70.00 |
| 4 | 85 | Rae Wiens | $250 | 69.60 |
| 5 | 63 | Mark Vreeman | $200 | 69.20 |
| 6 | 113 | Scott Young | $100 | 68.80 |
| 7 | 187 | Wade Turner | $100 | 68.60 |
| 8 | 138 | Wade Struth Const. | $100 | 68.40 |
| 9 | 93 | Ric Wieler | $100 | 68.20 |
| 10 | 241 | Les Gray | $100 | 68.20 |
| 11 | 147 | Eric McArthur | Case/Bucket | 66.40 |
| Youth | ||||
| Place | Tix # | Name | Prize | Size (cm) |
| 1 | 1 | Ben Anderson | Trophy/Game Console | 68.00 |
| 2 | 27 | Kyle Beatty | Trophy/$25 Jo Brooks | 57.80 |
| 3 | 33 | Oliver Vreeman | Trophy/$25 Jo Brooks | 56.60 |
| 4 | 65 | Xzander | $25 Jo Brooks | 52.80 |
| 5 | 51 | Maria Vreeman | $25 Jo Brooks | 45.40 |
10th Annual Ice Fishing Derby 2017
-Rebranded to the Northern Pike Classic-
The Rivers and Area Game and Fish held their tenth annual Northern Pike Classic held on March 11th. The association has moved to a pike only derby to ensure the survival of deep water perch and walleye that used to be caught in previous derbies. It was a little colder this year with harder driving conditions on the lake. That still didn’t keep 155 adults and 37 youth from participating. Out of the 192 competitors 33 pike were measured. This is the second year now where the association has made the prize money a little more attractive. Over $3200 in prize money given away with top prize being $1000. Wade Turner won the $1000 first place with a length of 83.2cm. A special draw for pre-registered ticket holders consisted of a 4 hour Red River guided fishing trip. This prize was donated by Josh Haisell Outfitting which was won by Dreena Tegg. Please have a look at his webpage by clicking on his name on this page and book your next cat fishing excursion. Competitors also had a chance to win various donated gift certificates, massage packages, fishing kits. Our local member and acting chef Richard English operated a mini canteen of hot dogs, burgers, and warm drinks. This time of year always has its challenges. Year before we struggled with above average temperatures which created flood waters on top of the ice, this year was colder temperatures and more snow leaving travel difficult.
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9th Annual Northern Pike Classic
Presented by Rivers and Area Game and Fish Association
Despite the scare of early ice melting conditions 162 adult and 28 youth (12 and under) gathered on Lake Wahtopanah March 12th. There were a couple of changes the association made for this years derby. There was the elimination of the $10,000 tagged pike cash prize and eliminated prize categories for walleye and perch. Instead cash prizes totalling $3200 were awarded for the top 10 northern pike lengths. 70 pike were registered.
Adults-Cash: Youth Trophy:
1st-$1000-84.8cm 6th-$100-80.6cm 1st-62.2cm
2nd-$750-82.8cm 7th-$100-77.4cm 2nd-60.2cm
3rd-$500-82.4cm 8th-$100-74.4-cm 3rd-57.6cm
4th-$250-81.4cm 9th-$100-74.2cm
5th-$200-81.2cm 10th-$100-67.8cm
One thing the association loves doing is giving to the youth. All youth participants received a goodie bag containing a fishing rod and reel combo, jig and tail, colouring book, and tape measure.
