Brokenhead Ojibway Nation holds 1st annual ice fishing derby
CBC
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation held its first annual ice fishing derby on the southeastern part of Lake Winnipeg on Saturday, and people from across the country joined with the hope of reeling in top prizes.
"It just made sense to have an event like this, because a lot of people would come to support it," Brokenhead Chief Gordon Bluesky told CBC.
"We've got people from all over the place: Crees, Ojibwes, Métis," he said, adding that people came from Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba to fish.
The goal is for the event to become an annual fixture for the community, and for more and larger prizes to be offered. Proceeds from the event will go toward supporting the community's annual powwow and Treaty Day events, said Bluesky.
"I'm hoping that every event that we have, especially for ice fishing, just gets bigger and bigger," he said. "We want to get as many people out here as we can to come and enjoy this with us."
The winning catch for longest pike came in at 28 inches and the longest walleye was 25 inches. Five top prizes were offered for each category, and all of the fish were released back into the water.
The biggest prize at Saturday's derby was for the longest walleye, which brought a $20,000 award.
"We're really excited about that person having the privilege of carrying the title until next year," said Bluesky, adding that the winner will also be offered a ticket to next year's derby.
Mindy Chief was one contestant vying for a winning catch.
"I'm pretty excited. There's a lot of people out here — I never expected this many people," the Brokenhead resident told CBC.
The derby was a chance for her to relax, as she said she has been mourning her father who passed away recently. It was also an opportunity to use some of her grandfather's teachings, who raised Chief and her siblings to become fishers.
"Just don't use any lotions or scented items on your hands, because the fish can sense the smell," she said.
Wayne Moore travelled from Sapotaweyak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba to take part in the derby.
Ice fishing is a beloved hobby for the retiree and his son, who travel to ice derbies across northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan from early February until the ice melts.
Commuters hoping to escape the cold by travelling on Line 6 will need to think again, as train service is down Friday morning.
Halim Rahim has lived in Canada for almost four years, but says he’s never experienced a winter like this.
For Lindsay Gillan, walking her dog, Daisy, twice a day in Charlottetown’s Victoria Park is a treasured routine that benefits both her physical and mental health.
Whitehorse city council has postponed its decision on an overhaul of its zoning bylaws that would, among other things, introduce short-term rental regulations in the city.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has reached a deal with China to allow tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles into the country in exchange for lower canola duties.
The Federal Court of Appeal is expected to give its decision Friday morning on whether the Liberal government unlawfully invoked the Emergencies Act to clear the convoy protests that gridlocked the capital city and border points nearly four years ago.
WARNING: This article describes allegations of sexual assault.
The average time for a 911 caller to connect with an operator is down to three seconds so far this year, according to Toronto police.
Emergency crews across southwestern Ontario kept busy on Thursday, responding to dozens of collisions, as a steady stream of snow squalls blanketed the region with as much as 30 centimetres of snow, prompting widespread school closures.
Woody Point — a picturesque community on Newfoundland's west coast — is reeling after the loss of what was a pillar of local business in the town for over 70 years.
A New Brunswick Mountie testified he punched a woman in the face twice, but only because she had punched him while he tried to arrest her.
The City of Winnipeg is halting work to clean up the Manwin Hotel site following a Wednesday fire, after officials determined there was asbestos in the rubble.
A Saskatoon judge has now heard about the hours just before and after Taya Sinclair's death.