Year after year, the Pow Wow Days fish derby has been getting shorter, smaller, and more regulated. And according to volunteers and officials, that’s definitely for the best.
Organizer David Phillips has seen the catch-and-release tournament shrink from a four-day derby to just a Saturday and Sunday event with shorter hours and less fishermen. He said what started as 120 boats allowed with no limit on how many people could fish, has been cut to 375 fishermen, then 300, and this year only 265.
“I think it’s the absolute best thing that’s ever happened to the derby,” Phillips said, explaining that a shorter and smaller derby takes less volunteers and resources to run.
However, next year may be the first derby ever to reach capacity – which would mean refusing entry to people who miss the cut-off — as organizers have a tentative agreement with Alberta Fish and Wildlife to reduce the allowed number of entrants to 245, the exact number of people who participated this year.
“It’s really smart to register early for next year, that way you’re guaranteed a spot,” Phillips said, adding that early entry is accepted through mail. “And it’s going to weed out the casual participants, because you can’t afford to be casual when it’s only a two-day tournament – you’ve got to try and take advantage of your time.”
Alberta Sustainable Resources and Development spokesperson Dave Ealey said that shrinking the derby is done solely to protect the fish.
“We’re pro-fish, we want fish for the future,” Ealey said. “And there’s mortality that comes upon these fish from being held and then released. There’s a certain percentage of those fish that die. Our management practices are based on how do you ensure that we have the least impact.”
Phillips said that 149 fish were caught over the weekend derby, much less than the 400-plus he remembers from past years. He agrees that the stricter guidelines – including regulating how many fish can stay in the live well and how long they can be handled – have meant fewer casualties.
“In my first year working the derby five years ago, 20 fish died,” Phillips said. “And now we haven’t lost a single fish in the last two years.”
Ealey said Alberta SRD allots a certain amount of fish caught per season. So if Beaver Lake hosts a fish derby, a fish fry, sport fishing, and pleasure craft – that spreads the fish-stock pretty thin.
And the derby is especially strictly regulated because of when it’s held. According to Ealey, August is a bad time of year for a derby because fish do poorest when handled in warm conditions. Lac La Biche is the only derby for pike held in the entire province in the months of July and August.
“The warmer it is, the less capable the fish are of being handled,” Ealey said, adding that SRD would encourage the tournament to be held earlier or later in the year. “If they’re up in the warmest part of the lake and they’re getting a lot of catching and being put in live wells – that puts a lot of stress on the fish.”
Ultimately, Phillips and Ealey agree when it comes to the Pow Wow Days derby: smaller is better.
“We want to make sure that the overall amount of stress is at a level that is manageable and allows our derbies to continue year after, if they are done at the right scale,” Ealey said.
Next year’s derby coincides with Pow Wow’s 50th anniversary. at the right scale,” Ealey said.