COLD LAKE – The 2025 Cold Lake summer fishing derby made waves once again on June 14 and 15, drawing anglers from across Western Canada for two days of competitive fishing on one of Alberta’s most renowned lakes.
Hosted as a catch‑photo‑release tournament, fishing hours ran from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The event, backed by the City of Cold Lake and supported by Angler’s Atlas, delivered strong participation, impressive catches, and a boost for local businesses.
“It went very well. The staff did a great job putting it on,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “But the reason why council got involved in the fishing derby was not only to showcase the beauty of the lake, but to bring economic activity into the city.”
The derby drew participants from across the western provinces. “We have fishermen from all over Western Canada fishing the tournament,” Copeland said. “The cash prizes on that tournament are some of the highest in Western Canada.”
The City of Cold Lake runs the summer derby alongside the winter derby hosted by Age Friendly Cold Lake. “We want to thank the province,” Copeland said. “They allocate only 700 fishermen can fish between the two and so the city does 300 and then Age Friendly does 400.”
Anglers used a mobile app run by Angler’s Atlas to log their catches by uploading photos of each fish. The company verifies each entry. “They see, when the people catch the fish and they upload the fish, they look at every single fish and they judge the length,” Copeland explained. “They’re behind the scenes, all these staff looking at all the pictures.”
The most popular category continues to be the “three fish combo,” which awards anglers based on the combined length of their three best fish. “That prize category has really become popular with the anglers,” said Copeland. “It gives everybody a chance.”
Gary Padlesky of St. Paul took home first place with a combined length of 238.3 cm.
“He’s won before and so he’s a good fisherman,” said Copeland. “Some of these guys are just phenomenal with catching close to 100 fish a day.”
Overall Winners
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Gary Padlesky – 238.3 cm
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Alexandre Dube – 236.3 cm
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Carter Fleck – 236 cm
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Jaedyn Stratychuk – 235 cm
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Daryl Harris – 234.5 cm
Daily Largest Fish
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Saturday: Alexandre Dube – 84.5 cm
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Sunday: Jaedyn Stratychuk
