LAC LA BICHE - The 2025 edition of Lac La Biche Pow Wow Days will include the long-awaited return of the fish derby, an event that has been on hiatus for a decade.
Ian Cloutier, treasurer of the Lac La Biche Pow Wow and Fish Derby Association, said the fish derby will take place on Aug. 2 on Beaver Lake from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
For the event, Cloutier explained, there are up to 50 boats allowed, with five people per boat.
“The prize categories are perch open, women’s perch, children’s perch, and senior’s perch,” he said.
As to how the decision came about to bring the fish derby back after 10 years, Cloutier explained that there was a lot of community interest for doing so. According to Cloutier, the association presented the idea to Lac La Biche County council, whose first question was focused on the name of the group.
“Our association is Lac La Biche Pow Wow and Fish Derby Association . . . is there a fish derby?” he said.
The fish derby is one of the larger events to manage for Pow Wow Days, which has been taking place annually in Lac La Biche since the early 1960s.
Fishing regulations have changed in recent years, Cloutier added, which he said will be more beneficial for the fish derby going forward.
Previously, he explained, people would bring the fish they caught into a weigh station before releasing them, which meant that those fish were out of the water for longer periods, thus resulting in increased deaths.
Organizers have incorporated an app which he said makes it very easy to measure fish and, with a bit of luck, get them back into the water in under a minute.
“It’s reduced stress on the fish, so that hopefully there’s less fish mortality, or no fish mortality. That was a big reason why there hasn’t been a fish derby for a number of years,” Cloutier said, citing increased pressure to ensure that fish stocks remained sustainable.
Cloutier, along with Ed Thring, a director with the Lac La Biche Pow Wow and Fish Derby Association, have been involved with bringing back the fish derby.
Cloutier explained that he has “great memories” of participating in the fish derby with his family as a youngster. At the time, he explained, the event was held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
“I still have a little trophy that says grandparent and grandchild largest fish and once in a while I look at that and think hey, this is a great thing for today’s generations…to get out on the water and learn about fishing,” he said.
