Behemoth muskies lure anglers to County derby

FORT KENT – Canadian Daniel Ouellette took home top honors Sunday with a 431/4-inch muskie at the third annual International Muskie Derby on the St. John River, but the hearts of those at the award ceremony were with second-place finisher Philip Jendreau.

Ouellette of Clair, New Brunswick, caught his 25-pound, 2-ounce behemoth at Glazier Lake, the international border body of water along the St. Francis River, and won the top prize of $3,500.

Tables at the ceremony were moved to make way for Jendreau, who wheeled his way through the throng.

“I caught it with a rod,” said Jendreau, who has used a wheelchair since a work accident several years ago. “Actually, I was using a six-wheeler [ATV] to fish from.”

The crowd cheered him as he accepted his second-place check for $2,500.

Ouellette could not be reached at Muskie Central. He was said to have returned to the lake looking for an even bigger fish.

Fort Kent lived up to its name of “Land of the Giants” on the weekend. Three other muskies measured more than 40 inches.

Taking home $1,000 for the third-longest fish was Louis Albert of Eagle Lake with a 401/2 -inch, 17-pound, 4-ounce giant.

Chapin Whiting of Kennebunk won first place in the youth category with a 35-inch, 11-pound, 4-ounce muskie taken in the Allagash River. His effort earned him a $1,000 savings bond.

Hunter Searles of Van Buren was second in the youth division and won a $750 savings bond. Shane Wishart of Soldier Pond was third and won a $500 savings bond.

About 150 people were at Muskie Central when the final bell clanged to end the derby. Gary Hafford of Allagash was cheered when he came in just two minutes before the bell, but his 36-inch muskie did not change the standings.

A record 416 fishermen signed up for the two-day derby, which offered $20,000 in prizes. One of five tagged muskies caught and released last week was worth $10,000. None of the five tagged fish was caught.

Cold weather and stiff winds marked the two-day derby. On Saturday, temperatures never hit the 60-degree mark. On Sunday it warmed up to 66 degrees.

Last year, the derby pulled in 206 anglers with a purse of $5,000.

“This was just outstanding,” Dennis Cyr, president of the volunteer group putting on the derby, said two hours before the derby ended. “The traffic in town has been great, with trucks hauling trailers with boats and others with canoes on top.

“People have been wall to wall, and that’s just great,” he said. “We would like to see this grow to 1,000 fishermen at some point.”

Before the derby started, Cyr was hoping for 300 registrations. That was surpassed Friday morning. The first 300 to register could participate in the tagged fish competition.

“From Friday morning we just watched the numbers rise,” he said.

Online registrations helped the numbers, he said. About 80 percent of the registrants were from Aroostook County and most of the others from elsewhere in Maine.

Thirty-one anglers came from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nevada, Tennessee, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, California, Florida, New Brunswick and Quebec.

Merch Royce of Middletown, Calif., received $500 for being the angler from farthest away.

Nineteen fish were registered by closing. Fishermen had been asked not to register any fish under 30 inches. The shortest registered fish was 333/4 inches.

The muskellunge was introduced into Lac Frontier by Quebec fisheries in 1970. It has since made its way to the St. Francis River, Glazier and Beau lakes and the St. John River.

Three years ago Fort Kent residents decided to hold a muskie derby instead of complaining that the monstrous fish was wrongfully introduced into the 225-mile St. John watershed. That first derby drew 87 anglers.

Thirty-one muskies were registered last year, including Gerald Gender’s 391/4-inch, 15-pound, 15-ounce fish.

At Muskie Central, BeeJays Tavern on Main Street, grilled muskie and roasted buffalo were served during the weekend.

The derby has three major sponsors: Fish River Logging and Morris Logging Inc. of Fort Kent, Manfredi Logistics Services and Hidell-Eyster of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, as well as many local businesses.