Families, friends persevere at Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby

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When you head out onto a frozen lake to compete for hundreds of dollars in prize money, it pays to have a game plan … and a few tricks up your sleeve.

Ciarra Thibodeau arrived at Long Lake in Madawaska to take part in the Black Bear Rod & Gun Club’s second annual ice fishing derby on Saturday with one secret fishing technique she was sure would work.

Its code name: Rainbow Shell.

Of course, a week ago the 7-year-old Frenchville girl wouldn’t have thought twice about unleashing her secret weapon.

That changed earlier this week, when the Thibodeau clan lost a member of its family … code name … uh … Rainbow Shell.

“Her hermit crab died this week,” explained her father, Mike Thibodeau.

And that crab’s name? You guessed it.

“It had a rainbow shell so I named it Rainbow Shell,” she said.

Ciarra apparently didn’t lose much sleep over the tragic demise of her crab.

Her reaction was more utilitarian.

“I’m gonna use it for bait,” she told her father.

On Saturday, that’s exactly what she did. She skewered her former pet on a hook … dropped it into Long Lake … and sat back to wait for a seafood-loving salmon to drop by.

No such luck.

“I took it off [the hook],” Ciarra Thibodeau said, showing the flexibility of all productive anglers.

The Thibodeau clan – Mike, wife Donna, 5-year-old son Jared along with Ciarra and family pooch Gabby, were among the 450 anglers who signed up to participate in the Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby.

Despite its name, the derby was actually open on Long, Cross and Eagle lakes this year.

Tourney director Paul Bernier said that expansion likely helped draw more participants.

“I think the big reasons for the increase was the success of last year’s event and expanding out to the other lakes,” Bernier said.

Last year’s event drew 290 anglers. Proceeds from the event go to the Edgar Paradis Cancer Fund at Northern Maine Medical Center.

The weather wasn’t bad … really … for an ice fishing derby: Saturday was windy with high temperatures in the 20s, while Sunday’s temps hovered just above zero and the wind howled for much of the day.

Nobody seemed to be complaining, however.

“People usually go ice fishing ready for the elements,” Bernier said with a grin.

And some are more ready for the elements than others.

Like the Thibodeaus, for instance. And their friends, Rich, Rhonda and Nick Rossignol.

The two families have erected a nice little neighborhood on the lake, with the Rossignol ice cabin sitting just 20 feet or so away from the Thibodeau cabin.

As you quickly learn, this is not a wilderness experience.

For the most part, 8-year-old Nick, along with Jared and Ciarra Thibodeau, are avid anglers.

But when they’re not, they know just what to do: The hot chocolate is in Rich Rossignol’s camp. And the TV is in the Thibodeau shack, a spacious 8-by-12-foot beast that Rich and Mike built to use while hunting.

Attach some skis, and voila – instant ice shack (with a few neat features).

“It’s a hunting camp,” Rich Rossignol said in way of explaining some of those features. “It’s got bunk beds and a TV and a port-a-potty and a stove. It gives the kids a place to get out of the cold if they’re cold, and if they’re bored, they can watch TV.”

The cabin is wired for 12-volt and 110-volt power, and over the weekend the kids periodically escaped from the cold for a film festival of sorts.

On the docket: Frequent showings of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the animated movie “Cars.”

In Rossignol’s cabin, adults snacked on chips, chatted, and waited for fish to bite.

When flags flew, a stampede of anglers headed across the frozen lake to see if someone had hooked a prize-winner.

As it turned out, few flags flew on Saturday, and the fish that showed up on Sunday weren’t big enough to win a prize.

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t any winners around.

On a lark, the two families headed over to the Long Lake Sporting Club on Sunday evening to see if anyone had entered the “boobie prize” competition, which awards $50 for the anglers who pull in the most perch.

Nobody had, so Nick Rossignol and Ciarra Thibodeau teamed up and tossed their four yellow perch into the fray.

On Monday morning, Rich Rossignol reported that although Rainbow Shell had proven unproductive, Ciarra still ended up a bit richer.

Last year’s perch winner hauled in 103 fish. This year, the grand total was four … and Nick and Ciarra split the pot.

Results: Salmon: 1. Raylan Lagasse, Grand Isle, 6 pounds, 9.6 ounces, 2. Dylan Bouchard, New Sweden, 6 pounds, 5.8 ounces; Togue: 1. Bruno Doucette, St. David, 5 pounds, 6.2 ounces, 2. Spencer Maynard, Caribou, 3 pounds, 11.8 ounces; Brook trout: 1. Buck Labbe, Eagle Lake, 3 pounds, 12.4 ounces, 2. Joey Gendreau, Madawaska, 2 pounds, 12.8 ounces; Cusk: Pete Daigle, St. David, 6 pounds, 7 ounces; Most perch: Ciarra Thibodeau, Frenchville and Nicholas Rossignol; Youth prizes: 1. Bouchard, 2. Thomas Weymouth, Fort Kent, salmon, 5 pounds, 5.2 ounces.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.