The first weekend of the 36th annual McDonalds’ Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular is already breaking records for the event.
Derby Co-Chair Chris Geberdt says so far the event has been excellent.
“There is so many fish we had to go buy another freezer and we had that one overflowing on Friday night,” says Geberdt. “We set records last night with the fish fry, we had 1,800 people.”
He adds they are also projecting beating last year’s numbers on how many people participate in the popular event.
“We are projecting to go over 5,000 anglers this year. We hit a record last year of 4,800 and retailers are selling out, we are having to get more tickets, the online tickets are just going crazy,” says Geberdt.
One of the surprises so far this year for Geberdt was a large lake trout reeled in as well as a lot of pretty salmon.
The event also had its Kids Day on Sunday, which Geberdt says featured a fishing pond, a Remax hot air balloon and rides, while also focusing on safety.
“We really wanted to put an emphasis on safety and we even have the coast guard, Canada Coast Guard coming in with their 47-foot cruiser that will be circling out front and they are going to give kids rides,” says Geberdt.
He adds the annual derby is a big draw for anglers from not only across Canada, but the United States, as they also welcomed a participant from Pennsylvania.
“It’s quite an event for this town,” says Geberdt. “We can only go up from here.”
There are thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs including a number of boats and a riding lawnmower.
The angler who catches the top salmon will win an Angler V16 G3 boat and custom trailer, 70 Hp Yamaha motor, Lowrance graph, electric Scotty downrigger, replica fish mount, tackle box, fishing pole & and reel.
The event runs until Sept. 1.