Chris Clegg
Spotlight
The late Marge Comeau had a dream 24 years ago that an ice fishing tournament at Joussard could be a huge success.
She went to work and for years, until her untimely passing on Feb. 23, 2005, organized the Joussard Community Association’s Ice Fishing Tournament.
On March 11, 78 two-member teams gathered at Joussard for the 24th annual tournament. It was duly noted that Comeau always wished the tournament would last at least 25 years. Thanks to volunteers lead by Jeanette Willier and Clair Fortier, plans are already underway for next year’s tournament March 10, 2018.
This year, teams enjoyed decent weather on the lake. Although 31 of the 78 teams did not catch a single fish, there were 97 fish caught this year, an increase of 17 from last year’s total of only 80.
Lavern Bellerose and Joe. T. Bellerose won with a total length of fish caught at 174.9 cm. They won $2,340 for their efforts.
Brian Burkholder and Anne Burkholder placed second with a catch of 172.2 cm while Jeff Roth and Karen Roth were third with a catch of 168.9 cm. They won $1,560 and $780 respectively.
Prize money was based on entries with a payout of 30 per cent for first, per cent for second and 10 per cent for third.
Teams also enjoyed a terrific meal at the end of the day. Organizers also gathered many door prizes which were given away at random, and other special prizes such as oldest fisherman, youngest fisherman, fisherman the farthest away, and others too numerous to mention.
