LOLTA Five Lakes Fishing Tourney

Julie Druker | Aug 21, 2013

The over 300 anglers who participated in the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association's premiere large and smallmouth bass fishing tournament on August 17 came together at Oso beach in Sharbot Lake following what proved to be a great day for fishers of all ages. Participants came from as far away as Quebec, Oshawa, Cobourg, Toronto and Ottawa to fish on five area lakes'

The event, which was promoted by Ashley Rae “the face of fishing in Eastern Ontario”, was the brainchild of LOLTA's general manager Rachelle Hardesty. Both were present for the wrap up at the beach where Rae handed out cash prizes to the first, second and third place finishers on each of the five lakes, which included Sharbot, Big Gull, Long, Kashwakamak and Loughborough.

Wayne Sharrock of Roblin took home the $500 first place prize for his 4.96 lb. largemouth bass, which he caught on Sharbot Lake with the help of his fishing partner Dave Lockeridge of Odessa. “He (Dave) knew Sharbot Lake better than I did so basically he told me where to go and I ended up catching the winner at 1:30PM with a flip and gig,” Wayne said after collecting his $500 cheque. Over $20,000 in prizes were given out, the largest being a 14 foot Lund boat with a 9.9 HP motor.

Every angler had a chance to win the boat and the many other lavish prizes that were donated by local businesses, LOLTA members, and Fish TV. Hardesty said she was extremely pleased with the first-time event. “It was a fabulous day and it's been so successful for a first-year event. Our purpose was to promote fishing in the area and with “5000 lakes/5000 adventures” as our motto, we really wanted to showcase the fact that people can paddle here in the Land O'Lakes region on a different lake - every single day of the year - for 13 years... which is something that is really and truly amazing. I truly believe that we here in the Land O'Lakes have some of the best fishing in southern Ontario and we've had nothing but positive feedback.”

The event also attracted a number of volunteers from the area, many of whom worked at the weigh stations. Karen McGregor, coordinator of the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake, volunteered along with youth from the Blossoms Pre-Construction program that is currently running at the centre. The group weighed in fish at the government dock in Sharbot Lake from 6:30AM until 4:00PM. Tournament participants ended the day with a lavish BBQ chicken dinner at the beach, which was prepared by Sharbot Lake's own Seed to Sausage. Hardesty said that the event will definitely become an annual event. “People have already been asking about next year's event and are wondering when they can sign up.”

LOLTA staff will be announcing in the next upcoming weeks the five new lakes for 2014. She said they will include two lakes in the County of Frontenac, two in Lennox and Addington and one in the Municipality of Tweed. “We really want to try to showcase different lakes every year so we will be moving to five new locations for next year's event.” Hardesty said that word of mouth will help spread the news that people are “Hooking Em' and Hooking Em' Big in the Land O'Lakes."