The 2025 edition of the Elliot Lake Ice Fishing Derby came to an unexpected conclusion on Saturday, March 15th, as not a single fish was caught during the three-hour event.
182 registered participants from across Northern Ontario, including anglers from Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, and as far as Toronto, gathered for the popular annual tournament. However, despite ideal weather conditions and a strong turnout, no qualifying fish were recorded.
Organized by Right Track Racing, a non-profit dedicated to promoting safe driving practices, this year’s derby continued the 15-year tradition of ice fishing competitions in the region. With no fish caught this year, organizers resorted to random prize draws among all registered participants.
Local fisherman Jeremy Howard clinched the top prize, reeling in $9,100.
Second prize—a 24-volt lithium battery-powered ice auger—was awarded to Philip Barry of Elliot Lake. Third place went to Joe Giuliani of Sault Ste. Marie, who took home a new bicycle courtesy of Jack’s Ski and Bike Shack in his first appearance at the derby. Fourth prize, another battery-powered ice auger, was won by Larry Martin of Alban. Tristan McGregor of Birch Island claimed fifth prize, a 65-inch television. In addition to the top prizes, several other items were given away through random draws.
Speculation about the lack of catches ranged from changes in ice depth and water temperature to shifting fish behavior. However, no definitive cause was identified.
Despite the lack of action below the ice, the event maintained a positive atmosphere. Food, entertainment, and community spirit helped ensure a good turnout and successful fundraiser for the organization.
2 Responses
LOL, I live in Elliot Lake and have only entered this derby once when friends visiting wanted to go in it. This was the first year doing it back on Elliot Lake after using Horne Lake for a number of years. There were parking issues on Horne Lake. Elliot Lake is a bigger body of water with OK fishing, but the location they picked for the pre-drilled holes was convenient to access, but not a spot anyone would fish. They basically chose one of the beaches with good parking and drilled rather close to shore. All of the fishermen I know smiled, thinking, “good luck with that” as they headed to other lakes, or even other locations on that lake.
I’m sure that as a tourism event it was fun and accessible for everyone, and the prizes were good, but no one local is surprised that no fish were caught. The surprise would have been if one fish was caught in that location.
It’s my understanding that the water depth was the problem and not the temperature. I caught lots of fish that weekend.