WINDSOR — Mild weather has caused a setback for a popular winter fishing derby.
The ninth annual Everett Wile Memorial Catch the Rainbow Ice Fishing Tournament usually takes place near Gypsum Mines on the second week in January.
This year, it has been rescheduled for Feb. 18.
The tournament is organized by the West Hants Wildlife Association.
"We have everything set to go but, because of the weather, we are obviously worried about the ice thickness on Meadow Pond," said association president Mike O’Brien.
The pond, once a gypsum quarry, has been stocked with rainbow trout for the tournament, which annually attracts as many as 100 fishermen from all over Nova Scotia.
The February date was selected because it falls on the free fishing weekend in Nova Scotia.
Fishing licences will not be required.
In Nova Scotia, the ice-fishing season begins Jan. 1 and winds up at the end of March.
The tournament is always a family affair as kids test their luck beside their parents. There will also be a free barbecue for entrants.
"If we can get a good cold spell in January, we should have a foot of ice for the tournament," O’Brien said.
February is normally the coldest month in Nova Scotia.
The tournament can go ahead with a minimum of 15 centimetres of ice.
O’Brien said there is no entrance or exit point for water in Meadow Pond because it was once a quarry, and no running water allows for quicker freezing and safer ice conditions.
Registration starts at 7 a.m., and the tournament will end around 3 p.m.
For more information, call 798-3684.
The daily Catch Team
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