By Steve Hubrecht
The annual Forever Fishing event was a smash hit last weekend. And speaking of hits, the fish were biting too.
The event, organized by the Lake Windermere Rod and Gun Club, is meant to encourage people who face mobility challenges to get out ice fishing.
It was held on Saturday, Feb 1 at the north end of Lake Windermere, close to the Bayshore condos. This year was the second edition of Forever Fishing, and organizers were pleased with excellent community response.
“It is for people with disabilities, but also for people who are maybe older and can’t drill with an ice auger. The whole idea is to make sure everyone has a chance to get out on the lake and go ice fishing,” said Lake Windermere Rod and Gun Club president Peter Von Niessen.
The British Columbia Wildlife Federation (BCWF) started a similar program in the summer.
“But there is a lot of red tape that goes along with those (summer programs),” said Von Niessen.
Many special permits are needed to put accessibility structures into lakes, and getting those permits can take quite some time. It’s also not always easy to find a lake that is at least somewhat easy to get to, offers good fishing, and for which accessibility structure permits can be obtained.
“Then I realized that in winter you don’t need as much (accessibility infrastructure) because you’ve got the ice — it’s essentially a frozen accessibility dock,” explained Von Niessen.
During the first Forever Fishing last year, four or five people registered. But then nearly 30 showed up at the event.
This year 29 people registered ahead of time and nearly 70 showed up.
“Everyone seemed to love it. It was fantastic. The smiles were second to none,” said Von Niessen. “The temperature warmed up a bit that day, so it was a little bit icy, but aside from that it ran as smooth as silk.”
Nice fish!
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All set to catch a big one!
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