The Bluewater Anglers say last week's salmon derby was the worst in recent memory because of poor weather conditions that hampered the event.
About 580 fish were entered during the ten day derby compared to about 1,200 on a typical year.
Spokesman Paul Heckley says they only had three or four good fishing days.
Despite that, he says they aren't considering moving the event to later in the spring.
"For the 41 years of the derby, we have purposely started it toward the tail end of April and early May while the fish are still in the south end of the lake in relatively shallow water so the guys in the little boats can get out there too," says Heckley. "If we went two or three weeks later, the weather might be nicer but the fish would be about ten miles off shore."
Although the numbers haven't been finalized, Heckley doesn't expect registration to be down too much because most fishermen sign up prior to the event.
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Here are the unofficial winners of the 2017 Salmon Derby:
- Robert Perkins of London in the Salmon category with a 15.38 lb. Salmon. - Scott Dezort of Sarnia in the Trout - Boat category with a 7.20 lb. Rainbow Trout. - Tyler Pavli of Sarnia in the Trout - Shore category with a 14.56 lb. Brown Trout. - Justin Tadgell of Grand Bend in the Lake Trout category with a 20.80 lb. Lake Trout. - Clayton Rennie of Sarnia in the Walleye category with a 8.94 lb. Walleye. - The Ladies Day winner is Brittany Smith of Kettle Point with a 12.58 lb. Lake Trout. - The Seniors Day winner is Andy Ross of Sarnia with a 14.38 lb. Lake Trout. - The Kids Biggest Fish winner is Sam Dezort of Sarnia with a 13.92 lb. Lake Trout.
