Annual China Lake Ice Fishing Derby to culminate weekend town-wide festivities

Folks enjoying last year’s event. (photo by Sandra Isaac)

by Sandra Isaac

The China Four Seasons Club and the China Village Fire Department are partnering again for the 3rd Annual China Lake Ice Fishing Derby to be held on Sunday, February 20. This year’s derby will be part of a winter weekend festival – “China Ice Days” – featuring town-wide activities starting on Friday evening and continuing all day on Saturday.

Sunday is still dedicated to the ice fishing derby with fishing limited to China Lake. The ice fishing derby will finish with a fireworks display after the derby’s award ceremony. All of the weekend’s activities will be open to the public.

“We are hoping that the ‘China Ice Days’ will be the winter equivalent of China Days held in the summer and hope to make it a regular part of the Annual Ice Fishing Derby,” said China Four Seasons Club President Tom Rumpf. “The additional weekend activities will be presented and managed by many of China’s wonderful organizations, highlighting our local resources and spotlighting what great assets the Town of China has.” Activities will include a lasagna dinner at the Mason’s Lodge, a snowshoeing scavenger hunt through the School Forest, sledding and a cardboard sled race at the Convention Center, ice skating, cornhole games, and more.

Rumpf continued, “The China Ice Days and the Annual Fishing Derby are a great way for individuals and families to come out and enjoy the outdoors and be part of a China area tradition. This is also Maine’s free fishing weekend. We will be following any state-mandated guidelines in place at the time and will be encouraging social distancing to help keep all participants safe. We will be asking all participants to wear face-covering while inside a building or if social distancing is not possible.”

Fishing derby weigh-in time will be at 4 p.m., on Sunday and all entries must be in the Fire Station Building [on Causeway Road] by 4 p.m. to qualify for a prize. Prizes will be awarded in the following fish categories: large and smallmouth bass, brown trout, brook trout, and pickerel. The children’s category will be perch and kids will be awarded prizes for the top five winners with the most perch caught. The lunker of the day – the largest fish overall – will be the derby’s top prize.

The first 75 kids who participate in the derby will receive special takeaway gifts courtesy of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, The Maine Audubon Society and Jack Traps of Maine. These items will be available at the fire station starting at 5 a.m. on the day of the derby.  In addition, Central Church will be set up on the ice across from the Fire Station on Causeway Road to work with kids who are new to fishing and will supply those kids with traps and bait.

“We will also be giving away over 30 door prizes including a 40 volt lithium StrikeMaster Auger courtesy of Jack Traps of Maine and Brookfield Renewable Energy, 100 gallons of heating fuel from Augusta Fuel Company, 25 traps from Traps for Kids, plus many more prizes and gift certificates from great local businesses,” said Rumpf.

Tickets for the derby are available for $5 a piece or 3 for $10 at many local stores including China Variety & Redemption, Greg’s Restaurant, Harvest Time Bait, Lakeview Lumber, Maritime Farms and Tobey’s. You can also purchase tickets from members of the China Four Seasons Club and the China Village Fire Department.

The organizers have set up a Facebook page and a website to share information on door prizes, sponsors, and ticket information. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/China-Lake-Ice-Fishing-Derby or www.chinalakeicefishingderby.com.