The town of Meredith is the host of one of the Lakes Regions biggest
winter events; the Great Rotary Fishing Derby. Presented by the
Rotary Club, this event brings ice
fisherman from across the country to Meredith
for a weekend of fun, fishing, and seeing what your tolerance for
cold and frostbite is. In the end, the payoff is being one of the
lucky few who gets to experience the pride of having their catch
hung up on the wall of fame, and winning an amazing grand prize. So, if your driving around the Lakes Region
and find the frozen waters of Lake Winnipesaukee transformed into a
metropolis of fishing shanties of every shape, size, and color, the
fishing derby must be underway. If there is a sense of fierce
competition in the in the air, it must be near prize time!
Tickets are $30
and are available at more than a dozen locations around Lake Winnipesaukee,
including AJ's Bait and Tackle,
the Winnisquam Trading Post, Skelly's
Market, Alton
Circle Grocery and at Paugus
Bay Sporting Goods. You can also purchase tickets directly at derby
headquarters in Meredith, or online via the link below. If the event is
postponed, your tickets cannot be refunded, but will be honored when the event
is eventually held. A cancellation is highly unlikely. If the ice conditions in
2002 didn't warrant a cancellation of the event, nothing probably
will.
The ticket revenue goes toward prizes and
generous donations to local organizations. It also goes toward the extensive
fish stocking of various Lakes Region bodies of water.
Prizes for 2013
In departure from prior years, this years
prizes will all be in cash. To see the complete list of all the smaller
prizes, click here.
First Prize: $15,000
Second Prize: $5,000
Third Prize: $3,000
Last Years Prizes & Winners For 2012
More than $60,000 were awarded last year.
First Prize
is a John Deere XUV 825i Camo Gator (value: $24,000)
Dan Harris, Merrimack,
NH with a 2.57 lb. rainbow trout.
Second Prize
is a
2010 Polaris Sportsman 500 H.O Touring ATV and Trailer (value: over $7,000)
Kurtis Sleeper,
Laconia, NH with a 2.11 lb. rainbow trout.
Third Prize
is a
Shappell FX200D bob house, Jiffy gas auger and Hummingbird Ice Combo GPS
Fish Finder (value: over $3,0o0)
Christopher Rurak,
Haverhill, MA with a 1.95 lb. rainbow trout.
This
years dates: February 9-10, 2013
