ST. AGATHA, Maine — Organizers of the state’s largest ice fishing derby will celebrate its 20th anniversary when the event happens later this month in St. Agatha — and they are excited about the cold weather in the run-up to the festivities.
Freezing temperatures over the past week have added 3 to 4 inches of ice ahead of the Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby on Jan. 25 and 26, according to Derby Chairman Paul Bernier.
“I have a cabin out front of the Long Lake Motor Inn, and we have about eight to nine inches right now,” he said on Tuesday.
That is well over the minimum of four inches recommended by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for ice fishing and other on-foot recreational activities.
The derby’s opening ceremony on Jan. 24 will feature the band Savage Pianos will performing under an 80-foot tent. The band focuses on the “dueling pianos” format, in which two pianists face each other and take turns playing songs requested by the audience.
Bernier said the six-member band performs across the U.S. Organizers are spending $10,000 to fly them in for the performance, he said.
The opening ceremony will take place in the large tent outside Lakeview Restaurant in St. Agatha, which will also serve as a base of operations and weigh-in station when the derby officially starts at midnight after the Jan. 24 ceremony. While the event is named after Long Lake, people can fish at a total of 10 lakes in the St. John Valley region.
This year’s derby will feature $70,000 in prizes and its biggest ever purse at $25,000. Bernier said that IF&W does not allow any cash prizes over $25,000.
For non-cash prizes, the event will feature a drawing for a 2025 Polaris Ranger Northstar Ultimate 1000 ATV valued at $33,500 and a Sport Shack Ice Shack valued at $7,500.
Last year’s event, which saw a record turnout with 1,852 people signed up, featured a cash purse of $23,500. And in 2023 the purse was set at $22,000.
About 350 people are currently signed up, which is above where they were last year. Bernier said the majority of registrations happen later in the month.
“Everybody swarms in during the last week or week and a half,” he said.
The derby involves a crew of about 20 people working behind the scenes to weigh fish, keep track of everything and sell derby merchandise.
According to the event website, the derby partners with IF&W by introducing hatchery-raised salmon into the lake in order to preserve its natural heritage.
Registration can also be done on the derby website. It costs $20 per day, and $30 for adults for a full weekend, $10 and $15 for youth. There are also 30 locations throughout Aroostook County, from St. Francis to Houlton, where fishers can register in-person.
Much of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Edgar J. Paradis Cancer Fund, which helps families of cancer patients travel to see loved ones receiving treatment in distant facilities. Bernier said the derby has provided a total of more than $140,000 to the fund.
Bernier said he’s proud to see how far the derby has come over the past two decades.
“The community has been so supportive of this project since day one,” he said. “I mean it started out on just Long Lake as a little $500 derby, and now we’ve got 10 water bodies and we’re maxed out on the cash purse. So we’ve made some huge steps.”
