FORT KENT, Maine — Fishers in northern Maine and beyond can now register to enter this year’s Fort Kent International Muskie Derby, an event that brings hundreds to northern Maine to fish along the St. John River and its tributaries.
The 22nd annual muskie derby is set for the weekend of Aug. 8 to 10, with the scales opening at 9 a.m. on Friday and closing at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Anyone who catches a fish in these areas can bring their fish to the weigh station at the Up North Outdoors store, 23 Main St. The store also takes derby registrations.
Derby President Dennis Cyr said that while he has some help with the website and registrations, he mostly runs the event by himself and takes care of sponsorships and running the weigh station during the three-day derby.
“Two of my sons usually help me at the weigh station, but this year they’re going to be at a wedding in the Portland area, so I’m pretty much by myself this year,” he said.
He added that he is always looking for volunteers willing to help out with weighing and measuring the fish.
“It’s kind of a fun activity,” he said. “And you get to hear the fish stories and meet people from all over.”
Cyr said the event usually sees about 300 fishermen per year. Despite the event’s focus on an international river, Cyr said not too many Canadians usually participate.
“It’s mostly people from Maine and New England,” Cyr said. “I actually had some people from Texas call me earlier in the year that they were coming up. People from all over like to catch big fish.”
Last year, Cyr said a fisherman in the Fort Kent area told him that he caught 200 smallmouth bass in an afternoon. He said he ended up traveling further up the river and meeting a Canadian fisherman who had to release most of his catches.
“Here, the guys from the U.S. were catching as many [smallmouth bass] as they wanted, because there was no limit on them,” he said. “And the guy on the Canadian side was limited by law to two.”
He said the river, which stretches about 300 miles, is a great spot for smallmouth bass, and that he’s seeing some catches up to 21 inches long.
Altogether, the derby awards about $10,000 in cash prizes for largest catches. A $25,000 draw contest is also held after the derby, but Cyr said that no one has ever won more than $1,000 in the history of the event.
“We’re hoping this year that maybe someone will win the $25,000 prize,” he said.
None of the fish are wasted after the derby, he said. If fishermen don’t want to take their fish home, then they will be given away at the weigh station.
Over two decades ago when the muskie derby first began, Cyr said there wasn’t as much interest in the event. But now it has grown in popularity and has helped boost Aroostook County tourism during the summer months.
“Snowmobiling is a big thing in the winter,” he said, “but in the summer the local communities didn’t have a lot of big tourism, but that’s changed in the last 20 years, and during the summer months now a lot of tourists come to the area, and the derby is part of that.”
Anyone interested in registering can do so in person at the Up North Outdoors store or SW Collins in Fort Kent, or online via the derby website at fortkent-muskie.com.
