The River Ridge Fish and Game League recognized members who excelled during the past year at the 29th annual banquet and awards night on March 3 at Rainbow Hall in Canora.
Approximately 150 adults and children attended the event, which organizer felt was a pretty good turnout, considering it was a stormy evening.
Kathy Thomas, president, acted as emcee and thanked all those who helped prepare for various aspects of the banquet, including the food, the awards, table decorations, programs and the children’s raffle table.
Thomas told the gathering that when she became president 18 years ago, she had two main goals: saving wildlife habitat and getting youth more involved in the group’s activities. She said she was pleased to see progress in both areas. As of this year, the group has donated approximately $51,000 to the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, which includes habitat initiatives.
As for the second goal, Thomas took a look at the list of this year’s award winners and declared, “Adults better try harder, or the youth will soon be taking all the awards.”
Big game
The awards for big game went to: Reg Zackrisson, archery, white-tailed deer, 157 7/8 inches; Emily Owchar, junior white-tailed deer, 131 4/8 inches; Sheldon Derkatch, typical white-tailed deer, 144 4/8 inches; Brad Tokaruk, non-typical white-tailed deer, 193 7/8 inches; Clint Kraynick, typical mule deer, 179 6/8 inches; Brendon Holstein, non-typical mule deer, 141 4/8 inches; Brad Danylko, elk, 257 2/8 inches, and Michael Owchar, moose, 154 1/8 inches.
Birds
The only winner in the bird category was Everett Paley, who brought in a ruffed grouse with a weight of one pound, six ounces.
Fish
In the fish category, the awards went to: Emily Owchar, rainbow trout, three pounds, three ounces; Devon Paley, lake trout, five pounds even; Gordon Zawislak, sauger, four pounds even; Wayne Tratch, senior northern pike, 21 pounds, two ounces; Wayne Tratch, senior perch, one pound even; Sharon Ripa, walleye aggregate, 35 pounds, three ounces; Brad Danylko, northern pike catch and release, 40 inches; Brent Danylko, walleye catch and release, 31.5 inches; Sharon Ripa, women’s catch and release, 32 inches; Kailey Sleeva, junior walleye catch and release, 11 pounds, nine ounces, and Kasen Heshka, junior northern pike, 21 pounds even. Many at the banquet were amazed to discover that Heshka was only six years old when he caught the fish.
Photography
Attendees were encouraged to view the pictures on display and vote for their favourites which had been entered in the photo contest.
Roseanne Heshka captured the award for scenic photography, while Makayla Heshka took home the junior photography award.
Emily Owchar won the Junior Sportsman of the Year trophy. She had a productive year, capturing first place in junior white-tailed deer, first place in rainbow trout, and second in elk.
Ian Thomas took home the Perogy Award, also known as the Hard-Luck Trophy. Thomas’ hard-luck story was that he shot quite a large bear, but cracked its skull open with the shot. This was unfortunate, because bears are scored according to the size of the skull, which meant Thomas couldn’t get a score for the bear. To make matters worse, there were no other bear entries in the past year.
