FAIRLEE — With 16 tip-ups in the ice during Saturday’s ice fishing derby, brothers Mick and Josiah Sewall had seen plenty of perch and pike biting by midmorning — but no bass.
“For some reason, the northern pike have been much more prominent in recent years,” said Josiah Sewall, 29, a West Topsham, Vt., resident who was back at the annual Orford-Fairlee Lions Club Family Ice Fishing Derby after reeling in the second-largest pike last year. “I’m not sure why, because this is a bass lake, too.”
Moments later, Mick Sewall proved it. At the sight of a flag flinging skyward, Sewall, who has Down syndrome, scurried to the hole and began carefully pulling up on lightweight line geared toward smaller fish such as perch. Instead, what emerged was a 3.9-pound smallmouth bass, the derby’s largest of its kind to that point.
“It’s a big one!” Sewall said, followed by photos and high-fives with his brother as well as neighboring fishermen who’d wandered over to check out the catch.
“He’s lucky the line didn’t snap,” Josiah Sewall said. “It’s the same size as a smallie I won (the category) with a couple of years ago.”
Mick Sewall, 30, was all smiles, something quite common when he’s ice fishing with his brother. Having Down syndrome doesn’t really matter on the ice, where everyone has the same access to rod and reel.
“It’s one thing he can do that he’s really good at,” Josiah Sewall said. “He can really just be himself out here.”
That’s likely what draws many of the derby’s roughly 150 adult and child participants every year. The largest annual fundraiser for the Orford-Fairlee Lions Club’s charitable efforts, organizers encourage familial participation in part by providing trophies and fishing-gear goodie bags to everyone age 15 and under at the end of the weekend.
Larger trophies are given to the top four overall in each of five categories — largemouth and smallmouth bass, pike, pickerel and perch — plus cash prizes for the first-place winners of each, with the owner of the heaviest overall fish taking home $200 (length is not measured).
While the perks are nice, the opportunity to bond with family is what keeps most coming back. The tournament has been a winter staple on Lake Morey for about 30 years, organizers say, with the Lions Club taking over for its fourth iteration in the early 1990s. That level of continuity has helped build family traditions surrounding the event.
Dan Magoon, of West Fairlee, has participated every year since its inception and has brought along his son, James Magoon, each of the last 20 or so. James Magoon’s stepbrother, Trevor Edson, of Enfield, has come along in recent years with his two children, 8-year-old Ali and 6-year-old Jack, making it a cool three generations on the ice.
“I look forward to it just as much now as I did when I was their age, if not even more so,” said James Magoon, of Thetford. “I enjoy the competition of it, but I really love seeing the kids get into it.”
Families set up at all hours, some venturing out late Friday afternoon or pre-dawn on Saturday. Many camp on the ice in shanties for the weekend, some making meals out of what they harvest (state regulations apply for what can be kept). Like open-water fishing, there are periods of flourishing activity and others when the tip-up flags are still for hours.
Those slow times don’t bother Dan Magoon, 68.
“It’s like in the old days, when people would get together and talk to keep each other company,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “If the fish aren’t biting, you go in the shanty and play cards or have something to eat. It’s a real community thing here. It’s not like (open-water) fishing in a boat, where you get frustrated if someone’s in your favorite spot. Here it’s ‘the more, the merrier.’ ”
The Fairlee Town Beach boathouse is the official weigh station, manned by Orford-Fairlee Lions Club patriarch Richard Gray and other organizers. Some of the leading fish on Saturday included Skeeter Ames’ 9.8-pound pike, Emmett Chapman’s 3.5-pound largemouth bass and a 2.4-pound pickerel belonging to Libby Swift.
The promise for everyone 15 and under being rewarded with a trophy and fishing-gear grab bag helps keep kids engaged through the weekend, even when the bites are light.
“Part of it is we want kids to be excited about getting outside and being involved in outdoor activities,” said Gray, who currently serves as the Lions’ first vice president. “When they’re excited, we’re excited.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.