The popular annual event is hosted by the Saranac Fish and Game Club. It offers cash prizes for the biggest fish caught over the two days, with separate fish species prize categories for adults and youth. There are additional prizes beyond that — including for fish that were specially tagged when they were stocked — and raffles.

The grand prize is a charted fishing trip on Lake Champlain from Irish Raider Outfitters Fishing Charters.

Despite the cold, turnout was strong. There were 249 registrations, with 64 of those being youth, according to organizers. The overall turnout was down from last year’s banner number of 294, which officials attributed to people coming from farther away as almost all of the other regional derbies were canceled then due to a warm winter and lack of ice.

With ample ice and an old-fashioned winter this season, Nogales said the Saranac Fish and Game Club was pleased with the turnout, which comfortably surpassed its average of around 190 participants.

Cedar Rivers’ tagged fish #481, a 6.41-lb brown trout he caught on Saturday at the 41st Colby Classic fishing derby. Rivers was awarded a $200 for catching one of the tagged fish. (Provided photo — Saranac Lake Fish and Game Club)

“This, I think, is an indicator of people having a lot of fun last year,” he said. “We have a lot of new ‘second-termers’ this year.”

They were especially proud of the youth numbers, which were up from last year. All entries for children 15 and under were free this year.

They were sponsored in honor of Saranac Laker Joey Boyle, who died unexpectedly in January. He was 32. Nogales said an anonymous donor who was close with Boyle wanted to sponsor fishing for kids, as Boyle was an avid fisher and had been since he was a child.

Craig Reyell, 38, has been coming to the Colby Classic since he was 13. He was glad to see young anglers falling in love with ice fishing and keeping the sport alive well into the future.

“There has been a noticeable increase of activity in the last few years,” he said. “It’s nice to see those new faces and children being involved in the sport.”

Craig Reyell of Plattsburgh drives his way on to the ice of Lake Colby during the Colby Classic Ice Fishing Derby on Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

He won the perch category for the fourth time this year, and has won the trout category three times before in previous years. While Reyell has had his fair share of success on the board, he said it’s really about a weekend well spent.

“It’s not about the (fish size) and reward,” he said. “It’s about the time with family and friends. Memories last forever.”

This year’s frigid cold happened to coincide with a new slate of rules that extended fishing hours and gave anglers the option of continuous fishing throughout the overnight hours. The derby officially began at 6:01 a.m. Saturday with the last catch allowed into the weigh station at 3:15 p.m. Sunday. The weigh station was closed during that time, with anglers required to keep any overnight catches alive by the time the station opened at 6:30 a.m., according to derby chairman Francisco “Rocky” Nogales.

Previously, fishing was held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Nogales said they changed the time because a lot of the hardcore anglers like to start right before sunrise since that’s when the bigger trout and salmon are more active.

“We pushed the hours and gave them two sunrises and a sunset because so many people out there that fish this derby and fish other derbies say that it’s better fishing in the morning or better fishing in the evening,” he said.

Saranac Lake Fish and Game Club member volunteers staff the weigh station at the Colby Classic Ice Fishing Derby on Sunday. From left, Rocky Nogales, Dick Mose, Rob Marrone, Scottie Adamas and Kasey Donahue. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Nogales said one group camping out in a shanty faced a rude awakening. They got up in the early morning to discover that they had run out of propane sometime earlier overnight.

“They said they could immediately see their breaths, a bad sign, and then realized their walls were covered in ice crystals,” he said.

Nogales said in the end, everyone was OK, and were able to go warm-up indoors.

This year’s new rules also changed how results were tallied. Previously, fish were measured for length. This year, that metric changed to weight for trout, salmon and perch — which all had to be caught from Lake Colby. Northern Pike, which organizers said are not available in Lake Colby and could instead be fished from local waters within the Saranac Lake School District boundary — were still measured by length.

Northern Pike could be brought to the weigh station at Lake Colby for measuring, an outpost at Fish Creek or submitted via text photo, provided the fish was measured according to a set of specifications laid out by organizers.

Mark Chomich of Mohegan Lake drives on Lake Colby during the Colby Classic fishing derby on Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

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Staff Writer Aaron Marbone contributed to this report.

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