And the winner is -- Chad Isfeld!
After two previous third-place finishes, Isfeld won the top prize of $1,000 in the filleting contest at the fourth annual Pickerel Fest Saturday at Gimli Harbour.
Isfeld, a commercial fisherman for eight years, filleted his pickerel in 11.3 seconds, slightly faster than runner-up Patty Favell at 11.5 seconds and third-place John LaPerre at 13 seconds. Favell took home $500 while LaPerre’s prize was $250.
The young Isfeld said “practice makes perfect” as far as developing filleting skills is concerned. He not only pocketed the $1,000, but also said Lake Winnipeg fishers are wrapping up a record spring season.
“There is talk about the lake being in trouble, but we’ve been catching more and more fish for the last few years,” he said. “The economy is on the rise and fishers will be spending quite a bit of money in coming months.”

The winner of the amateur section -- if there had been one -- would undoubtedly be Einar Haraldsson, a 20-year-old hobby fisherman from Iceland. Haraldsson first came to Gimli last summer on the Snorri West tour, liking it so much that he is back for a second visit with his hosts Robert and Ruth Arnason of Willow Island.
The Icelander enjoys fishing much more than filleting, but somewhat reluctantly entered the contest late at the urging of Gimli museum director Tammy Axelsson. His mixed results won’t stop him from making a third trip to Canada, although he is unlikely to be an immigrant.
“I still have to complete my junior college and university, and Iceland is pretty prosperous,” Haraldsson said.
The yearly Pickerel Fest -- showcasing the commercial fishing industry -- is sponsored by Gimli Tourism with the fish being supplied by the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. (FFMC). This year’s emcees were entertainer Pat Riordan and veteran whitefish boat captain Robert T. Kristjanson.
“Five million pounds of pickerel are caught in our lake every year,” Kristjanson told the audience. “It’s a big operation.”

The contest was judged by Judith Arnason who is now affectionately known as “Judge Judy”.

It was followed by a community pickerel dinner prepared and served by members of the Gimli Kiwanis Club.

Unfortunately, two rain showers interrupted the event, possibly part of the reason for the relatively small crowd this year. As well, there were only seven entrants in the contest.

Roger Newman