Controversy on the hook at Blaketown fishing derby

An angler pulled up about two-and-a-half kilograms more than fivepoundsof controversy at the annual ice fishing derby in Blaketown last weekend.

It's the leading entry so far in the wildly popular annual event, which takes place over two weekendson Dildo Pond and is sponsored by the Newfoundland and Labrador Buy & Sell Magazine.

The fish was landed on Sunday, Feb. 14 by Owen White of New Harbour, but controversy soon swirled, with some suggesting it wasn't a brook trout or a brown trout, the only two species eligible.

A debate is playing out on social media, with mixed opinions on the species.

Magazine owner Terry Snow said the fish is being analysed by experts with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and a definitive answer should be available by mid-day on Friday.

First derby

If it's a salmon or some other species, as some have suggested, it will be disqualified, he said.

There's a lot at stake, since there are more than $30,000 worth of prizes up for grabs, including a new side-by-side vehicle, an all-terrain vehicle and power generator.

But White is convinced. He believes it's a brown trout.

"This is my first derby, my first fish, my first day, and they disqualify it," White said Thursday afternoon.

The derby has attracted as many as 2,000 anglers in past years.

Snow said there was a smaller than anticipated turnout last weekend, but he's hoping that ideal conditions will attract more people on Saturday and Sunday.