Competitors in this weekend's CFT Triton two-day tournament receive instructions from CFT owner and president Dan Carraro. Photo by Phil Novak. ___________________________________________________________
Rob Hyatt and Peter Savoia believe they know where the fish are, and if they’re right either of them will be on their way toward winning $10,000.
Hyatt, a Callander resident, and Savoia, from Sharon, Ont., are among 88 fishers participating in this weekend’s Canadian Fishing Tour Triton two-day tournament, being held on Lake Nipissing.
Stanley Cup of fishing The winning two-person team will qualify for the CFT national classic—and its $80,000 first prize—next month in Barrie.
“That’s the Stanley Cup of fishing in Canada,” said Dan Carraro, CFT’s owner and president.
Carraro is in North Bay to film the Triton tournament, and the program will feature Dave Mercer, from The Facts of Fishing, as host.
“This is an exciting event for people in the area to come out and see,” Carraro said.
“It’s worth watching and you basically get to see what’s caught in your back yard.”
Live release Competitors, Carraro said, are going after bass—“strictly small mouth or large, no rock bass”—and the teams will be rated on their heaviest five fish of each day.
The bass will then be released after they’re weighed, Carraro said.
“We have the finest live-release system in North American, with only about 0.5 per cent of the fish dying.”
Awesome venue This is the third year in a row Carraro has been to North Bay to produce a fishing program.
“This city is an awesome venue, a great fishing town, and a nice place to come to,” Carraro said.
“We’ve been welcomed with open arms and there’s a great fishery here.”
Shutting down Fishing could be a little tough this weekend, Carraro concedes.
“The weather hasn’t been cooperating and it’s shutting down the bite.”
And that’s what could hamper things for Hyatt, who won last year’s Triton, and Savoia, winner of the 2003 national classic, although each is confident.
“It’s a lot tougher because we’ve had some mild weather and no rain, it’s been really hot and water temperature has come up in the last couple of weeks, so the fish have changed a little bit,” said Hyatt.
"I’ve done my time out there and I feel fairly comfortable about the weekend. I don’t know if we have enough to win but I’ll tell you Sunday.”
Holding fish Savoia said he’s spent the last few days “pre-fishing.”
“I’ve got some fish going and hopefully they stay and we’ll do okay,” Savoia said.
“We have spots holding fish, so if they stay there we’ll do okay, if they move, which they tend to do quite frequently, we could be in a little bit of trouble. But the bite’s been tough with winds and weather and cold fronts.”
