NW Ice Fishing Festival more than fishing

By Gary DeVon • February 5, 2014 5:06 pm
Fishing is looking better at Sidley Lake this year and reports are folks are ice fishing and catching fish and the water quality is better. James Iler lives on Fletcher Mountain and was on his fourth trip ice fishing this winter. He said he limited out each trip and noticed some techniques work better than others. He's is looking forward to the Ice Fishing Event and hopes some of his friends from Seattle will come over and join him. Submitted by Robin Stice
Fishing is looking better at Sidley Lake this year and reports are folks are ice fishing and catching fish and the water quality is better. James Iler lives on Fletcher Mountain and was on his fourth trip ice fishing this winter. He said he limited out each trip and noticed some techniques work better than others. He's is looking forward to the Ice Fishing Event and hopes some of his friends from Seattle will come over and join him. Submitted by Robin Stice
Fishing is looking better at Sidley Lake this year and reports are folks are ice fishing and catching fish and the water quality is better. James Iler lives on Fletcher Mountain and was on his fourth trip ice fishing this winter. He said he limited out each trip and noticed some techniques work better than others. He’s is looking forward to the Ice Fishing Event and hopes some of his friends from Seattle will come over and join him. Submitted by Robin Stice

Fest kicks off with Pat McManus play, Friday Feb. 14

MOLSON – The last couple of years the fisherman got skunked at the NW Ice Fishing Festival, however reports have been coming in all winter of “fish on” so chances are there will be prize winning trout caught on Saturday, Feb. 15.

There have been 5000 fishable fish planted. The fishing tournament, sponsored by the Oroville Chamber of Commerce, starts with registration at the Molson Grange Hall or at the lake office, set up on Sidley Lake, which along with Molson Lake is where the fishing takes place. Registration starts at 7 a.m. at the Grange and 8 a.m. at the lake. Angling continues until 4 p.m., with the Award Ceremony at the Grange Hall at 4:30 p.m. Prizes for biggest fish and a number of other categories are awarded.

Before and while the tournament is going on there are a number of other events, like the pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. (Update: the Dog Sled Demoshave been cancelled due to the inadequate snow cover). New for this year is a Pinewood Derby at 3 p.m. The derby is for young and old alike, use one of your old cars or go to www.orovillewashington.com/icefestival for more information. Meanwhile there are arts and crafts, raffle tickets and baked goods for sale at the Grange Hall throughout the day.

And this year the Oroville Chamber of Commerce has gone out of its way to create a full weekend around the annual event. As part of the Northwest Ice Fishing Festival weekend the chamber is sponsoring a performance by Tim Behrens as Pat McMannus in “A Fine and Pleasant Misery.” The show will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb, 14 at the High School Commons. Tickets are going fast but can still be obtained at Prince’s Center, Frontier Foods and the Camaray Motel. You can also buy them online at www.orovillewashington.org.

The one-man Show introduces 12 zany McManus characters, from Rancid Crabtree to daft old Mrs. Swisher and from Strange the Dog, to a deer on a bicycle.

From the website www.mcmanusplays.com: “Join Pat and his sidekick Crazy Eddie Muldoon as they try to conquer their fear of the dark so they can become mountain men. Watch Rancid Crabtree convince you that baths are bad because soap and water will eat holes in your protective crust. Listen as Pat explains how to execute a proper full bore linear panic and its cousin, modified stationary panic. See Mr. and Mrs. Muldoon react to Pat and Crazy Eddie’s airplane as it teeters on the barn roof headed straight towards oblivion. And learn how not to hunt your first deer with nothing more than a bicycle.”