WILTON — As the wind picked up and whipped across Wilson Lake on Saturday afternoon, hardy anglers kept checking lines, hoping for a prize catch.

Most reported the fishing was slow, but derby organizer Sharon Borthwick said Saturday’s weather made for the “best day in the last five years.”

The annual Michael J. Rowe Memorial Ice Fishing Derby, hosted by the Wilton Fish and Game Club, was scheduled to run from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Austin Couture of Jay and Tyler Kachnovich of Livermore arrived at 5 a.m. to get an early — and very cold — start. They were still fishing strong at 2 p.m., although neither had caught anything.

But a board displaying the largest catches in each category was well-stocked. Adults were angling for salmon, togue, brook trout and pickerel while youths had a fifth species to catch: bass, Borthwick said.

Pre-sold tickets tallied 91 adult and 51 youth participants. Borthwick called that a good response.

According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife list of permitted fishing derbies, the Wilton event offers more than $1,500 worth of prizes.

People came from all over the state and a few from Massachusetts, who happened to see the derby signs posted on Route 2, to try their luck, she said.

The derby was one among more than 20 held across the state on Maine’s IF&W annual family fishing day, when anyone of any age can fish without a license. 

It was especially nice to see children catch the size and caliber they were, club member Jaci Maxham said, calling the event “amazing.”

“It is all about kids,” she said. “They are our future, the next generation.”

Children who turned out to fish were also able to participate in the club’s first snowshoe event. According to Borthwick, the club tries to offer more than fishing at the derby because many families turn out for the day.

“One little munchkin about 2½ years old really took to snowshoeing,” Arnold “Butch” Borthwick said, referring to Caroline Ames of Livermore Falls.

It was her first time on them, but within five minutes she had it down and then she didn’t want to get off, he said.

Cash prizes were offered in three age categories, Sharon Borthwick said.

The person who caught the largest fish in the adult category won an Eskimo QuickFish 2 ice shelter.

For the heaviest overall fish caught in the five youth categories, the winner received a commemorative box of five Max-Traps provided in memory of Michael J. Rowe, a club member who died in a logging accident two years ago. Brian Maxham of East Dixfield makes and donates the tip-ups for ice-fishing, known as Max-Traps.

Proceeds from a raffle, including pink Max-Traps to support breast cancer, will provide funding for a forestry scholarship for a Mt. Blue student in Rowe’s memory, she said.

The Wilton Fish and Game Club, with a membership well over 100, also hosts a competitive youth shooting league. Members of the league, under the leadership of Greg Roy of Jay, provided food concessions for the day. 

About 20 children practice marksmanship with a .22 rifle a couple of times a week and compete with teams from around the state. Members shoot at their own club and send results to Augusta for comparison with other teams.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net