Six-year
old Denis Pilon looks on with wonder as Rolland Frappier examines one of
the pickerel trapped at the Whitson Creek during April.
Frappier
and Co-Chair, Brian Hnatiuk, were leading a team of members of the
Trailsmen Rod & Gun Club in their attempt to collect 105,000 eggs
from female pickerel during their annual spawning season. When
fertilized with sperm from male pickerel also swimming upstream, the
eggs will eventually turn into approximately 40,000 fingerlings which
will be returned to the lake in mid July.
Dozens
of interested spectators watched from the shores as the members took
fish from their eight foot square mesh trap, in search for the three
healthy females which would be used to obtain the eggs. All fish were
returned carefully to the river, no worse for wear.
The
Trailsmen introduced pickerel to Whitson Lake about ten years ago, and
judging from the hundreds of fish which were caught in the traps, the
population is quickly growing.
The
eggs will be taken to a hatchery for 18 to 28 days and from there
transferred to a rearing pond located on the Ethier Gravel Pit property
in Hanmer. In a matter of six to eight weeks they will have grown into 3
½ inch fingerlings and be ready to be returned to the lake.
With
membership expected to exceed 100 by the summer, the Trailsmen Rod &
Gun Club is in a rapid growth period. This is in large part to their
establishment of a 3-D Archery Range and a Youth Air Rifle Range on
Marcel Ethier’s land. Ethier has provided 17 acres of land for the
Trialsmen to utilize. There are very few ranges in the area for
enthusiasts of these two sports, and as more people find out about the
new facilities, they are flocking to join the organization.
Gerry
Courtemanche is President of the Club, which meets on the 2nd
Wednesday of every month at the Clearview Golf Club in Val Caron. As
mentioned above, Rolland Frappier and Brian Hnatiuk are Co-chairs of the
Fish Hatchery Committee; Nelson Hnatiuk and Dan Aubry are Co-chairs of
the 3-D Archery Committee; Carmen Frappier is the Youth Chair; and Gerry
Haarmeyer is Chair of the Youth Air Rifle Range Committee.
This
is another volunteer group which is adding a great deal to the quality
of life of residents in the community and which is also doing their part
to conserve the environment and wildlife for future generations.
