The winner of the 2023 Orillia Perch Festival grand prize boat was Kevin Graton of Brampton, Ontario. Kevin fished in this year’s derby along with his son, Cooper. The prize boat was sponsored by Lund Boats and Mercury Marine, with the cover donated by Cummins Canvas Co. and storage and transportation provided by Crate’s Lake Country Boats.
The Perch Festival grand prize winner is determined by a draw at the official closing ceremony. To qualify for the draw, an angler must be registered for the derby and catch at least one perch during the festival. Anglers are allowed to submit one catch each day, and each catch provides the angler a ballot in the draw, meaning that the more days an angler goes fishing and is successful in catching a perch, the more chances they have to win the grand prize.
While traditionally anglers were required to bring their fish to the “perch headquarters” at Tudhope park for verification, the past two Perch Festivals have featured an app that allows anglers to submit photos of their catch remotely, allowing not only for the fish to be released back to the water immediately, but also for anglers to participate from various locations around Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching.
The app used for 2023 was My Catch by Angler’s Atlas, a British Columbia-based company that specializes in fishing maps and related resources. The My Catch app is used for fishing derbies all around Canada and the United States. Angler’s Atlas works with government natural resource departments and conservation authorities to use fish data gathered through the app to help with research projects, like tracking population distribution and the spread of disease in fisheries.
In addition to the grand prize boat, dozens of other prizes were awarded through the Perch Festival. Runner-up prizes included a fish finder, kayak, and paddle board, and children’s grand prizes were a canoe and gift certificates for local shopping sprees. In addition, daily prizes of fishing rods and hats were awarded each day of the festival.
The Orillia Perch Festival takes place each year in late April or early May. Information about the 2024 festival and registration will be available on the Orillia & District Chamber of Commerce website, orillia.com, starting in early spring.
The Orillia District Chamber of Commerce (ODCC) is a non-profit organization made up of over 500 member businesses serving the City of Orillia, Severn Township, Ramara Township, Oro-Medonte Township and Chippewas of Rama First Nation. The ODCC is committed to providing an integrated voice for a prosperous business community that fosters local economic development and sustainable growth.
