The 2023 Go Fish BC Photo Contest closed at the end of October. This year, we asked for photos of memorable fishing moments; fishing buddies; and anglers’ fishing firsts. Selecting only nine winners from so many excellent submissions was a tough task.
Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners, who each receive a prize. You can view the winning shots below.
Follow our Instagram and Facebook account where we’ll also be featuring the winners, along with some of our other favourite photos throughout the year.
Category 1: Gone Fishing
We asked for snapshots of your favourite fishing moments, from the river, lake or campsite.
1st Place: Mike Irvine. “Fishing the beautiful Kispiox River in Northern B.C.”
2nd Place: Alex Au-Yeung. “River learning how to reel a spinning reel on her own. River just turned 2 years old in June and this is the first year we got to take her out fishing! Her mom and dad are avid anglers and are thrilled that she is very interested in this sport as well.”
3rd Place: Steve Gustafson. Serpentine River, Fall Coho fishing.
Category 2: Fishing Buddies
For photos of your fishing buddy, whether it be a family member, friend, or pet.
1st Place: Chris Bowers.“Jason Poole and his dog Bruce exchange high fives after landing a double header whilst heading straight back into it on the next cast! High fives and rods bent, what a moment! Close friend, Moses Itkonen in the background creeping in closer to our honey hole. He took notes and began hooking into them shortly after. What a great evening of fishing and friends it was.”
2nd Place. Jaimie Griffin. “One big happy family fishing at the honey hole at sunset. New addition to come, and the dog included, of course.”
3rd Place: Jared Austin. “Packing up after a good day of fishing. Eight of us went out for a bachelor party. Three new people to fishing and everyone caught at least one pink salmon on the fly. Some of us didn’t have waders so a piggy back across the river is the next best thing. What are friends for?“
Category 3: Fishing Firsts
We asked for photos of a first fishing moment. This can be an image of a first fish ever caught, first fish of the season, first time ice fishing, first time fishing a new location. There’s a first time for everything!
1st Place. Glenn Gonatice. “My daughter and her mom got their first Chinook together!”
2nd Place. Greg Maund. “My first Grayling of the year, later than usual but it is what it is. River near to Chetwynd. I was surprised how long it posed for me.”
3rd Place. Paul Chen. “Our first fishing trip with the whole family. Squamish.”
Prizes
First, second and third prizes will be awarded for each category.
1st prize: ‘Kamloops Trophy’ Moby Net, 13 Fishing Defy Black GENII Rod and Kalon Spinning Reel, Go Fish BC tumbler and cap.
2nd prize: Mustang Survival MIT 70 Manual Inflatable PFD
3rd prize: A box of hand-tied flies: stillwater essentials collection.
If you missed the deadline or didn’t win this year, be sure to try again in 2024. We’ll be announcing new categories and asking for submissions starting in the summer.