Yellowknife’s firefighters are staging an ice fishing derby this weekend in memory of Greg Pratt, who passed away this time last year at the age of 48.
Greg is remembered by colleagues at the city’s fire hall as an extremely capable and supportive firefighter – and someone who would fish in any weather.
“Like a lot of people that come up here, he really enjoyed the outdoors. In particular, he enjoyed fishing season-round. Summer, winter, Greg enjoyed it,” said Christian Bittrolff, president of the IAFF Local 2890 Yellowknife Firefighters’ Association, which is organizing the event.
From December 2023: Firefighter Greg Pratt remembered for his heart, humour and grace
“He often actually fished on Kam Lake, which is one of the reasons we chose that as a location.”
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Kam Lake is within city limits and easy for residents to reach, Bittrolff said. Anyone is welcome to sign up via the Fishdonkey app and you can find more information on Facebook.
The derby is a weekend-long catch-and-release event where competitors are judged on three types of fish: northern pike, walleye and whitefish.
“This is brand new. We want to remember Greg for the kind of guy that he was, a fun-loving guy who loved to socialize and loved a little bit of friendly competition. This is a cash prize event, so there’s a little bit of that as well,” said Bittrolff.
“During the winter months, people start to hibernate a little bit. It’s always good to get everybody out.”
