History
The smallest groups contained 4 people and the largest group had 14, but the average is 8. We have fished in 22 different Saskatchewan lakes so far.
Originally the group didn't have a name, and was made up of people who worked for Northern Telecom in Saskatoon. The name Lithuanian Fish Mongers was first voted on and used in 1989. How the name came about is much too long a story to tell here. Suffice it to say that the best overall fishing member to date is of Lithuanian ancestry. He does however, have his own version of how the name was chosen. According to Gedi, he catches the most fish, and releases them near the boat so that other poor members fishing near him can catch something, thereby "mongering" the fish. This version has not been endorsed by the other members.
Our Lithuanian Fish Monger Symbol was adopted in 1997. You can learn more about it here at our Symbol site, or you can go there any time by clicking on the "symbol" link at the bottom of any page.
We hold regular meetings at least once a month from September to June. Meetings are sometimes held every two weeks in May or June as our fishing date draws closer. Minutes are kept and published to all active and prospective members attending the current year's chosen site. Members get one vote for each year of seniority up to ten years. Then they receive 1 vote for every additional 5 years.
Part of the history of the Lithuanian Fish Mongers is to have a shore lunch of fish for each midday meal. A portion of our fresh caught fish is fried in a custom made grill-pan over an open fire. We also have beans and bread to round out the meal.
Trophies were introduced in 1989 and an Angler of the Year Award buckle was introduced in 1991. Pete Cosh (Cosh the Younger) donated the Angler of the Year buckle when he owned Horseman's Supply. There is one trophy for each species of fish available at the chosen lake for that year. Species have included Northern Pike (locally known as Jack Fish), Walleye (locally known as Pickerel), Lake Trout, Arctic Grayling, and "other" (such as White Fish, Perch, Rainbow Trout, etc.) In 2012 the trophys were replaced with medals.
The Angler of the Year buckle is awarded to the Angler who catches the largest fish per species during the trip. For example, a fish that is large for an Arctic Grayling or a Walleye will not be near as big as a large Northern Pike or Lake Trout. Therefore we use a ratio of the length of the fish species caught, against the Provincial Government's trophy size for that species. The Angler of the Year got to engrave his initials and date of award on the buckle and retain it for one year. The buckle wasn't big enough to hold any more initials after 2009 so a trophy base was made to hold the buckle with room around the base to hold the initials of all previous winners plus new ones for future years.
To learn more about the trophy fish caught and the Angler of the Year award buckle, just click here now, or on the "Members" link, at any time.
