With confident posture and a no-nonsense tone, Jerry Parlin, 54, of Augusta said he regularly lands fish when no one else does because of the cunning fishing techniques stored in his brain after 30 years of fishing.
Three hours before the Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby ended on Feb. 24, Parlin hooked a 7.86 pound togue with his jack trap. The fish was 29 inches long, which was good enough for first place and a 2008 Ski-Doo GTX-500 snowmobile from Richardson’s Boatyard in Raymond.
Parlin is no stranger to the annual ice fishing derby. He came in second place last year and has a string of lesser position placements under his belt.
“I came in fourth a couple of times,” said Parlin. “But fourth doesn’t pay nothing.”
Any angler can land a big fish with enough time and luck, but a derby dynasty like Parlin’s requires skill and Yankee ingenuity.
Parlin uses a combination of old-fashioned fishing knowledge and modern technology to catch his fish. He has maps of each lake he fishes in and said he spends a week studying them before a fishing trip. He’ll pick out the best locations and write down the coordinates for his GPS tracker.
“I’ll punch it right in and head out,” he said. Parlin added he has a few other tricks up his sleeve, but likes to keep them a secret.
In between fishing sessions and runs on his Arctic Cat snowmobile, Parlin slept in a cramped ice shack. Posted on the wall is a picture of his old fishing buddy Paul Doyon, who died of cancer two years ago.
“I miss him terribly,” said Parlin. He said the two of them fished together for decades and it felt like Doyon was watching over him when he caught his winning fish.
Derbywinner1-3: Jerry Parlin, 54, of Augusta with the 7.86 pound togue he caught on Sunday that won him the 2008 Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby. Parlin said he uses maps and a GPS tracker to find the best fishing spots and caught this fish three hours before the contest ended.
Derbywinner1-3: Jerry Parlin, 54, of Augusta with the 7.86 pound togue he caught on Sunday that won him the 2008 Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby. Parlin said he uses maps and a GPS tracker to find the best fishing spots and caught this fish three hours before the contest ended.
Derbywinner1-3: Jerry Parlin, 54, of Augusta with the 7.86 pound togue he caught on Sunday that won him the 2008 Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby. Parlin said he uses maps and a GPS tracker to find the best fishing spots and caught this fish three hours before the contest ended.
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