The Estevan Wildlife Federation recognized excellence in hunting, fishing and photography on Saturday night during the organization’s annual awards night.
Dozens of trophies were handed out to men, women and youth during the event at Wylie-Mitchell Hall.
In the junior birds category, Chase McNabb caught the largest Canada goose with a weight of 12 pounds, 11 ounces.
As for the adult bird hunters, Kevin Thompson had the largest Hungarian partridge at 14 ounces, Nate Smart had the top Canada goose (14 pounds, two ounces); Dave Clark had the largest snow goose (six pounds, three ounces); and Murray Mosley had the top sharp-tail grouse (one pound, 14 ounces), mallard duck (three pounds, five ounces), and white-fronted goose (six pounds, nine ounces).
Ralph Smart had the top-scoring pheasant with 40 bars and a 24 1/2-inch tail, for a total score of 64 1/2 points.
In the youth fish category, Jaslyn McNabb had the top perch (one pound, six ounces), Kyra Driedger caught the largest walleye (eight pounds, 14 ounces) and Chase McNabb captured the heaviest northern pike (11 pounds, 12 ounces).
As for the adult anglers, Kevin Florek had the top perch (one pound, three ounces), Mark Michel caught the largest bass (four pounds, six ounces), Lance Marcotte had the top walleye (10 pounds, three ounces), Joshua Michel caught the top northern pike (16 pounds, eight ounces), and Murray Mosley caught the top splake trout (four pounds, two ounces), brook trout (one pound, 13 ounces), rainbow trout (six pounds, eight ounces) and tiger trout (five pounds, two ounces).
Awards were also handed out for big-game hunting among archery and rifle hunters. In senior archery, Garry Leslie recorded the largest typical whitetailed deer with a score of 134 4/8, Ralph Smart the top typical mule deer at 153 1/8, Travis Graham the top non-typical mule deer at 162 4/8, and Jamie Dyer the top black bear at 15 1/16. Leslie was named the bowhunter of the year with an aggregate score of 228.
The largest number of awards was for big-game rifle. In the junior rifle category, Carlin Pylychaty had the top-scoring typical whitetailed deer with a score of 142 3/8, Chase McNabb had the non-typical whitetailed deer (122 5/8) and Hunter Chipley the top typical mule deer (127 2/8).
In the women’s division, Samantha Evans had the top typical whitetail eddeer with a score of 142, Carla Clark the top typical mule deer (139 4/8), Twyla Thompson the top moose (152) and Treena Pylychaty the top bear (16).
As for men’s rifle, Kelly Pastachak had the top typical whitetailed deer (180 3/4), Damon Doerr the non-typical whitetailed deer (176 3/4), David Mills the top typical mule deer (150), Sheldon McNabb the top non-typical mule deer (219), Doug Van De Woestyne the top elk (288 5/8), Mike Halirewich the top non-typical elk (356 7/8) and Dean Kalynuk the top moose (155 2/8).
In the photography awards, McKenna Van de Woestyne had the top junior scenic and junior wildlife photos, Kendra Lainton the top senior scenic picture and Mary Jacobs the best senior wildlife photo. Jacobs also took home the award for photo of the year.
Lionel Bender was also recognized during the evening for selling the most memberships at 291. The EWF boasts more than 1,000 members, making it one of the largest clubs in the province.
