
In June of 1964, Roseanne Jackson of Calgary landed one of the largest fish ever caught in Chestermere Lake.
It was by chance the Roseanne was fishing that day. She and her husband Harvey were visiting Doris and Bob Kane (West side of the Lake) who had just bought a new motorboat. After the firt spin around the lake, the four decided to try a bit of fishing.
Roseanne’s rod was baited first and while the rest of them were still attaching worms, Roseanne was shouting, “I’ve got a fish!”. Nearly 100 feet of line was quickly ran out from Roseanne’s salmon rod. After an hour of maneuvering through the weeds, the big pike was finally near the boat. They had to use a hand net at each end to haul it in.
This all took place about 200 yards off shore from Orley and Mildred Brinkers cabin.
Excited about how much the pike might weigh, they took it to the Chestermere Store for a check. It was 23.5 pounds. Such a prize was worth keeping, so they immediately had it mounted by a taxidermist by the name of Erickson. Unlike the techniques used today, he used the whole fish, not just the skin over a foam core.
Nearly two years later, 1966, Roseanne was pleased to receive a trophy from Sick’s Brewing Ltd. Lethbridge, recognizing her feat. The problem was, the trophy said 23lbs, yet the fish was really 23.5lbs.
On July 20th, 2009 at 5:30PM Roseanne and Harvey presented this fish and trophy to the Town of Chestermere for the historical display in the Library. It hangs there today, along with the framed trophy which Roseanne also donated to the Historical foundation.