The History of The Canette

The history of our most famous fishing trophy

The upcoming year will be the 48th year of our most famous fishing trophy, The Canette. It started out as a modest little trophy in 1977 only nine inches high from the base to top, a Labatt 50 can on a wood base. Al Macintyre was the first winner way back then. Over the next few years three tiers and more beer cans were added to the original trophy to accommodate more winners' names. In 1982 the trophy reached its present look with 4 tiers and a whopping 29 inches in height. It was decided at that time that no further alterations or additions should be made.

On the 1996 fishing trip the guys decided that The Canette should be renamed for the first guy in our group that dies. The only criteria being the guy must have his name on the trophy at least once and he has to be a regular on the fishing trip. That hasn't happened yet, and we do not look forward to this anytime soon. To date eligible names for the "xxx" Memorial Trophy could be Phil Anderson, Al Davis, Al Heaney, Warren Kidd, Al Macintyre, and Ron Zinn.

The Canette... It's all in the numbers

Most guys to compete for the trophy on one fishing trip:
Eighteen guys went on the 1983 Club Fontbrune on Lac Piscatosin.

Least number of guys to compete for the trophy on one trip:
5 guys at Blue Haven in 1990, Etoile du Nord in 1997 and The Laurentian View Resort in 2003.

Serious fishermen who have never won the trophy:
Bill Brown, Kenny Cohen, Kevin Cross, Tony DeFazio, Frank Franchellini, Kyle Heaney, Tommy Hansen, Scott Marley, Marc Riopelle, Andy Romanowski and Richard Vien.

Hottest fisherman in recent years:
Al Macintyre is on a roll! He has won the trophy 4 times since 2015..

Regulars who have won the trophy only once:
Ron Malloff in 1999 and Billy Hum in 2009.

Rookie winners who won the trophy and never came back:
Cliff Farber in 1979, Louie Eykens in 1983 and John Mathers in 1987.

Largest fish to win The Canette:
Al Heaney in 1993 with a carp weighing just under 30 pounds.

Smallest fish to win The Canette:
Al Macintyre in 2021 with a one-pound smallmouth bass!

...and the winner is Al!
Since the introduction of the trophy in 1977, guys named "Al" have won the trophy a whooping 17 times! Al's have included Allan, Alan and Alvin.

...and the winner is... uh... it's a tie!
Phil Anderson and Al Macintyre tied for the trophy at Blue Haven in 1990. Each guy caught a northern pike weighing in at 4.2 pounds.

The most prolific winners:
Ron Zinn has won the trophy 10 times.

Estimated total prize money generated by The Canette in the past 47 trips:
-- $3,745.00 --

In the early years of the fishing trip, the cost to enter the competition was just $5.00. The price was raised to $10.00 in the late 1990's, just to make the prize a little more interesting.

On the 2006 trip, Allan Macintyre raised the entry cost to a whopping $30.00 a person with $200.00 going to the winner of the Canette and $70.00 going to the person with the second largest fish.

In 2007, the entry price was reduced back to $10.00 per person for a total of $70.00 going to the winner.

In 2023, Big Al raised the entry price to $20. with the winner getting $160.00.