By ANDY GARDNER

The Lake St. Lawrence Winter Chill will not return this year, with the exception of its ice fishing derby, which a local fire department will organize.

The Winter Chill was hosted by the St. Lawrence River Walleye Association in 2016 and 2017. It included events in Massena, Louisville and Waddington.

Mike Gagner from the SLRWA said they are not continuing due to a lack of volunteers to help organize events.

“The Winter Chill, there was just a lack of volunteers and that’s pretty much it, really,” Gagner said.

However, the Louisville Fire Department will take over the Chill’s capstone event, an ice fishing derby where 1,000 anglers are expected.

“The Walleye Association has turned that over to the Louisville Fire Department,” he said. “We’ll just kind of mentor them for this year and maybe next year.

Gagner said without support from the Town of Massena, they are having one day of fishing instead of two.

“The only thing that’s different this year is there’s no second day. The last couple years the Town of Massena was putting up money for a fish off on Sunday.”

Other than that, the derby will be the same as years past.

The event will be from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 24 with the same boundaries as last year’s event. Day-of registration will start at 4 a.m.

There will be more than $20,000 in cash and prizes to be given away. Prizes of $1,100 per hour will be doled out for the biggest four pike.

People can register on the Walleye Association’s website, stlawrenceriverwalleyeassociation.com, or at Chapman’s Sport Shop in Black Lake, Louisville Mini Mart, JC River Run Restaurant in Waddington, St. Lawrence Archery in Massena or Uppstrom’s Bait and Tackle in Waddington.

The 2017 Winter Chill was plagued by unseasonable weather, which led to cancelation of all Louisville and Waddington events, plus the ice fishing derby.