Print and Online Subscriptions

The Official Newspaper of Douglas County!

Published January 25, 2013, 12:00 AM

Ready, set, fish! Ice fishing challenge features $20,000 top prize

Anglers have seen great success in past tournaments held on Lake L’Homme Dieu, with winners bringing in some large northerns and walleyes to claim top prizes. Past winners have also won significant prizes with fish weighing less than 1 pound.

The Alexandria Sertoma Club will host the 13th annual Ice Fishing Challenge on Lake L’Homme Dieu in Alexandria on Saturday, February 9. The tournament will begin at noon.

Anglers have seen great success in past tournaments held on Lake L’Homme Dieu, with winners bringing in some large northerns and walleyes to claim top prizes. Past winners have also won significant prizes with fish weighing less than 1 pound.

Last year’s tournament awarded a top prize of $20,000 cash and hosted an estimated 3,264 participants, which was the largest in the tournament’s history.

This year’s event will include all cash prizes, with the top prize again being $20,000. Raffle tickets are also available for a chance to win cash prizes up to $5,000 (need not be present to win).

There will be a variety of food and beverage vendors at the event, and the Boy Scouts will be on the ice the day of the tournament to open frozen holes for participants in exchange for donations.

This year’s tournament will again feature a free youth fishing expo for children 16 and younger (bring own pole). Mike Frisch, an expert angler, will conduct a seminar from 9 to 11 a.m., giving young anglers hands-on instruction in a fun, interactive atmosphere. Prizes will be awarded to all youth fishing expo participants.

A Twin Cities author will be at the event to read from her book, One Frozen Lake, which is based on a young child going ice fishing with his grandfather. She will also sign and sell books.

Participants are also encouraged to bring portable FM radios to enjoy the live broadcast of the event over COOL 94.3. The radio station will also be awarding giveaways to those who are listening.

The Ice Fishing Challenge is a non-profit fundraising event. Proceeds from the tournament have been donated to a number of organizations, including Heart of the Lakes, District 206 schools, Douglas County Public Health, Adopt a Highway, United Way, Boy Scouts, Red Cross, Special Olympics, Camp Sertoma, the Sertoma Foundation, the Literacy Project, Friends of the Library, YMCA, Camp Amanda, the Food Shelf, Habitat for Humanity, Young People’s Place and Listening Ear.

TICKET INFO

Tickets for the Ice Fishing Challenge are $35 and can be purchased online at www.icefishingchallenge.org or at Christopherson’s Bait, Sunnie’s (formerly Three Havens) and Elden’s Fresh Foods, all in Alexandria.

Tags:

More from around the web