3,000 anglers – 1 challenge

• On the ice

Echo Press photo by Al Edenloff Saturday’s Ice Fishing Challenge on Lake L’Homme Dieu drew a good turnout of about 3,000 anglers who competed for prizes worth more than $100,000. The event is a fundraiser for the Viking Sportsmen and the Sertoma Club.
• Winner

Echo Press photo by Al Edenloff Roger Bienusa of Alexandria stood by the grand prize he won in this year’s Ice Fishing Challenge – a 2008 Ford F-150.
• Windblock

Echo Press photo by Al Edenloff Kyle Trampe of Marion, Iowa chased off the chill of Saturday’s Ice Fishing Challenge with a warm bowl of chili and a windblock made of snow. He caught three fish, all little ones, during the three-hour contest.

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• Ice Fishing Challenge

It was another successful year for the Ice Fishing Challenge, according to organizers. Mother Nature cooperated and so did the fish.

Around 3,000 people entered the 9th annual tournament, which took place Saturday on Lake L’Homme Dieu.

The fundraising event is sponsored by the Alexandria Sertoma Club and Viking Sportsmen.

This year’s grand prize winner was Roger Bienusa of Alexandria, who walked away with a brand new Ford F-150 4X4 truck. He took top honors with a northern that weighed in at 5.06 pounds.

One of the event organizers, Jim Stratton, noted that this year seemed to bring better than average size fish into the weigh station.

He said even though the tournament was once again held on Lake L’Homme Dieu, it was moved to a new area, which maybe helped to bring in the bigger fish.

When asked why anglers entered this particular tournament, Stratton jokingly said, “Out of sheer boredom because it’s the middle of winter!”

But then he added that it’s probably because of the great prizes that are spread throughout the prize list.

The tournament featured more than $100,000 worth of prizes, including the new Ford F-150.

But one of the best things about the contest, said Stratton, is that anglers didn’t have to catch a large fish to be a winner; the majority of anglers had fish that weighed less than one pound.

In fact, the way the prize system works, the last place winner, who this year was Kriss Gerhardt, won a diamond circle pendant.

For a detailed list of winners, visit the Ice Fishing Challenge Web site at www.icefishingchallenge.org.

A slide show of the contest is on the newspaper’s Web site, www.echopress.com.

THE WINNERS ARE…

The following is a partial list of big winners. For a complete list, visit the Ice Fishing Challenge Web site at www.icefishingchallenge.org.

1. Roger Bienusa, 5.06 northern, Ford F-150 4X4 truck.

2. Joe Jerrard, 3.72 walleye, Lodge Dakota fish house.

3. Mitch Brazer, 3.11 northern, Arctic Armour jacket.

4. Andy Haugen, 2.62 northern, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger.

5. Eric Disrud, 2.61 northern, Vexilar FL8 Pro Pack fish finder.

6. Jeff Rohl, 2.29 northern, Aqua Vu underwater camera.

7. Cody Henry, 2.29 northern, $100 Elden’s gift certificate.

8. Mike Lennes, 2.22 northern, Reclining microfiber love seat and leather ottoman.

9. Steve Nelson, 2.21 northern, $100 cash.

10. Dave Spies, 2.13 northern, Kawasaki Prairie 360 4X4.

20. Chris Huss, 1.26 walleye, HDTV.

30. Derek Cunningham, 0.88 rock bass, Can-Am 90 cc ATV.

40. Brian Larson, 0.71 perch, Trailer with ramp.

50. Charles Wesen, 0.53 perch, Panther 370.

60. Adam Nunkel, 0.44 perch, HDTV/home entertainment.

70. Todd Krenz, 0.40 sunfish, Cub Cadet 42” ZTO.

80. Nathan Kriel, 0.38 sunfish, Storage shed.

90. Zach Cunningham, 0.36 rock bass, Versi Shak fish house.

100. Kriss Gerhardt, 0.34 sunfish, diamond circle pendant.

Raffle drawing winners

2009 Harley – Troy Issendorf

Ice Castle fish house – Mark Grandgenett

$600 winter getaway – Steve Jensen

42” LCD HDTV – Cindy Lund

Strikemaster ice auger – Traci Harding

Tags: ice, challenge, results, northland, outdoors, fishing