Small fish, big prizes
Nearly 2,500 anglers took to the ice during Saturday’s Ice Fishing Challenge on Lake L’Homme Dieu.By: Celeste Beam, Alexandria Echo Press
- The crowd
- The winner
- The fish
- The gear
Nearly 2,500 anglers took to the ice during Saturday’s Ice Fishing Challenge on Lake L’Homme Dieu.
Anglers from all over, including Indiana, Washington, Alaska, North Dakota, Iowa and even England and New Zealand, participated in this year’s event.
The weather is always a factor for the tournament and this year, Mother Nature cooperated, noted Jessica Nelson, past president of the Alexandria Sertoma Club and one of the tournament organizers.
“The weather was great this year and the turnout was about normal,” said Nelson.
The Sertomans, along with the Viking Sportsmen Club, host the tournament each year – this year was the 10th annual.
The big winner of this year’s tournament was David Teske with a 2.14 pound northern. He walked away with the grand prize – a brand new Ford F-150 4x4 pickup truck.
The fishing was a little slower this year, noted Nelson. She said it took a little while for the fish to start biting.
And the weight of this year’s biggest fish was nearly half the size of last year’s winner, which weighed in at 5.06 pounds.
Nelson explained that each year, the grid set up for the Ice Fishing Challenge is slightly changed, although the general location is the same.
The depth of water anglers fish each year might be a little bit different because the grid is in a different area. This could affect the outcome – and the size of fish reeled in.
Despite where anglers were fishing, they still caught fish and all 100 prizes were given out.
“Overall, everything went well,” said Nelson.
She noted, however, that for one angler, the tournament didn’t go as planned. A man, whose name and age were unknown, reportedly had a heart attack while on the ice and had to be transported to Douglas County Hospital.
Nelson learned that he was later airlifted to a different hospital – one in the Twin Cites. After the tournament, she was happy to hear that the man was going to be OK and was doing fine.
Nelson said the tournament couldn’t be possible without all the sponsors and those who come out and volunteer their time.
She estimated that there were more than 100 volunteers who helped with this year’s tournament.
For more information about the tournament, visit the Ice Fishing Challenge website at www.icefishingchallenge.org.
A slideshow of the event is available at www.echopress.com.
AND THE WINNERS ARE:
1. David Teske, 2.14 northern, Ford F-150
2. Bruce Freske, 1.84 northern, Lodge Dakota fish house
3. Robert Fulton, 1.49 northern, Arctic Armor jacket
4. Dan Schirmers, 0.66 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
5. Kenny Goochney, 0.63 walleye, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
6. Troy Halvorson, 0.60 walleye, Aqua Vu underwater camera
7. Dan Snider, 0.50 walleye, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
8. Brad Jorgenson 0.45 walleye, $100 Conlin’s Furniture gift certificate
9. Kurt Meyers, 0.44 perch, winter sport package
10. Steve Gilmor, 0.38 sunfish, Kawasaki Prairie 360 4x4
11. John Bosek, 0.38 perch, men’s watch
12. Landry Streich, 0.35 sunfish, Vexilar FL12 pro pack fish finder
13. Rick Larson, 0.33 sunfish, $100 Elden’s gift certifiate
14. Jerry Growe, 0.32 sunfish, fishing package from Christopherson’s Bait
15. Terry Forbes, 0.29 sunfish, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
16. Mike Leiter, 0.29 sunfish, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
17. Jacob Paffrath, 0.29 sunfish, Northland tackle package
18. Randy Buse, 0.27 sunfish, one-night stay at Arrowwood Resort with four rounds of golf and four waterpark passes
19. Adam Nordmeyer, 0.27 walleye, $100 D. Michael B’s gift certificate
20. Dennis Weber, 0.26 sunfish, Sony 40-inch LCD HDTV
21. Greg Borgos, 0.25 walleye, Hardwater ware suit
22. John Hoakonson, 0.25 sunfish, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
23. Clyde Millerbernd, 0.25 sunfish, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
24. Mark Nathan, 0.24 sunfish, Viking Sportsmen ticket “B” package/Arctic Armor gloves
25. Jeff Popp, 0.23 perch, Aqua Vu underwater camera
26. Brandon Popp, 0.22 walleye, ladies matching earrings and necklace
27. Ben Bruggerman, 0.21 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
28. Nicole Marti, 0.21 perch, one-night stay at Country Inn and Suites
29. Ben Norlin, 0.20 perch, one-year membership to Elk Lake Lodge
30. Paul Clausen, 0.20 walleye, Polaris Sportsmen 90cc ATV
31. Steve Warren, 0.19 perch, dinner for two, including bottle of wine at Doolittles and $50 cash
32. Alex Orie, 0.19 perch, Twin Cities hotel package
33. Carter Nathan, 0.19 sunfish, Aqua Vu underwater camera
34. Steve Anderson, 0.18 perch, Northland tackle package
35. Sean Haburn, 0.18 perch, hotel package at Holiday Inn in Alexandria
36. Greg Niblett, 0.18 sunfish, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
37. Lersa Wildman, 0.17 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
38. Mclain Woessner, 0.17 perch, $100 cash
39. Paul Buchholz, 0.17 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
40. Aaron Coy, 0.17 walleye, snowmobile trailer
41. Jamie Paffrath, 0.17 sunfish, fishing package from Christopherson’s Bait
42. Frank Uys, 0.17 walleye, Viking Sportsmen ticket “B” package/Arctic Armor gloves
43. Bruce Cerney, 0.16 walleye, Stihl chainsaw
44. Bruce Amundson, 0.16 perch, ladies watch
45. Jeron Denk, 0.16 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
46. Dan Banbre, 0.14 perch, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
47. Ryan Christenson, 0.14 perch, Alexandria Beetles package
48. Corey Stenson, 0.14 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
49. Jackson Lippert, 0.14 perch, fishing package from Christopherson’s Bait
50. Richard Paulson, 0.14 walleye, Kawasaki Prairie 360 4x4
51. John Wesen, 0.14 perch, hotel package from Holiday Inn in Alexandria
52. John David, 0.13 perch, four rounds of golf at Geneva Golf Club
53. Travis Ritter, 0.13 perch, Northland tackle package
54. Chad Kugler, 0.13 walleye, Aqua Vu underwater camera
55. Steve Garry, 0.13 perch, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
56. Chuck Nordahl, 0.13 sunfish, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
57. Mike Zabel, 0.12 perch, $100 cash
58. Alyssa Scheil, 0.12 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
59. Jake Seth, 0.12 perch, $100 cash
60. Rich Sundberg, 0.12 walleye, Cub Cadet snowblower
61. Dale Eyerle, 0.12 perch, Viking Sportsmen ticket “B” package/Arctic Armor gloves
62. Debbie Beehtold, 0.12 perch, $100 cash
63. Jason Green, 0.12 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
64. Jake Juettner, 0.11 perch, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
65. Chris Winter, 0.11 perch, fishing package from Christopherson’s Bait
66. Derek Virkus, 0.11 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
67. Michelle Vick, 0.11 perch, Northland tackle package
68. Collin Cogley, 0.11 perch, Arctic Armor jacket
69. Mitch Mayer, 0.10 perch, Aqua Vu underwater camera
70. Ken Hvezda, 0.10 perch, Snapper 46-inch riding lawnmower
71. Darrell Zieske, 0.10 perch, one-night stay at Arrowwood Resort with four rounds of golf and four waterpark passes
72. J.D. Oberg, 0.10 perch, men’s watch
73. Michael Hovde, 0.10 perch, camo jacket, Arctic Armor gloves and $50 cash
74. Brian Bohlman, 0.10 perch, $100 cash
75. Mike Landgren, 0.10 perch, Minnesota Wild hockey jersey
76. Jared Rasmussen, 0.10 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
77. Keith Peterson, 0.10 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
78. Nick Guetter, 0.10 perch, $100 cash
79. Mitch Sumstad, 0.10 perch, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
80. Kristina Faris, 0.10 perch, Storage shed
81. Michael Sand, 0.09 perch, fishing package from Christopherson’s Bait
82. Micah Radach, 0.09 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
83. Denny Heuer, 0.09 perch, Arctic Armor jacket
84. Harvey Weisel, 0.09 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
85. Trey Vanorsdel, 0.09 perch, Northland tackle package
86. Randy Schmitz, 0.09 perch, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
87. Ronnie Auran, 0.09 perch, $100 cash
88. Joel Dulski, 0.09 perch, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
89. Danny Steidl, 0.09 perch, $100 cash
90. Bobby Guetter, 0.09 perch, Versa Shak fish house
91. Torrie Englund, 0.09 perch, $100 cash
92. Joe Studnick, 0.08 perch, Hardwater ware suit
93. Jeremy Killmer, 0.08 perch, $100 Tennessee Roadhouse gift certificate
94. Josh Serier, 0.08 perch, four rounds of golf with cart at Alexandria Golf Club
95. Rick Bennit, 0.08 walleye, $100 cash
96. Tom Welch, 0.08 perch, Strikemaster Lazer Mag ice auger
97. Jen Miller, 0.08 perch, Blizzard Hockey flex tickets and merchandise
98. Aaron Schmitz, 0.08 perch, $100 Elden’s gift certificate
99. Ernie Kolle, 0.08 sunfish, Vexilar FL18 pro pack fish finder
100. Jesse West, 0.08 perch, diamond circle pendant
GENERAL
RAFFLE WINNERS
1. Clair Angland, 2010 Harley Sportster
2. Tim Flanery, Ice Castle fish house
3. James Stratton, $600 travel voucher
4. Danon Anderson, 42-inch LCD TV
5. Bob Olson, Strikemaster ice auger
Results courtesy of the Alexandria Sertoma Club and Viking Sportsmen Club.
Tags: local news, ice fishing challenge, vikings sportsmen, news, fishing, sertoma, alexandria
More from around the web
RSS Feeds