The Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza again was a major celebration, with close to 10,000 anglers braving sub-zero temperatures: The temp at the start of the tournament was about 6-below — about 22-below with the wind chill. And, for the first time, the governor of Minnesota was in attendance — Gov. Mark Dayton manned a line, although he didn't catch a fish. In all, 724 fish were registered, with the top 150 good for prizes.
Andrew Schultz, of Wisconsin, landed a 7.18-pound northern pike at about 12:15 p.m. Saturday — 15 minutes into the Extravaganza on Gull Lake's Hole-in-the-Day Bay.
After about a 10-minute fight with the fish, which made several good runs, Schultz said. It was Schultz's turn — he sprinted a few hundred yards through the snow with the fish to the weigh-in tent.
At about 4 p.m. — an hour after the official end of the Extravaganza and nearly four hours after he caught the fish, Schultz was officially named the winner of the 21st annual Extravaganza, good for a 2011 Ford pickup.
Dan Borer of St. Michael finished second with a 4.44-pound northern to win an Arctic Cat ATV. Another Wisconsin angler, Chad Wilkons of Elkhorn, was third with a 3.37-pound walleye and won an Arctic Cat Cross Fire 800 snowmobile. The top local finisher was Tim Whiteman of Brainerd, 10th with a 2.58-pound walleye — good for a Strikemaster ice-fishng suit.
Next year's event is scheduled Saturday, January 21. For more information on the Extravaganza and a complete list of 2011 prize-winners, go to www.icefishing.org.
i was there, it was freezing.
pokeball4 4 months ago