 Well, it's February, so that means it's time to head out to the lake and enjoy the Eelpout Festival in Walker. For this week's community spotlight, Haiti Clotter shows us what this weekend is all about. Eelpout. Eelpout 2017. The 38th annual International Eelpout Festival reeled several people to leech lake in Walker on Saturday. A festival that usually brings in more than 10,000 people saw about 45,000 due to vehicle weight restrictions, according to Eelpout event organizer Jared Olson. I mean, we had warmer weather, obviously, the week before, which, you know, hurt some of the landings and stuff like that, but now everything's really hard and it's, as you can see, my breath. It's cold out now. Not everyone comes out just for the Eelpout. It's about having a good time since Travis D. Domenis of Farmington, Minnesota. He was enjoying the atmosphere and even went for a helicopter ride. If we're going to be honest, it's not so much a fishing tournament as it is just kind of a party atmosphere, but it's fun, you know, we keep it, keep it pretty real here. There's plenty of Eelpout to go around if that's your thing. If there was anything I could eat, it would be a pote every year. I've never been to a place more barbaric and fun. This is everything I've ever dreamed of. It's like WeFest, but better. I don't like WeFest. I like Eelpout. Keeping that with tradition, you're supposed to kiss the fish. Our very own Justin Prince got in on the action, too. A lot of people will take them and eat them, or we have them frying in the tent right now also, so everybody likes to try the fish and just taste it. It's a little fishy, gamey tasting, but, you know, it's the Eelpout Festival, so we're eating it. Todd and Troy Thoma drove in from Minneapolis and used the weekend to bond as brothers. We have a cabin in Hackensack, so it's convenient to come up here, and we've been coming up here since the 80s, so it's always a good time to see friends, have a good time with crazy people. The festival also offers something to the community. It's a big part of the community here. I mean, obviously February, not a lot's going on in Northern Minnesota when you're standing on two feet of ice, so I think everybody really appreciates it and likes it, and I hope they all do well this weekend. Until next year, for this week's Community Spotlight, M. Walker, Katie Clutter, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.