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Luverne’s fifth annual Get Hooked Ice Fishing Derby attracted 290 registered anglers at The Lake in Luverne Saturday afternoon.
Alex Dewispelaere snagged a 4.63-pound carp to claim the $500 first place prize in the youth division and Dalton Petersen caught a 5.44-pound carp for the $500 first place prize in the adult division.
In addition, organizers doled out nearly $5,000 in prize drawings, including the Ice Castle icehouse that went to Stan Steensma.
Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere said the group got a non-profit discount on the icehouse, valued at $11,000, and the raffle ticket sales will benefit the next project at The Lake.
“The plan is that the guys are going to try to work on building a public ice fishing house on skids that could be hauled out onto The Lake for people to borrow and fish in,” Lanphere said.
“This is a great project to support youth fishing … used by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, birthday parties, Community Education, etc. It might take a couple of years of raffle proceeds to get it all done but it would be a wonderful thing for the community.”
Volunteers with the Beaver Creek Sportsman’s Club served as official judges, weighing fish and recording entries in the warming house near the lake.
Lanphere thanked the Fishing Derby Committee members Jeremy Wallenberg, Rob Wenzel and Mike Davis for their work on the event.
“They basically did all the work and Dustin (Aning) helped on the day of the tournament,” she said. “The Chamber just helped with the organizing. It was a great day.”
In all, they tallied more than 185 pounds worth of fish, awarding a $2 bounty for each carp hauled in from the lake.
“I think we were at about 49-50 carp,” Lanphere said. “We ran through about $100 in carp cash.”
Joan Kindt caught 14.215 pounds of fish for first place among adult entries for total pounds of fish. Caul Bonnett hauled in a total of 15.345 pounds to win first place in the kids’ division.
In all, the grownups caught nearly 96 pounds of fish Saturday and the youth caught more than 89 pounds.
A free rod, reel and tackle was given to the first 100 youth to register at the event.
Mike Davis, one of the event organizers, said he was pleased with the large number of entries in the contest and with the overall interest in participating in the annual event at The Lake.
He said the fishing derby committee is looking for volunteers to help with next year’s event in order to make it run more smoothly.
“Our group is getting smaller every year, and we want it to be a fun event for everyone, so I hope we get a few more helpers,” Davis said.
He can be reached at 507-227-7068, or call the Chamber at 507-283-4061.