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Three hundred seventy-six people registered to fish in Saturday’s Get Hooked Fishing Derby at The Lake in Luverne Saturday.
“It was unbelievable,” said Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere.
“It just blows my mind that we had that many people down there at The Lake. … I would bet we had 175 to 200 who had never fished the tournament before.”
Skies were overcast, but temperatures rose into the mid-20s Saturday following a week of bitter cold sub-zero weather.
“It was nice for ice fishing,” Lanphere said. “What a great day on The Lake.”
While dozens of ice houses dotted the surface of the lake, many others found protected areas to fish out on the ice, and volunteers weighed and registered a steady stream of fish hauled in buckets and clear plastic bags.
“We had a great group of guys on the committee,” Lanphere said. “We bought our own scales this year and did the weighing and entering ourselves.”
Morgan Bonnett took home the $500 catch prize for hauling in the largest fish in the youth category (a carp), and Colton Koenen won the ice fishing package prize for catching the largest game fish, a bass.
Fox Forrest, Lucas Madison and Elliot Domagala were first, second and third, respectively, for catching the most fish in total ounces. Forrest hauled in 107.6 ounces of fish, Madison had 96.2 ounces total and Domagala registered 88.6 total ounces.
In adult competition, Hailey Boll caught the $500 prize-winning largest fish, a bass, and AJ Bonnett, Jesse Petersen and Robert Vander Bush were first, second and third, respectively, for catching the most fish in total ounces.
Bonnet caught 196.8 total ounces of fish, Petersen hauled in 195.7 ounces and Vander Bush had 74.1 total ounces.
Participants who pre-registered for the 2021 competition were eligible for $100 cash drawings, which went to Cory Matney in the adult division and Brody Kopp in the youth division.
Dwight Bremer’s raffle ticket was drawn to win the Ice Castle ice fishing house.
Lanphere said Fishing Derby committee members sold 175 raffle tickets for $100 apiece, and they purchased the ice house for less than $10,000. The proceeds will benefit The Lake and its youth activities.
For example, last year’s proceeds helped fund fish stocking and a new ramp at The Lake.
A full list of winners and more details can be found on the Luverne Area Chamber website, www.luvernechamber.com.