Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By IAN MINIELLY
Watersmeet — Thirty-one times the Phelps-Land O’Lakes Lion’s Club has hosted the Great Northern Fishing Tourney in Watersmeet and thirty-one times people have come for the fundraiser held on the last weekend in January. Last Saturday the temperatures were above normal, which was nice for the fisherman, but according to Lion, Wally Beversdorf, “the wind was tough on the fisherman and the ice more risky than other years.”
Beversdorf said, “The tourney is usually 8 hours and awards 10 different prizes between its morning and afternoon sessions.” Hosting the tourney in January leads to some risky conditions regarding ice, but the Lion’s managed to get the fisherman onto and off the ice this year without any accidents or harm.
The turnout this year did not approach the record, which is over 200 fisherman, but they did beat last year with 128 fisherman on ice. Approximately 175 people showed up the for the post tourney banquet at the Lac Vieux Desert Casino, which is a nice turnout for the fundraiser, according to Beversdorf.
The largest fish by size and the fisherman that reeled it in are:
—Northern Pike 29 7/8 inches by Matt Larsh, Rockford, Ill.
—Walleye 21 ¾ inches by Caleb Koppa, Wausau.
—Crappie 11 inches by Dave Klinenmayer, Phelps, Wis.
—Perch 11 inches by James Liebe, Bevent, Wis.
—Blue Gill 8 inches by Will Schumacher, Appleton, Wis.
Tournament proceeds are given to local food banks, provide local scholarships, support libraries, several other charities, the Leader Dog (for the blind) Training Institute, Wisconsin Eye Bank and the Lions Foundation Camp for the Blind and Severely Handicapped in Rosholt, Wis.
