Wakefield Fire Department holds fishing contest

By BRYAN HELLIOS

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Wakefield — The Wakefield Fire Department held its 10th annual fishing contest on Saturday on Sunday Lake.

Volunteer fireman and chairman of the fishing contest, Mike Singleton, said 101 businesses, or people donated items, or cash.

“We have more than $10,000 in prizes to give away and all the kids will definitely get a prize,” he said.

The event was started to get kids “off the X-Box” and experience the outdoors, and in the process, raise money for needed equipment, he said.

The fire department plans to purchase air bottles and other equipment with money raised at the event.

The fishing contest is the fire department’s largest fundraiser. Last year the contest raised about $14,000, he added.

“This is a 4-hour event and to be able to raise that much in 4 hours is overwhelming,” he said.

With only four hours to catch a fish, Stephan Raymond used an app for his phone to find the lake’s depth, its currents and the terrain of the lake bed.

He said the app is helpful because it gives him a “good idea” where the fish might be so he can pick out the best spot on the lake.

“Last year we caught a legal northern pike and came in third,” he said.

Singleton was out on the ice before the contest started to set up his ice shanty and drill holes through the lake’s roughly foot-and-a-half of ice, so his son and niece could start fishing right after hearing the “woop woop” of the firetruck’s siren which signaled the start of the contest.

His niece, Kennedy Ikola, said the only time she fishes is during this contest. She moved her rod up-and-down to try and entice a fish to bite on her jig, but soon became too cold and wanted to quit.

“My feet are freezing,” she said.

Singleton’s wife swapped socks with her niece, giving her a nice warm pair of alpaca socks.

Ikola sat back down by her fishing hole and happily munched away on some chips while she watched her pole.

For kids who needed more than an extra pair of socks to warm up, the Wakefield VFW donated the use of its building for the contest. The inside of the VFW was filled with prizes, food and other activities for kids to do while they warmed up.

Ashley Hellman and her husband were grabbing a bite to eat while their daughter got her face painted. Hellman said she was originally from Ironwood, but moved to Virginia and has not been back for “home” for 25 years.

“We came up her to surprise my dad for his birthday,” she said.

She enjoyed watching her kids ice fish for the first time.

“I grew up doing this,” Hellman said. “They don’t know, they live the city and beach life, they don’t know any thing about this.”