By Steve Weisman

(photo by Shane Akin) Carter Richey, who won the youth division for the largest fish at last year’s Camp Autumn Ice Fishing Tournament, holds up a pair of big walleyes he caught on his guided fishing trip.

The third annual Camp Autumn Ice Fishing Tournament and Fundraiser is set for Saturday, February 12 with registration taking place at 9 a.m. with fishing going from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The tournament will be held at Camp Autumn (4233 Yew Ave), a 30-acre private lake located southwest of Royal and Everly.

There is no registration fee; however, free-will donations will be accepted. Registration is encouraged but not required. Visit https://fb.me/e/1lhv0E6kn to learn more. For those who cannot attend the event, but would like to donate to Camp Autumn, please visit https://seasonscenter.org/donate.php or you can donate via Venmo @SeasonsIowa. In the comments section, note the donation is for the Ice Fishing Tournament.

“We are excited to host the 3rd Annual Ice Fishing Tournament and Fundraiser at Camp Autumn,” said Adam Lybarger, Camp Director at Camp Autumn. “We are thrilled to open up our private lake and give people from area communities an opportunity to fish while supporting a great cause.”

For those who have fished the tournament the last couple of years, they know that Camp Autumn has an excellent population of crappies, bluegills and largemouth bass. Each year over 100 anglers have joined in the fun catching lots and lots of fish…all for a good cause….a fundraiser to benefit children and families through Camp Autumn, a therapeutic camp for kids ages 4 – 21. By participating in the ice fishing tournament, with a chance to win prizes, anglers, through their free will donation, are supporting children to attend Camp Autumn through camp scholarships.

Catch and release

It is a catch and release tournament with prizes for the top places in each category…how do you keep track? Each angler is given an orange flag on a wire. When a fish is caught, a flag is raised, and a member of the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (wearing yellow reflector vests) will go over and measure the length of the fish. Then the angler will take out an official piece of paper with types of fish typed on the paper and a spot to put the length of each individual fish measured. That is then initialed by the club member. At the end of the contest, participants will add up the total length of their five best fish in each category, and the results are used to determine placings.

Prize categories will be based on length for bass, crappie, and bluegill/other panfish with prizes awarded to the top three placers in each category.

A special prize will go to the youngster catching the single largest fish. The winner will receive a guided fishing trip with area guide Shane Akin, owner of Great Lakes Guide Service. Akin says,  “Anything I can do to help kids I will do. It will be a half day of fishing, and an adult can come with them. Last year, I took Carter Richey and his dad Kyle trolling walleyes, and we caught several walleyes. We had a great day!”

Camp Autumn partners/sponsors

Lybarger notes, “There is a lot of work that goes into an event like this, and we couldn’t do it without the help and support of our sponsors. We are especially grateful to the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC) for its continued generosity and support of our camp and the youth that we serve.”

As mentioned earlier, the IGLFC will be coordinating and judging the tournament, along with providing ice shacks, poles, and gear for those who do not have ice fishing equipment. Equipment will be available on a first-come, first-serve, rotating basis.

The first 50 youngsters (15 and under) will receive a free ice fishing rod and reel combo compliments of the IGLFC. IGLFC president Terry Thomsen says, “The IGLFC is happy to help with the fishing tournament. One of our goals is to get more kids involved in the outdoors and fishing. The first two years have gone well, and we look forward to this year.”

Other event sponsors include Stan’s Bait & Tackle in Milford, Oak Hill Outdoor in Milford, No Limits Outdoor in Spencer, Pella Windows in Sioux Center, Snook’s of Okoboji in Okoboji, Great Lakes Guide Service, Hy-Vee in Spencer, Mud on Main Coffee House & Roastery in Cherokee.

Food is also taken care of with Mud on Main Coffee House & Roastery on-site to provide coffee and hot cocoa throughout the tournament, while Spencer Hy-Vee will provide a chili lunch right after the fishing tournament ends. Lybarger notes, “After the tournament, we will invite everybody to come up to the camp warehouse for the chili feed. Then after results are tabulated, we will announce the top placers in each category.”

For more information, contact Adam Lybarger (800-242-5101) or email at alybarger@seasonscenter.org.