By Steve Weisman
Outdoor Editor

Participants could not have asked for better weather conditions at the Camp Autumn Fishing Tournament and Fund Raiser held Saturday, February 11 on Camp Autumn Lake near Sutherland. A total of 174 people joined in on the fun for the fourth annual event.

According to Adam Lybarger, Camp Autumn tournament director, “Mother Nature blessed us with a beautiful weather for a day on the ice, and we are beyond thrilled with our record setting turnout and money raised for our camp scholarship program. Beyond that, though, it was great to see everyone enjoying the day and getting to know Camp Autumn a little better.” Through the generosity of Camp Autumn sponsors and the donations of fishing participants a total $15,022 was raised for the Camp Autumn scholarship fund.

The day began with registration and coffee and hot chocolate provided by Mud on Main Coffee House from Cherokee, followed by a morning of fishing for crappies, bluegills and largemouth bass, culminating with an awards ceremony and a lunch of chili provided by Spencer Hy-Vee and spaghetti from By the Bucket of Spencer.

Through efforts of the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC), everything went smoothly for the participants. In addition to giving the first 60 youngsters a rigged ice fishing rod and reel combo, the club also provided shuttle rides out to the ice and back for everyone as well as being the judges measuring & logging each fish caught.

How was the bite? Lybarger noted, “Many experienced and first-time anglers saw a lot of action today with quite a few really nice fish caught in each of the tournament categories. We promote this as a great tournament for the seasoned angler as well as being a family friendly event and a perfect opportunity to try ice fishing if you have never done so before. The volunteers from the fishing club and I were thrilled to see multiple kids catching their first fish through the ice and even a few kiddos catching their first fish ever here today!”

Listed below are the tournament winners in each category based on combined total length of the angler’s five biggest fish.

Top placers in the bluegill division:

• First place, Cole Budach, 42.5”
• Second place, Grayson Hermstad, 41”
• Third place, Mason Sexe, 40.5”

Top placers in the crappie division:

• First place, Brock Jones, 58.25”
• Second place, Haden Stell, 53.75”
• Third place, Chase Budach, 50.3”

Top placers in the bass division:

• First place, Danie Babb, 40.5”
• Second place, Ryder Parsons, 31”
• Third place, Melody Collett, 29”

A special prize, a guided fishing trip with Shane Akin, owner of Great Lakes Guide Service, was also awarded to the youngster who caught the single largest fish of the day.

• Henry Peters, 16.75” largemouth bass.

Special Challenge Winners:

• Snook’s (of Okoboji) Ice Hole Challenge -Candace Daniels
• Everly, Hartley & Peterson Lions Club Challenge Hole (3 winners/single biggest fish) – Harrison Daniels, Gemma Halverson and Harrison Daniels
• Northwest Bank Lunker Account Challenge Hole (Weight) – Ryan Pyle (heaviest bag); Melody Collett (heaviest single fish)
• Northwest Wealth Management – Guess the number of minnows in the investment tank – Gary Gunntrson
• Valero Renewables (Albert City & Hartley) Casting Challenge – Victor Rodriguez
• Community State Bank Bass Challenge (Most # of bass caught, regardless of size) – Daniel Babb
• City View Farms Around the World Challenge (Must have submitted at least 1 fish in all three tournament categories) – Daniel Babb

Lybarger reflected, “This event is the highlight of the winter for me, but it does take a lot of work to put on an event of this size. There is just no way we could do it without the generosity of our sponsors, volunteers and, of course, the participants showing up. A special thank you to the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club and all our volunteers who work so very hard to ensure the tournament runs smoothly and that everyone has fun!”