By Steve Weisman

Over its 58-year history, the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC) has evolved from its original title of the Iowa Great Lakes Muskie Club in 1987 to its current title of the IGLFC with the vision of contributing to the environment and area communities by improving the quality of local fisheries and promoting involvement through educational/recreational activities.

At the same time, club leaders have reached out to literally thousands of youngsters in helping them realize the importance of our natural resources and to encourage them to experience the sport of fishing and help them develop a connection to the outdoors and fishing as a lifelong passion.

An additional benefit has been helping entire families become outdoor and fishing enthusiasts. This has, in turn, boosted membership numbers to skyrocket in recent years to its current membership of 450 (both individuals and families). Here is an exciting statistic. In 2025, alone, a total of 24 kids’ events have been held with club volunteers reaching out to and working with over 1,000 youngsters. Through the fundraising efforts of the club, youngsters received over $50,000 (retail value) in fishing tackle and product at these youth events.

Reason for such great success

Most definitely it comes down to the member volunteers with schools and other organizations reaching out for IGLFC’s volunteers to help their youngsters enjoy the sport of fishing. Then, of course, the growing number of sponsors is an integral part by providing financial support. Their belief in the mission and goals of the IGLFC has helped continue to increase sponsorship numbers.

The IGLFC officers, board members and club volunteers provide a lot of organizational support and “feet” on the ground. Finally, there is one more piece to the puzzle: the leader!

The leader who injects the organization with enthusiasm

That, of course, is Terry Thomsen, president of the IGLFC. President since 2018, Thomsen has been a long-time dedicated club member. To learn more about what makes him a successful leader, I visited with three board members: Paul Daniels, Dean Jacobsen and Darwin Johnson. Simply put, all three agree that Terry simply has the “IT” that makes for a great leader.

According to Daniels, “Terry is extremely passionate about fishing and is willing to share that passion as the leader of the IGLFC. He is a true people person!”

Johnson agrees. “He is most definitely passionate about fishing and getting youngsters involved in the sport. He is both a good speaker and at the same time a good listener. His real passion is the kids’ events.”

Jacobsen reflects, ‘Terry is a very engaging person and makes you want to get involved.” Jacobsen continues with a chuckle. “As an example, I remember when Terry invited me to go fishing with him, and then later he invited me to an IGLFC board meeting, and not long after, I became the club’s treasurer!”

All three agree that Terry leads by example and as Daniels notes, “Terry appreciates the ideas of members and is willing to listen to others and then often makes decisions based on the consensus of the board.”

Over the years as the club and youth events have grown, it’s become more problematic to get all of the equipment to the fishing site. Johnson remembers what it was like before they got their current enclosed trailer to haul the equipment. “I remember one time specifically. My pickup was totally packed, and Terry had put more than 30 rod/reel combos in his pickup. You know how a bunch of rods/reels can get tangled up in the back of a vehicle. What a mess, and it took a lot of time to get everything untangled. Well, that was it! We both decided we had grown enough that we needed a nice, enclosed trailer to store equipment and get everything from one place to another!”

Daniels says getting all the tackle boxes filled and ready for 24 kids’ events takes a lot of time. “Terry is great about having the ‘tackle box stuffers’ (club volunteers) meet at his farm and spread everything out in his shed. Lots of stories and joking around helps make the time move faster. He just has a great way of getting others to want to participate.”

As individuals and families join the IGLFC, Terry and the board try to impart the comradery and enjoyment of the sport of fishing. As Jacobsen notes, “Being part of the IGLFC has gone from an internal focus to an external focus with Terry and the board working to make all members feel they are an important part of the club. Terry’s leadership has been instrumental at expanding the outreach of the club.” As a result, youth fishing events have expanded to include youngsters across county lines, including Clay, Dickinson, Emmet and Palo Alto counties.

Protecting fisheries and the environment

Contributing to the environment and area communities by improving the quality of local fisheries continues to be important goals for the IGLFC. Johnson believes that Thomsen has really grown in his leadership skills. “He has expanded his relationship with the DNR, and when he sees an issue that is important, Terry is not afraid to be vocal and speak his peace.”

A great example of this is the current battle to get a 5% increase in fishing license costs. Thomsen has personally spoken to the members of the Natural Resources Commission, called DNR leadership in Des Moines and also emailed all members of the House and Senate, along with the Governor to help them understand the importance of the license increase. That it is a user fee, not a tax increase!

Thomsen has researched the issue and found that without this increase, there will be significant cuts that could adversely impact Iowa’s fisheries. Thomsen and the IGLFC board truly believe that this would be detrimental to the future of fishing in Iowa, which goes back to the negative impact it would have on the youth in Iowa.

Thomsen’s leadership is now reaching out to the “Keep It Clean” campaign. Simply stated: keep the ice clean. Daniels says, “This is so important to all of us. Terry has led the charge on this and has created a partnership with the Okoboji Protective Association, the East Lake Improvement Corporation and the Spirit Lake Protective Association to create 4-foot reflective signs to be placed just on the edge of the ice at all of the lake accesses on Big Spirit, East Okoboji, West Okoboji, Upper Gar and Lake Minnewashta.”

At the same time, Thomsen has worked with KUOO radio station to create a “Keep It Clean” advertising blitz so that listeners learn what “Keep It Clean” is all about!

Leadership comes in all shapes and forms

While this is true, Daniels, Jacobsen and Johnson are glad that the IGLFC leader is Terry Thomsen. Daniels adds and the other two agree, “Terry creates a positive environment that people want to be around. Now, we need to just make sure that we continue to get volunteers that are willing to help keep things rolling. It is great that the IGLFC keeps expanding, but we need to have more members become part of it!”

(photos submitted)

Thomsen introduces the timetable for one of the KGLFC’s DNR Night.

IGLFC volunteers prepare to hand out tackle boxes during a youth fishing event.

This young angler receives help from Thomsen during a youth fishing event.

Thomsen provides directions to youth and parents before the youth fishing activities begin.