Joe Drennan
Sports EditorThe sun was shining, the lake was froze over, and people were having fun Saturday at the 22nd Annual Golden Rainbow Ice Fishing Contest on First Lake hosted by the Hopkins Jaycees.
As the noon hour neared the anglers lined up on the edge of the mile and a half contest perimeter with their fishing supplies in hand. Everyone was looking out at the nearly 10,000 holes that were drilled in the ice and trying to decide exactly which one they wanted.
When the horn sounded at noon to start the contest, everyone ran to their holes. Fathers were pointing out spots to their kids, saying run as fast as you can to this hole or that hole and donít leave it, while others simply walked until they came upon a hole in the ice that they thought they could pull a few fish out of.
In all, about 4000 people showed up to fish, and come 3 p.m. when the contest ended 806 were weighed in.
Shane Mineck of Forest Lake was the last person to bring a fish in to be weighed as the final seconds were being counted down. Mineck had himself a 2.63 lbs. bass.
ìI didnít think I was going to make it in time,î Mineck said.
Mineckís bass wasnít the biggest fish of the day. Mike Moen of Buffalo, MN had the biggest fish. Moen caught himself a 4.73 lbs. northern pike about midway through the competition.
Moen wasnít planning on fishing the competition until his brother Brian talked him into it that morning.
ìMy brother called me in the morning and asked me if I wanted to go,î Moen said. ìI said yeah, I ainít got anything going on.î
Moen says he felt the fish tug on his line. As he started reeling in the fish, Moenís line broke but he was quick enough to grab the broken line and was able to pull out the fish by hand.
For his troubles, and the fact he had the biggest fish on the day, Moen won a Lund boat, with motor and trailer package worth around $15,000.
Catching fish wasnít the only way to win prizes. Raffle tickets were being sold as well with a grand prize of $5,000. Harold Hytnek walked up to peek at the leader board when he saw he won the $5,000. When Hytnek realized he was going home with $5,000 in his pocket, he began jumping up and down and hugging people around him.
There were no disputes over where any of the fish came from either unlike in years past.
ìThe only time that we ever suspected anything was the year that we caught the people,î Jason Gadd of the Hopkins Jaycees said. ìPeople bring that incident up all the time, but the contest is pretty well self controlled, and the fact that we were able to catch them proves that our security works.î
Winning isnít everything at the Golden Rainbow Ice Fishing Contest though. Many people ventured out onto the frozen lake simply to have a good time.
Carole Wenner of Monticello who turns 71 next month got a phone call from her son Saturday morning.
ìMy son called and said, ëMom, you want to go to Forest Lake for that big fishing contest,í and I said letís go,î Wenner said. ìI love every minute of it, the people are great and whatís not to like?î
Tom Espedan of Coon Rapids spent the day on the lake with his dad, stepbrother, and brother. Espedan said it was just fun to spend time with his family at such an event.
ìA lot of the summer time fishing contests where you get the pro fisherman are skill based,î Gadd said. ìThis is more of a family atmosphere with no age limit. The focus is to just enjoy the day on the lake.î
About 60 volunteers drilled the some 10,000 holes for the contest. The hole drillers spent about three hours apiece drilling hole after hole. For all their hard work, the hole drillers received a free ticket for the contest.
ìThey come out and drill the holes and then they have a chance to fish the contest,î Gadd said.
James Truman was one of the hole drillers who partook in the contest. Truman was also one of the first people of the contest to catch a fish, he caught a 0.7 lbs. perch.
ìIt doesnít matter the size of the fish,î Truman said. ìItís about how many you catch.î
Although enrollment into the competition was down from past contests because of its two-year hiatus due to inadequate ice thickness, the Hopkins Jaycees were just happy to get things going again.
ìIt was great to get back into the swing of things,î Gadd said. ìIt was a success as far as the contest itself, but as far as whether it was successful for us, weíll have to wait until we count up ticket sales.î
Itís safe to say that after the two year hiatus, the return of the Golden Rainbow Ice Fishing Contest was a success and the organizers are already looking forward to next year.
ìIt was a great weekend,î Gadd said. ìWe enjoyed working with the city, the sheriffs department, and everyone enrolled in the contest.î
Top of Page
