More than 100 compete in Sportsmen's Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament

Eddy County Rod and Gun Club's 2018 Sportsmen's Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament was held on Feb. 24 at Lake Coe in eastern Eddy County.

The day began at 8 a.m. with the Eddy County Rod and Gun Club volunteers meeting at CenDak Cooperative in New Rockford to begin their convoy to Lake Coe. With trailers, portable offices and ATVs, the group made their way to the lake to prepare for the tournament. The weather was calm, the people were excited and the sun was just beginning to wake the fish and the fishermen.

The team began setting up their usual command center as soon as they arrived out at the lake. They strategically placed the enclosed trailer and ice fishing houses in order to offer protection from the wind. Eager anglers began arriving to get registered for the tournament, hoping to be the first ones to arrive in their hopeful "hot spot." Participation increased by 22 people from the 2017 tournament, with a total of 104. Organizers said attendance was still down from 2015 and 2016, but the early warm spring weather last year created questionable quality ice on nearby lakes and may have played a part in low participation. This day 13 children ages 12 and under joined the adults in registering for the tournament.

A loud blast was let off at 10 a.m. to mark the official start of the tournament. Ice augers fired up to drill a hopeful "glory hole" to prized fish. Shawn Neumiller, of Carrington, and his family had been fishing for little while and caught only less than average perch. But as one of the tournament officials, Jesse Schuster, made his rounds to check on the fishing activity, he stopped by to talk to Neumiller, who was excited about catching fish and hopeful to find some bigger ones. Just then Neumiller had a strong strike to his line and to his surprise pulled up a 7 lb. 2.8 oz. walleye! Schuster drove him up to the tournament headquarters to weigh in his prized fish and return it to the water. His fish was logged into the tournament records and returned to the lake to live happily ever after. A short time later a husband and wife made a special trip up to shore to weigh in their walleye catches, and each weighed in five walleye for total weights of 16 lb. 14 oz .and 19 lb. 4.2 oz.

Cassidy Clifton and Ashley Schuster provided lunch and snacks for the tournament. Using a donated fish house as their "food truck," they had hot food, warm drinks and sweet snacks. The girls were using this opportunity to raise money for their upcoming choir trip to Denver.

In addition to the donated equipment in use, the Eddy County Rod and Gun Club was graciously blessed with numerous donations from club members as well as local businesses, organizations and land owners. Without their donations, the tournament wouldn't be nearly as successful.

At 2 p.m. trucks and ATVs lined up along the shoreline, and in the parking area anglers brought their catch up to be weighed by tournament officials. M & M Bait provided bait for the tournament, as well as the scale for the official weighing in. As the crowd stood around warming barrels, they oohed and aahed as buckets of fish came in off the ice. Registrants were allowed to weigh in up to five walleye and/or five perch, each being a separate category.

Tournament organizers sorted the official weights and placed the winning names on the cash prizes. As they prepared, club president Scott Severs introduced himself in his new position and requested a moment of silence honoring those who had lost their lives recently in shooting tragedies and in ​​sporting activities.

Due to the wonderful donations, the club was able to give away nearly 70 prizes, including a Jiffy propane ice auger! Over $1,560 was paid back to fishing tournament participants.

Ariel Wolbeck was the winner of a $50 cash prize donated in memory of fallen sportsman Ray Lies. All of the kids at the tournament took turns unraveling a ball of goodies wrapped in cling wrap, which kept them occupied until the end.

The winner in the kids category was Savanna Dreher. She received the largest fish prize, as her five perch had a total weight of 1 lb. 14.4 oz.  

In the perch category, Alex Perleberg claimed first place honors. He weighed five fish with a total weight of 2 lb. 7.8 oz. In second place was Chris Hoveland, who weighedfive fish, totaling 1 lb. 14 oz. John Phillip finished third. He brought five fish weighing a total of 1 lb. 13.4 oz. The smallest perch prize went to Kyle Irmen. His fish didn't even register on the scale!

In the walleye category, Chase Ellingson took first place with five walleye weighing in at 20 lb. 5 oz. Amber Rude came in second, weighing in five walleye for a total weight of 19 lb. 4.2 oz. In third place was Derik Rude, whose five walleye had a total weight of 19 lb. 4.2 oz.