Local residents were among the 10,000 plus brave souls who battled frigid weather and slushy ice conditions last Saturday to participate in the annual Brained Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza held on Gull Luke. 

Started in 1991, the contest is held annually to raise funds for various charities, and offers contestants the chance to win prizes, from a new truck to several four wheelers and other ice fishing essentials.

The top 150 fish, measured by weight, are awarded prizes after the three hour contest.

This year, Clear Lake’s Jacob Scheierl scored a Vexilar FLX-28 when he landed a 3.26 pound Walleye, which was good enough for seventh place overall.

Becker’s Phil Bisset had some extra luck this year as his .99 pound Tulibee landed him in 50th place, where the prize was a Polaris Sportsman 450 4-wheeler. Rounding out the local winners was Becker’s Martin Thom, as he reeled in a .90 pound Tulibee (71st place) and went home with a $400 Strikemaster gift card for his efforts.

Clear Lake’s Matthew Eigen tried his luck while using his vintage Ronco Pocket Fisherman, but failed to land a fish during the contest. Other notable area residents who were skunked on the afternoon included Tom Heck, Chad Murphy, Mark Graham, Luke Graham, Chad Peterson, Dave Holtan, Todd Schuster and Chad Johnson. Despite not catching a fish, the group enjoyed the camaraderie of the weekend and the chance to help raise money for worthy charitable causes.

Becker artist Sandra Zylla-Rolf was another local connection, as she was one of this year’s featured artist vendors, braving the cold temperatures and being featured in a tent at center-ice.

Big Winner

At about 1:53 p.m, 13-year-old Zac Padrnos of Minnesota was fishing in about 50 ft of water with his tungsten jig and 3 pound test line when he felt a hit of what he thought was a tullibee, but in the end with adrenaline running he ended up reeling in a fish of a lifetime, a walleye. Winning his choice of a Ford F150 or GMC Canyon courtesy of Mills Automotive Group.  Zac caught a 9.45 lb Walleye and chose the Ford.