Despite the warm weather, Mobridge will still hold its 11th annual ice fishing tournament on Saturday - without the fishing, the tournament or alot of ice.
Event organizers decided to cancel the fishing portion of the event in light of thin ice on the lake, said Jesse Konold, an organizer for the event.
"There is good ice to fish on, but in our good conscience, we can't send out 900 anglers without knowing that the ice conditions are what we've liked them to be," Konold said.
There needs to be at least 8 inches of ice for the tournament to be held. At present, the depth of the ice ranges from 10 inches to 4 inches to open water, according to Konold.
The event still will include a dinner and prizes through a lottery, he said.
The tournament, which offers 450 slots to teams of two, sold out before the restructuring of the event. While Konold expected teams to cancel their reservations, he was surprised when only two canceled.
The slots were filled immediately as there were seven teams waiting on standby for an open spot.
"The event is about camaraderie and having a good time and coming to Mobridge and telling fishing stories," Konold said.
Anglers in the tournament, who come from 14 states and Canada, weren't surprised with the cancellation.
"The main river pretty much opened up again," said Don Bidrowsky, 50, who came from Elkhorn, Neb. Still, the lack of ice didn't stop Bidrowsky from finding spots. He arrived with his 20-year-old son, Conner, on Sunday, and they've found several pockets to ice fish.
"There is some safe ice out there if you use your head and be safe," he said.
The cancellation of the fishing had many Mobridge hotels fearful of reservation cancellations.
Brent Kemnitz, owner of MoRest Motel, said all 27 of his hotel rooms fill up for the tournament each year.
"It's a really good kick in January," Kemnitz said. "It's a dead month where we have hardly any business at all, so the ice fishing tournament is a nice one to have."
He's yet to have a single cancellation.
"I'm really surprised," he said.
Even without the thrill of competition, organizers expects at least half the anglers to be on the ice for recreational fishing.
"I think half of them will go fishing," said Michele Harrison, executive director for the Mobridge Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the tournament. "I don't know what the other half will do." Organizers said they haven't planned any alternative activity.
Organizers said they will still hand out the $150,000 in prizes to the teams.
"The bottom line is, we prepurchase all of our prizes," Konold said. "We want to see those prizes handed out and so do our sponsors."
Mobridge's tournament isn't the only in rough water. The Scatterwood Lake Annual Ice Fishing Derby & Fundraiser organizers also canceled its competition after postponing it from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21.
"We figured if we postponed it til the 21st, we'd have decent ice. But that just hasn't been the case," said LaVerne Bierman, a member of the fundraising committee. "We don't want somebody to drown over a fish."
The prizes from the Scatterwood fishing derby would still be given out, according to Bierman.
In the 11 year history of the Mobridge tournament, this is the first time the fishing portion has been canceled, said Jesse Konold, an organizer for the Mobridge tournament.
Despite that, Konold said a contingency plan isn't likely to be formed any time soon.
"I think this is a once-in-a-while situation. I can't imagine next year South Dakota isn't going to be cold enough to make enough ice."
Then: Last year at this time, Lake Oahe near Mobridge was covered with ice and snow, providing ample oppurtunity for ice fisherman during the annual Mobridge ice fishing tournament. File photo courtesy of Mobridge Tribune
Now: Warm winter weather has not allowed Lake Oahe to freeze over near Mobridge. This, however, did not deter ice fisherman from coming to the annual event.
Friday 13 January 2012
Mobridge ice fishing tournament will take place
via aberdeennews.com
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