Finally, weather cooperates for Elks Lodge Youth Ice Fishing Contest
(Reprint with permission from the Daily News)
After three long years, Mother Nature was feeling cooperative. And the fish wouldn’t stop biting.
The sun shone brightly, but not too brightly, over French Lake Saturday as local anglers brought their roads and reels to the Faribault Elks Lodge Youth Ice Fishing Contest. Warm conditions wiped out the 2016 and 2017 versions of the contest, and a blizzard shortened the 2015 event, but the 140 people in attendance had no such problems this weekend.
“That last two years were cancelled due to the weather. It was a real bummer, but safety comes first,” Exalted Ruler of the Faribault Elks Lodge, Peter Van Sluis, said. “Yesterday wasn’t that bad if you could stick in the sun, and there was no wind. Warm is not the right word, but if you had the right clothing on it wasn’t bad at all.”
The first-ever Youth Ice Fishing Contest drew in 90 people, and the contest saw as many as 300 kids participating back in 2015. Attendance was a little down this year, at 140, though Van Sluis speculated that might have been due to the last two events being cancelled.
The Elks Lodge, Faribault Rotary and Faribault Moose Lodge teamed up to host the free event. Van Sluis said grants from Minnesota Elks Association helped pay for the event as well as donations from volunteers from all three organizations and sponsors from around Faribault.
Each kid who participated received a prize, but special prizes were awarded to the top three anglers. Brooklyn White took first place, Sam Bauer was second and Tanner Milewski finished third.
“Our motto is really long, but basically (the Elks Lodge purpose) is to do things in the community for youth and veterans,” Van Sluis said. “The Elks started this but now we work together with other organizations.”
Reach Sports Reporter Alex Kerkman at akerkman@faribault.com or on Twitter @FDNalexkerkman.
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