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Washington Evening Journal
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Anglers at Lake Iowa fishing derby endure north wind, single digit temperatures
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
LADORA — Nearly all of the anglers out on Lake Iowa during Saturday’s ice fishing contest took shelter in huts this year, and the fishing may have been better because of the consistent cold.
Though the sun shone, the temperature was in single digits midway through the fishing derby, and a biting wind blew from the north. Ice was about 13 inches thick.
Last year many anglers sat on buckets and fished in the sunshine as temperatures rose into the 20s on derby day. This year, participants spent little time in the open air.
Because temperatures remained cold this year rather than fluctuating, the fishing was better, said Iowa County Conservation Director Jacob Slings. Stable temperatures make the fish comfortable, he said.
Fishing began at 6 a.m. Saturday. “A big ole catfish” was among the catches in the first three hours. “Our shack is catching significantly more than last year,” said Slings — bass, bluegill and crappie.
Slings said 44 shacks were entered in the fishing derby this year. Many were returning anglers.
Among the new participants was Emma Edelen, a naturalist intern with Iowa County Conservation. She and Liz Capron shared the Iowa County Conservation hut.
“I enjoy being out here,” said Edelen, who worked with Naturalist Mary Blair during the summer. “I enjoy seeing everyone.”
Iowa County Conservation conducted an ice fishing clinic before the tournament, said Edelen, so she had the opportunity to learn the skill. She learned how different fish react to the bait, how to read the bobber’s movement, the difference between summer poles and ice-fishing poles and how to read a viewfinder, she said.
Technology changes the sport.
Uwe Vangsness, of Cedar Rapids, tried ice fishing on Lake Iowa for the first time during Saturday’s fishing derby. “I love it,” he said as he drilled another hole and prepared to move his hut to the new spot.
“It’s a blast,” Vangsness said. “Beats sitting on the couch.”
Vangsness has ice fished for years, he said. He used to live in Minnesota and moved to Iowa about eight years ago.
Vangsness fishes regularly at Lake Macbride and at Palo, he said. He caught a nice bass and several blue gills Saturday.
Korey and Gary Cassady, who hail from Earlham but now live in Lisbon, showed up on the ice without a hut. They meant to buy one, Korey said, but it cost more than they’d expected. Still, they planned to spend a couple of hours on the ice before the tournament ended.
The ninth annual fishing derby awarded cash prices for longest bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, perch and walleye and for the top 10 panfish stringer.
