NAIFC tournament stoping hits Lake Winnebago
Jack Baker and the North American Ice Fishing Circuit had heard of Lake Winnebago being a haven for anglers during the three years the tournament tour had been in existence.
And when Baker checked it out for himself, he found every word to be true.
“We’ve had a lot of guys from around Wisconsin who have fished this and they recommended the lake as a great fishery,” said Baker, the vice president of operations for the NAIFC. “You have the great mix of a town that understands fishing, a great fishery and you have competitive fishermen and that’s what we are looking for.”
As of Friday evening, 26 teams had registered for the NAIFC event, which will be held Sunday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on a sectioned off area near the center of Lake Winnebago.
The anglers will be fishing in two-person teams for perch and white bass during the tournament. The teams will weigh their heaviest eight fish in each category to determine the winner. The weigh-in will be held about 2 p.m. at the Oshkosh Convention Center.
The majority of entrants are from Wisconsin and Baker expects a local pairing to have the best chance to collect the win.
“I do expect a local team to win. They know the water,” Baker said. “The fisheries we get to, there is something that is unique to them. The fish are used to seeing a certain rhythm or certain size bait. The out of town teams that come in have to learn that while the locals already know it.”
The Oshkosh tournament is the fourth stop in a five-tournament qualifying series, which ends Feb. 20 in Richmond Lake, S.D. The top 75 teams will then be invited to the series championship tournament slated for next December in Rhinelander where a national champion will be crowned.
The tour also serves as a feeder series for the United State Ice Fishing Team.
“If someone wants to represent their country at the world level, they have to come to us to get there,” Baker said. “We’re the only competitive tournament that ends with a national championship, so we are competitive. You need to know the lake. You need to find your fish.”
The organization isn’t all about competition, though.
The group held a instructional program on Friday night for adult anglers and are sponsoring a kids ice fishing clinic today starting at 10 a.m. at the Oshkosh Convention Center.
Baker said at the tour’s stop last week in Minnesota, nearly 250 kids showed up for the free clinic.
“The kids are our future. We want to get the kids off the couch and get them back outside into Mother Nature and experience,” Baker said. “The mission of the NAIFC is two-thirds education and one-third competition.”
Along with the tournament on Sunday, the reality show “Ice Men” will be filming for an episode of the series. The show is broadcast on VERSUS.Read More ...
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