shut out in ice fishing tournament by Daily Herald reporter
I’ll go fishing any chance I get, whether it’s freshwater, salt water or ice. I’ve caught some nice fish but more often than not, I’m the guy taking the picture of the guy who caught the biggest fish.
Saturday was no different as I was one of about 120 ice anglers, including my dad, Gordon, and friends Joe Niedz and Bill Katzenberger, who competed in the DuPage County Forest Preserve’s first Hard-Water Classic Ice-Fishing Classic at Mallard Lake in Hanover Park.
The weather seemed ideal as the 35-degree temperature was about 60 degrees warmer than a similar tournament I competed in Minnesota in late January. The sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a great day to catch fish.
After trying a few spots without even a nibble, we moved one last time to the shallows in hopes of snagging the big one laying in the weeds with an hour left in the tournament.
Sure enough, soon after relocating, Katzenberger, who was fishing a hole about 15 feet from me, felt a tug and then a jerk before he reeled in the 19 7/8-inch northern pike that eventually won the biggest fish prize of the tournament.
And before he took it to the judges to be registered, I snapped his picture.
“We were using large roaches (minnows) and a really light jig with a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and regular 6-pound ice fishing line,” said Katzenberger of Orland Park. “We just came out to have a good time and I got lucky and won big fish of the day during my first time ice fishing, other than messing around in the pond in my neighborhood.”
In all, 33 fish were caught and registered for prizes ranging from the one-person fish house won by Katzenberger to gift cards from several tournament sponsors like Gander Mountain and Water Werks II.
Bob McNeel, assistant manager of the county’s west ranger staff, created the tournament so avid ice anglers like himself could have an event in DuPage County.
“Ice fishing is my main hobby so I know we don’t have many local tournaments to participate in,” he said. “It also gives the forest preserve district another program we can gear toward adult men since we don’t have very many.”
McNeel said the district also wanted to draw attention to Mallard Lake and let anglers know it was open for ice fishing.
“Mallard can be a tough lake sometimes but we know there’s nice 30-inch muskie, walleye and bass in there,” he said. “It’s just a matter of finding them when they’re hungry.”
Pleased to have 120 anglers show up, on relatively short notice for a tournament, McNeel said planning has already begun for next year’s Hard-Water Classic. It will likely be at the 62-acre Silver Lake in Warrenville’s Blackwell Forest Preserve.
I’ll be there. Hopefully Bill will too, so he can take my picture.
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