Sturgeon spearing season may have come to a close but there are still plenty of reasons to get on the ice. Today the Battle on Bago ice fishing tournament kicked off drawing thousands for the two day event.
Nearly 10 thousand people are expected to make the trek onto Lake Winnebago today and tomorrow and it’s not just for that awesome prizes.
“There are a lot of fish out here and a lot of fishing opportunities,” says Battle on Bago Organizer Glenn Curran.
According to the anglers there are some fish to be had too.
“Walleye, perch and white bass,” says Robert Green who is making a weekend of it.
“We live here in Oshkosh so it’s an easy one to get to and it’s for a great cause,” adds Todd Zellmer who has been partaking in the event for six seasons.
250 thousand dollars worth of prizes will be given away over the weekend.
“We spread out the prizes so 150th place is a truck and 900th place is a truck,”
Big fish even some smaller fish will be big winners out on Lake Winnebago this weekend.
“I have personally not won anything but have been around people that have,” says Zellmer.
The profits from the Battle on Bago stay local too. In seven years the not for profit organization has contributed about a half a million dollars to the community.
“When you raise that much money you can support a lot of youth organizations fishing tournaments for kids and youth sport teams around town,” says Curran.
So really this tournament is just one more way that folks in northeast Wisconsin have discovered, how they can be freezin for a reason.
“It seems like every year it’s cold out here, says Zellmer.
“We stay out here all night. We’re gonna throw our tent up pretty soon,” adds Robert Green.
Because with a quarter of a million dollars worth of prizes on the line, frigid winter weather can’t keep these folks away.
Ice conditions on Lake Winnebago are said to be as good as they have been all season. Most spots have ice about two feet thick but be careful of the drifts.
Source: Wbay TV By Eric Crest.
