The icemen, and women, cometh

Mid-December’s mild temperatures did not deter ice fishing enthusiasts from venturing onto Shawano Lake for the 46th annual Bonduel Lions Club Fishing Derby on Saturday.

Participants reported the ice was at least 10 inches thick. The temperature was a balmy, for ice fishing, 34 degrees as light snow fell throughout the early hours.

Cullin Kowalczyk, of Cecil, won two categories, with the heaviest walleye and crappie, and Jon Laude caught the derby’s biggest fish, a northern pike that weighed in at 9.64 pounds.

The derby is traditionally the first of the season on Shawano Lake. Participation was about the same as previous years, according to organizers.

Jason Luepke, of Bonduel, fished with his 12-year-old daughter, Taylor, and 19-year-old son, Jake. Luepke caught three northern pike, with the largest weighing nearly 5 pounds — not enough to place in the derby.

But Luepke and others said ice fishing is about more than the catch.

“It is more of a camaraderie,” Luepke said. “We play cards and some people smoke venison steak. That is what we like to do on the ice.”

Longtime Bonduel Lions Club member Jerry Buchholz, 63, said he enjoys a good game of Sheepshead on the ice.

“The camaraderie where we play Sheepshead… can be just as fun as the fishing,” he said.

Luepke said fishing also gives him bonding time with his children.

Taylor has been fishing since she was 7 and loves to go hunting and fishing with him, Luepke said.

“Just watching her do stuff that I don’t have to worry about anymore, that’s a big accomplishment,” Luepke said. “She can catch the fish, and I don’t have to worry about baiting her hook or doing anything else, and I am hoping that she sticks with it.”

Luepke and others at the derby said they had no concerns about the ice being safe.

“We had that cold spell (in November), and this was probably the earliest that I have ever been on the ice in many years,” Luepke said. “It made really good, solid ice right from the start.

“Right now it is safe out there, but I don’t know if it is safe all over the lake for driving conditions. I would say no.”

The ice should be at least 12 inches thick to drive on, according to Luepke and others.

Proceeds collected by the Lions Club during the fishing derby will go toward community projects, including scholarships and assisting with the Wisconsin State Lions Camp, which draws 1,500 to 1,800 youth who are either blind, hearing impaired or are battling juvenile diabetes.