It was the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen’s 39th annual Ice Fishing contest. Club president Chad Wills said this was a strong year for ice fishing. There was 18 inches of ice Saturday, which allowed anglers to drive out onto the lake with trucks and fishing shacks. The weather was also relatively warm throughout the day.

“People have been arriving non-stop since the contest started,” Wills said.

The goal of the Ice Fishing tournament was to bring more youth into fishing. All registered fishermen 15 and under received free prizes, including fishing poles and some tackle. The goal was to get as many children interested in fishing as possible and on that end they were successful.

Wills said there 99 prizes given out to youth anglers.

Nate Howk carries Quinn Howk and a bucket with a large crappie across Clear Lake to the weighing shack.

Brother and sister Jason and Jade Lawerence were among the youth to get their own fishing poles during the contest. Jason said they had been fishing before but this was their first time on the ice.

Five-year-old Killian Kelly was excited to get his own tackle. He and his father Ryan were among the first on the ice for the tournament. Killian said he had gone fishing with his dad a lot, but it was the first time he had his own tackle.

Killian was determined to land a northern during the tournament, unfortunately only the panfish were biting.

Even the older teens were getting into the fishing fun. Hudson Johnson and Braxton Rahe, both 17, were fishing out of a shack nicknamed “The Hobo Hut.” The two managed to catch several perch and sunnies during the contest. Johnson said he fishes a lot, but never gets skunked when fishing from his hut.

During this year’s tournament, it was the perch that were biting the most. Of the 115 fish registered in the tournament, 57 were perch representing half the fish caught. Another 39 sunfish were registered along with 16 crappies, two bullheads and one carp.

Chris Willette (left) and Owen Willet (right) of Eagle Lake are newcomers to the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen Ice Fishing Contest. Two were among the few anglers on the lake without a shelter.

It was the single carp caught that would win the tournament, weighing in at 2.5 lbs. The place was for a 1.05 lbs crappie and third for a 0.8 lbs perch.

The New Ulm Area Sport Fisherman are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. The club formed in 1986 with a commitment to improving water quality and fish habitat within 50 miles of New Ulm.

Jason Lawerence, 7, and Jade Lawerence 4, receive a free ice fishing pole during the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen Ice Fishing Contest on Clear Lake Saturday. All children attending the event were given a free prize. A total 99 kids received prizes during the contest. In photo, back: Brody Kohn and Tina Lawerence. Front, Jade Lawerence and Jason Lawerence.

The Helget kids, Ethan (left), Ellery (center) and Addie (right) bring in fish to be weighted during the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen Ice Fishing Contest. The siblings were all ice fishing with their grandparents Saturday. Ethan Helget said while they fished with their grandparents, their mom had a chance to clean the house before the Super Bowl Sunday.

Ryan and Killian Kelly fish from a tent on Clear Lake during the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen Ice Fishing Contest. The two go fishing a lot, but this is the first year five-year old Killian had is own tackle. The New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen supplied him with a new pole. Killian Kelly was determined to catch a northern during the contest, but it was mostly the panfish biting Saturday.

Hudson Johnson (left) holds up an impressive perch. He and Braxton Rahe (right) brought several fish in to be weighed during the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen Ice Fishing Contest. Hudson said he does a lot of fishing from his mobile ice fishing shack he calls “The Hobo Hut.” He said he always catches fish in the shack. “Nobody gets skunked in The Hobo Hut,” he said.

Jim Gould of Mankato holds a pan fish he caught early in the New Ulm Area Sport Fishermen Ice Fishing Contest. Gould said he attends the New Ulm Ice Fishing Contest every year. This year, the pan fish were biting.