Coldest Ever Fishing Contest

The 30th Annual Victoria Ice Fishing Contest on February 4th marked its milestone anniversary by being the coldest ever!

At 8:30 a.m. that morning, on our way to church at St. Victoria, the car told us it was 7 below zero.

By 12:30 p.m., at the start of the Fishing Contest on Stieger Lake in downtown Victoria, the temperature had warmed up to 0 degrees. The 16 mph winds kept the flags unfurled much of the time and made it feel like 24 degrees below zero.  Indeed it was a bone chilling day.

Despite the wicked winter weather, 200 to 300 people ventured from hearth and home that Sunday afternoon to spend a couple hours on the ice, drink hot chocolate, even a cold beer, eat hot food served inside the big tent, and catch some fish.

Three generations of Schmiegs were on the bus on their way to the lake:  Jason, his dad Bob, and his daughter Jayden.

Why was shuttle transportation needed from downtown to the lake?  With such ice-freezing temperatures, why couldn’t we all park on the lake like we’ve so often done in the past?

Replied Fire Chief Andrew Heger, “We chose to use the shuttle service again this year to keep consistent with years past, instead of changing back and forth every few years.  We also can’t guarantee the safety of the ice, regardless of its thickness, so we decided to play it safe.  We do know of an active spring in the area of the contest, and the ice is always thinner in that spot.”

Bus drivers Don Kilian, above, and Dave Roberts from the Koch Bus Company in Waconia, assisted with shuttling people to and from the lake.

Victoria Firefighter Jeff Nordeen and his daughter Kate helped serve food under the big yellow tent.

Qdoba is a local vendor in Chaska that provided food at a discounted rate to help feed the crowd.

I’m not sure if this is how the Victoria firefighters drilled holes through the ice for the contest or if this is the ice auger that was one of the gifts for catching the second biggest sunfish.

It wasn’t warm inside the Weigh Station but it did provide some protection from the wind.  Victoria firefighters manning the scale and recording stats are Chris Steffen and Andrew  Holzerland.

This is how the board looked about 1:30 that afternoon.  I do know that Todd Cambel and Mark Jesberg stayed on top!

Victoria resident Todd Triethart and his hardy gang gathered for fishing and then for the editor.

Front four (l-r):  Alayna Nowak (Lester Prairie), Linda Nowak (Lester Prairie), Alayna Triethart (Victoria),

Jon Bair (Edina).  Middle two:  DeeAnn Triethart (Victoria), Bekah Triethart (Victoria). 

Back six:  Nick Wander (St. Francis), Pete Moller (Lester Prairie), Miles Nowak (Lester Prairie),

Jimbo Myers (Plymouth), Tony Margiotta (Brooklyn Park), Todd Triethart (Victoria). 

Jon Bair of Edina heard the popup and felt the tug on his line.  It was for real!

The northern pike caught by Jon Bair didn’t win a prize, but it was a nice surprise, you can tell by the eyes!

A group of historically connected people to Victoria attend the annual

Victoria Ice Fishing Contest every year.   Front five:  Joe Campbell (Eden Prairie),

Connor Schrempp (Victoria), Tom Schrempp (Victoria), Colton Schrempp (Victoria),

Zach Osweiler (Victoria).  Back six:  Mark Jeserg (Victoria), Steve Jesberg (Minnetonka),

Mike Wartman (Prior Lake), Rick Adams (Victoria), Doug Raser (Chaska), Dave Beneke (Carver).

Jason Clark, who works in the Victoria Public Works Department, fished with two of his children, Ellan and Ava.

The flags decorating the day were not flapping in a breeze but flying in a wind and giving a chill that made it feel way below subzero.

From short to tall:  Barb Schmieg Radde (Waconia), Sandy Mechtel Tufte (Minneapolis), Travis Tufte and friend Al Hansen.

You can’t say it wasn’t a blue sky day.

The coldest fishing contest ever in the history of Victoria didn’t faze Deputy Katie Sandberg — at least at the moment she stepped out of her  car for a picture.  Deputy Sandberg wasn’t responding to a call for help but to a continuing presence in the community.

Thank you, Firefighter Jason Hukriede, for giving us a ride in your warm vehicle, back to our car.

The Victoria Fishing Contest is always held on Super Bowl Sunday, before the football game, and it has a significant advantage over the Super Bowl.  The cost to attend the fishing contest is nominal, next to nothing, and there is a good chance of walking away with a prize from continuous drawings on the lake.

Email:  Sue@PrintsPublishing.com

HomePage:  www.PrintsPublishing.com

The northern weighed less than 1.46 pounds and so didn’t get on the list.