HALE – The 2023 Londo Lake Ice Fishing Contest was held on February 11th and was a huge success providing free family fun, high value prizes and a welcome social event for Hale residents and its surroundings.
In contrast to the bad weather that discouraged some from attending last year, the weather was relatively mild this year and there was no shortage of contestants on the lake.
Following the example of last year’s event, a heated sign-in tent was set up at the public access to West Londo Lake; here, pageant patrons were treated to hot dogs, hot chocolate and a chance to come in and warm up from the cold. The event was coordinated by Rick Weaver, who was assisted by other organizers such as Ryan Sheldon.
At 8 a.m. the competition began and the fishermen took to the ice. The competition allowed contestants to use East and West Londo Lakes to compete for the biggest catch in the following categories: perch, pike and bluefish, and sunfish, walleye or other marsh fish. Contest winners were also divided into three different age groups: 12 and under, 13-18 and 19 and over.
Thanks to the hard work of the event organizers, as well as some major sponsors, this year’s tournament boasted a wealth of valuable prizes. In addition to a variety of gift cards to places like Frank’s Great Outdoors, there were plenty of other awesome prizes for contestants to take home, including insulated buckets and digital depth finders that allow anglers to assess potential fishing spots before drilling the ice.
The contest closed at 4 p.m. as eager anglers gathered outside the registration tent to hear the results of the competition.
The winners of the adult category were announced first, which saw Eddie Hodgins win the biggest perch with 9 3/4 inches, while Brody McNulty secured the winning catch on both Pike, 26 inches; and Crappie, 12 7/8 inches.
The 13-18 year old category awarded the largest perch to Payton Hendrickson for an 8 1/4-inch submission. First place in all other categories went to Tristianna Wade, who pulled a 26 1/2-inch pike and an 11 1/4-inch walleye from the lake.
The under 12 category awarded the first 4 catches in each category and is as follows:
1st place: Sophia Stopyak, 10 1/2 inches
2nd place: Ethan Ahearne, 9 1/2 inches
3rd place: Wes Shimkus, 9 3/8 inches
4th Place: Barkley Ring 7 3/4 inches
1st place: Bryson Hendrickson, 25 1/4 inches
2nd place: Ethan Ahearne, 25 1/8 inches
3rd place: Brady Sheldon, 25 inches
4th place: Cooper Irwin, 24 3/4 inches
1st place: Hidie Ahearne, 11 1/2 inches
2nd place: Harley Thayer, 11 1/4 inches
3rd place: Payton Kesler, 10 3/4 inches
4th place: Logan Wade, 10 1/4 inches
In addition to prizes awarded for the biggest catches, all children in attendance received fishing rods and tips to take home. A raffle was also held, presenting a new 10-inch ION Electric Ice Auger to lucky winner Matthew Shimkus.
The Londo Lake Ice Fishing Contest continues to be a great family-friendly social event that effectively breaks up the monotony of the cold winter months. Once again, the event was coordinated by Rick Weaver and Ryan Sheldon; Also assisting in the many tasks that made the contest a success were Cindy Sheldon, Rick Braun, Eric Bellville, Brian Bernard, Ron Bassi, Ron Lesneski, Ed Hodgins, Dave Kern, Ted Rafferty and Shawn Foco.
The number of prizes awarded in this year’s contest were made possible by the following sponsors: Wilson Trucking & Excavating, Tim Wade Concrete, Hale Hardware, Timlick’s Tree Service, Eno Construction, Town and Country Water Conditioning, Dave and Ronna Kern , Scofield Real Estate, Kel Stone Builders, Foco Construction, Whitetails Unlimited, Baker’s Outdoor Sports, Londo Lakes Store and Calvin Hewitt of Phantom Fire Protection.