BIRCHDALE — Lake sturgeon may have been harder to find than in other years of the North American Sturgeon Championships Saturday, but it was clear that anglers had no difficulty finding fun.
About 250 anglers took part in the Rainy River catch-and-release event, and winner Jarrod Whaley of Bemidji, who caught the largest at 49 inches long, took home $1,820 for his effort. The event also netted the same amount for the upkeep of the Birchdale Community Building.
The tournament also helped Birchdale’s Busy Beavers 4-H Club raise money to pay for using the building for club meetings, and fund trips to Europe and the Minnesota State Fair for some members.
Organizer Mike Hanson plied the river as he watched for flags signaling that an angler in a boat had caught a sturgeon and needed length verification.
As Hanson guided his boat through the other boats, he explained that the event helps pay the $500 per month expenses needed to operate the community building.
“It is used way more than I ever anticipated,” he said of the building and its facilities which played host to a softball tournament that day.
As his jon boat passed by the competitors boats, Hanson told anglers that the largest caught so far — and in total during the day — was 49 inches. “You can beat that,” he encouraged anglers.
Boats containing all ages and sorts of anglers worked the river. Many boats contained young anglers and a few included babies and dogs. While the competition was serious, laughter and music could be heard from many boats, in which snacks and beverages were being shared.
Dave Gingerich shrugged with good-natured frustration as he waited for a bite, holding up his hands to give Hanson an idea of the size of the sturgeon that he caught just five minutes before the 3 p.m. tournament had begun.
Hanson offered some anglers advice as he passed by them. “They don’t bite when your holding your rod,” he told one angler. “It’s worth $1,820,” he told another. “It’s time to pull out the secret bait. Hurry up,” he said as he neared a boat to offer the anglers his “secret bait” contained in a plastic bag.
A boat with an angler frantically waiving an orange flag caught Hanson’s eye and he headed toward the boat.
Angie Williams of Littlefork held a small sturgeon and asked if it should be measured. Hanson told her that it was smaller than the winning fish already measured, so Williams posed with the fish for a photo and then kissed the fish smack on its lips before releasing it.
“I taught her everything she knows,” her partner Shane Williams called out as Hanson’s boat left the area.
Among the more eye catching boats was one that included a recliner and an umbrella. Saturday’s windy conditions had turned the umbrella inside out, but Patricia Borchert of Grand Rapids appeared comfortable in the recliner as she held her rod waiting for a bite. Hanson relayed the story that her friend added the recliner and umbrella to the boat in an effort to convince Borchert that she could be comfortable while fishing the tournament.
