I swear someone told me that this ice fishing tournament attracted 150,000 anglers. Turns out that was the prize money, not Des Moines who would be freezing their collective tushes off ” up north.”

Still, nine thousand people fishing on a frozen lake makes for interesting visuals and commentary. By Minnesota standards, it was a great day…the sun was up, pure blue skies, little wind, and much, cough, comradie, cough, beer drinking. It was minus 10 degrees, which is so cold that your fishing hole had to be scooped out from time to time or your line got frozen.

Here is one of the participants at the weighing station, also called “the place where you go to prove to the missus that you were actually out fishing.” Fisherman clothing provided by Menards, not REI or Lands End.