Ice Classic draws nearly 200 at Nelson

Like the water level at Nelson Reservoir, the number of anglers at this year’s Ice Classic Fishing Derby were up this year, nearly topping 200 total.

“We are ecstatic with the number of fishers this year,” event organizer Rhonda Dalby said. “The water levels were low last year and people were freaking out."

Saco’s Gary Gross waltzed into the Buffalo Barn around lunchtime on Saturday to have the Northern Pike he’d caught early in the day weighed in and accounted for by Pete Dalby.

“That one was 14.4 (pounds) and the biggest one so far, but there are bigger ones out there,” Gross said.

As luck would have it, Gross was correct as the winning pike at the tournament was caught by Adrian Tremblay, Jr. and weighed in at 17.4-pounds. Mark Peterson’s 8.4-pound walleye earned him the top spot in that category and Colby Tognetti’s one-pound perch left him in first place.

Gross, who does his own taxidermy, said that last winter he speared five pike all over 20 pounds but said the fishing thus far in 2018 has not been so hot at Nelson.

“It’s been real slow,” Gross said. “Your perch population is way down, your Northern population is down …Fish and Game can say anything that they want but I tell you what; us locals fish these waters all the time and we know what is going on better than them.”

Malta's Jerry Lytle also stopped by the tournament staging area during lunchtime but said he wasn’t having much luck at the tournament.

“I got nothing,” he said. “I got a dog outside I could weigh, but I don’t think that would count. We haven’t caught anything, but we are having fun anyway.”

Speaking of having fun, the ladies in the Buffalo Barn helping Dalby run the show were doing just that on Saturday. DeeDee Hanson, Jacy Stolem, Becky Siewing and Sherry Demarais were all posted at their spots at the sign in tables and, in general, gave a hard time to anyone who got within earshot (including this reporter.) Each helper sported a tee-shirt which read 'back to the basics; ice fishing and beer.' Though none of them were either fishing or drinking beer, one member of the quartet admitted to having a bit of whiskey in her coffee...though said lady will remain nameless here.

"I couldn't do it without these ones," Dalby said, pointing to her friends. "None of this could happen without them."