Now that I have your attention from my title, its not the ice you were thinking. I was trying to come up with a title that would grab your attention! And it worked. Now let’s talk about the ice I want to talk about.
I don’t ice fish myself, but one of my favorite events to cover for the radio station is the Canby Classic Ice Fishing Tournament on Del Clark Lake. This year marked the 7th annual event, organized by the Canby Sportsman’s Club and the Canby Fire Relief Association. These guys do an amazing job putting this together every winter.

The tournament spans two days. When I arrived Friday afternoon, I pulled over at the top of the hill overlooking the lake to snap a few photos. It’s quite a scene—a literal “small city” of ice houses scattered across the frozen water.
I drove down onto the lake toward the large Ice Castle fish house where I’d be broadcasting. Ice Castle generously donates a house to the Sportsman’s Club for the tournament, and it is luxury at its finest—complete with a fireplace and a comfortable couch to broadcast from. It’s easily the warmest place to be!

However, I hit a slight snag upon arrival. My friend and Sportsman’s Club President, Dave Verhelst, greeted me as I parked, but I quickly realized I wasn’t prepared for the conditions. Del Clark Lake had zero snow cover—it was a solid, slick sheet of clear ice. Being a bit over-optimistic, I was wearing tennis shoes without cleats or boots!
After a few shaky steps, Dave told me to get back in the car and drive as close to the door as possible. The Sportsman’s Club crew saved the day by throwing down a path of sand from my car to the entrance. Once inside, I set up the gear and we went live. Dave and I were joined by Ryson Schmidt, a 6th grader I’ve interviewed almost every year. This time, I let Ryson co-host. He interviewed Dave and did a spectacular job—the kid has a great personality and definitely has a future in radio!

Saturday was just as busy. When I stopped on the hill to take a video of the lake, an ATV pulled up and offered me a lift to the door. I certainly didn’t turn that down!
Inside the Ice Castle, I began broadcasting live on Q-92. The fish were biting! Ryan Schmidt was a machine; he spent the entire night measuring and weighing fish through the window, recording the data, and releasing them back through the floor holes without a wink of sleep.

During the two hour tournament, over 200 people participated. I hitched a ride on an ATV with Lucas to tour the lake, capturing photos and interviewing anglers about the “big ones” they’d hauled in. Two things really stood out to me this year: the incredible number of women out on the ice and how many kids were participating. It has truly become a premier family event.

As things wrapped up, Casey Namken joined Dave and me for the final Saturday afternoon broadcast. Krystal Schmidt then volunteered to shuttle me safely back to my car on shore, ensuring I didn’t take a spill on the clear ice.

I capped off my Saturday in Montevideo, watching my grandson Eli and granddaughter Gretta play basketball. Gretta’s final game didn’t wrap up until 10:00 PM. From the frozen lake to the hardwood court, it was a long, full, and wonderful day.