Cast your line

When the temperatures drop, ice fishing heats up.

The third annual West Lake Ice Out ice fishing tournament is planned the weekend of Jan. 30-31.

“There’s nothing else to do in the winter,” joked Cody Mundy, organizer of the event. “The hunting season and things like that are all over. It’s a fun sport. Everybody gets together. It’s a competitive but fun tournament.”

A new event has been added to the tournament this year. A banquet will be held at Osceola Eagles starting 4 p.m. Jan. 30. The dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

The banquet

Mundy said the purpose of the banquet is to get more people to Osceola and have them stay in the area longer. Plus, a banquet makes the ice fishing tournament a larger event and allows the contestant to get more out of their entry fees, especially with a meal added.

“We want to just make it bigger and more fun event for everyone,” Mundy said.

The West Lake Ice Out tournament begins Sunday, Jan. 31. Registration is at 6 a.m. with the tournament starting at 8 a.m. The weigh-in is scheduled for noon.

The cost of the tournament is $75 per team of up to two fishermen (cash only). Registration may be done at the banquet or during tournament registration the morning of the event.

The location of the event is the north boat ramp at West Lake.

Most participants

Mundy said he is expecting the tournament to have approximately 400 participants. The number of participants has doubled each year.

“It’s grown well because every year, every person who enters goes home with at least one door prize,” he said.

This is still the case for this year’s tournament, even with the expectation of 400 ice fishers.

The first through 10th place teams will receive plaques for the competition. There will also be cash prizes for first, second and third place. The payout is determined by the number of entries.

For safety purposes, Mundy makes trips to measure the ice at West Lake. However, if something happens or there is inclement weather, the event will have a reschedule date.

“It melts a little, but once that ice is established, it takes a lot to get rid of it,” Mundy said. “Anything that we lose during the day, it just grows right back at night.”