There might be a while before the grand prize truck from this year’s Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza sees much use.
Its winner is just 13 years old.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, Hutchinson teen Zac Padrnos won the 33rd annual ice fishing tournament with a 9.45-pound walleye caught at Hole-in-the-Day Bay on Gull Lake. Almost 4 pounds larger than Padrnos’ fish, which weighed 5.67 pounds, was caught by John Kennedy, who ran to the weigh-in tent after 2:30 p.m. with his catch.
Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
“I was fishing in about 55 feet of water, and I had a Tungsten Jig on, so I was thinking it was like a tullibee or something because I had a wax worm on with 2 pound test line,” Padrnos said, recounting his winning catch after the tournament. “So I just pulled up to it, and I started jigging it in front of it, and it bit it and as soon as I set the hook it just started pulling the drag, so I knew it was pretty big.”
The tournament was Padrnos’ second, but it was the first time he caught a fish. Padrnos chose the Ford pickup truck over the Chevrolet as his grand prize.
It’s unclear what will happen to the truck over the next three years until the teen can get his license.
“I have no clue,” Padrnos said. “… We’ll have to figure that out later.”
In the charitable fishing contest, which supports various nonprofits, nearly 12,000 anglers from all over the world, including New York, California, Arizona, Tennessee and even France and Australia, took to the ice in single digit temperatures.
In order to support Camp Confidence, which is one of the charities receiving donations from the contest, Larry Swiers trekked from Wabun for his first tournament. He is a member of the Detroit Lakes Elks Club. For people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, Confidence Learning Center offers outdoor educational opportunities.
While Swiers was enjoying his semi-frozen drink that had turned into a slushie, fellow angler Tammy Lundstrom said all she had caught that afternoon was a cold. However, they still enjoyed their first tournament experience, taking a quick break near the end to warm up with a dance session with those at the next hole.
Over the Extravaganza loudspeakers, twin sisters Lily and Morgan Voss danced to “Fishing in the Dark,” taking in the tournament for the first time as well. The two drove from Watertown, South Dakota, with their dad, who came to the tournament before and decided to bring his daughters this time around.
There was a tall flagpole across the ice with not only American flags, but also a big pink Care Bear. Below, a father/son duo, Keith and Blair McKibbon, played beanbags in matching red snowsuits. A bull horn was worn by Keith McKibbon in his hat, making him a “red bull.”
Having moved to Brainerd from Duluth a few years ago, Blair McKibbon was there for his third Extravaganza tournament, while his dad drove down from Esko.
“Why not?” Blair McKibbon asked. “There are so many people. It’s fun – having a good time, staying warm.”
They used the Care Bear on their flag pole to find their hole if they got lost, but it also served as a conversation starter.
While he was experiencing the Extravaganza tournament for the first time with a group of friends, Travis Dickson was not far away. As Dickson acclimated himself to the cold, snowy winters of Merrifield three years ago, he was still “learning the Minnesota ways.” Although he had not caught any fish halfway through the contest, he was thoroughly enjoying the frozen lake’s beauty.
In matching red, white, and blue American flag snowsuits, Brainerd residents Dan and Jen Petrie stood out from the crowd. The two said they enjoyed being outdoors with their family as well as the warm weather, which kept them coming back each year.
While most of the state might have been frigid Saturday, Jerry Johannsen said it was “a different cold” than in Mankato, where he traveled from. In spite of the “beautiful” weather and the competition, he and friend Jack McGregor said they were there for the weather and the competition.
Even though local brothers Jim and Greg Haroldson did not have much luck on the next hole over, they kept coming back with family and friends to play. Despite Saturday’s chill, they said the weather has been much worse in the past.
Additionally, contest veteran Larry Kidd – who had attended all 33 tournaments – stood with son Jeremy Kidd and friends Scottie Nagorski, Tyler Meyer, and Dane Carlson among the 14,300 holes on the ice. It was Nagorski’s 17th contest, and he was disappointed that his perch had fallen off the leaderboard after weighing 0.35 pounds.
Meyer recalled spilling an extravaganza of minnows everywhere after falling on the ice with a bucket last year, while Nagorski recounted the time he almost lost his boot after stepping in a hole.
Almost 25,000 volunteer hours went into the 2023 tournament, and the Jaycees are already planning for No. 34, which is set a week later than usual on Feb. 3, 2024.
In the tournament’s history, the Brainerd Jaycees have raised over $4.3 million for more than 75 charities. Camp Confidence is the largest beneficiary.
Visit icefishing.org/leaderboard/ to see the list of 2023 tournament winners.
Sources: Brainerdispatch
