Winter anglers invited to Hard Water Classic
When the weather turns cold and most of us are content to grab our slippers and a blanket and sip hot cocoa, a few of our neighbors are counting the days until its been cold enough for long enough that the ice on our local lakes is thick enough.
And when most of us celebrate a warm front that lets us take off our hat and gloves for a few days, those neighbors are hoping the heat wave doesn't last so long that the ice begins to melt.
They have fish to catch.
These neighbors who like to ice fish are keeping a close watch on the ice on Silver Lake at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville these days. The lake is home to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's annual Hard Water Classic ice fishing tournament. For safety's sake, organizers need the ice to have a minimum depth of 4 inches to allow anglers out on the lake.
Though we've had above-freezing temperatures and rain of late, tournament organizer Jay Johnson says Silver Lake is topped by 5 inches of ice, and with the current forecast the lake should be safe for ice fishing for the Hard Water Classic Saturday, Feb. 13. And as the forest preserve district's west division manager of site operations, it's his job to know.
The tournament runs noon to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, with check-in beginning at 11 a.m. at Blackwell, off Butterfield Road, a quarter-mile west of Winfield Road. Registration is $15 in advance and $20 at the event.
The Daily Herald recently talked with Johnson about the tournament and what makes Silver Lake a good place to fish.
Q. How many years has the tournament taken place?
A. We are going into our fifth year with the tournament itself.
Q. What does it cost to participate in the tournament?
A. We're looking at a $15 or $20 participation fee. You can register in advance, and the idea is to get your registration in as soon as you can. The final week is where a lot of people start registering because we don't have any refunds. We take the money in and utilize it for a lot of our ranger-led programs such as at-risk youth, special needs programs, and other public programs.
Q. What experience is necessary to participate?
A. The experience needed for our ice fishermen is just to always be safe. You don't want to come out if you don't have somebody with you who has been out on the ice. With that, we do encourage novices to try, so it's all levels. It isn't just for the elite, experienced ice fisherman, but from the safety standpoint, we like to make sure people are paired up with others who have been out on the ice before and are familiar.
Q. How is the event run? Are there mini competitions or is it one big competition?
A. We're looking at one large competition from noon until 3:30 p.m. on the 13th. With that, there are various fish categories and there's a first, second and third prize within each of those categories. You could win an ice shanty or an ice auger, so there are some nice prizes. There are also cash prizes and gift cards and things like that.
Q. How much ice does there need to be in order to hold the tournament?
A. The rule of thumb for us is always 4 inches of ice or more for anybody to be out on it. We currently have 5 inches on average on Silver Lake. The weather is looking pretty good, so we're going to have very good ice going into the event.
Q. Why did the forest preserve choose this lake to host the competition?
A. Silver Lake has been an active fishery for many years and is well-established. We do have a variety of depths and elevations within the lake itself, so that is always nice. We do have a lot of fish cribs, so that's good shelter for the fish, and then we also have a couple of deep holes that are close to 35 to 40 feet deep and a channel area that is more like 5 to 6 feet. We have a nice variety. The last thing is that Blackwell and Silver Lake have a variety of parking lots, plenty of space, and the area is also centrally located.
Q. How many participants would you say, on average, come?
A. For the last few years, we've had over 150 participants.
Q. How many fish would you say, on average, are caught each year?
A. I don't have numbers in front of me but if you're looking at 150 people, you're looking at close to 100 fish, at least, if all goes well. Last Saturday, somebody out here pulled a 5-pound bass out of the channel area through the ice, so that's very encouraging.
Q. What happens to the fish once they're caught?
A. As far as the tournament goes, it's a catch-and-release type of tournament. So we're putting them back.
Q. What would you say is the most exciting part of the tournament?
A. The most exciting part of the tournament is that one of our main goals as the forest preserve district is connecting people with nature. Here, we have an event that is rather unusual; there aren't too many ice fishing tournaments in this area. We're one of the few, and we really do want to get people out to enjoy the area and understand how to be safe. You can enjoy the forest preserves no matter what the weather or time of year. It's exciting getting people out, and getting families out enjoying the ice in a new and usual experience.
Q. What's the funniest thing you've ever witnessed at the tournament?
A. As far as the funniest thing, I don't have a quick story but I do know that it's pretty unusual as far as everybody has their own little ways of going about fishing and their own little rituals. It's certainly unusual as far as the different types of gear - some guys will have no gloves and some guys, like me, have thick gloves on. Everybody's got a different tolerance to the weather.
Q. If you could describe the tournament in one word, what would that be?
A. Fun. Fun would be the appropriate term for our event. Even though it's a competition, we are trying to have people fish for different prizes. We maintain a fun atmosphere overall. We even have a lot of extra prizes that are raffles. So after the end of the event we do have some giveaways as well.
If you go
What: Hard Water Classic ice fishing tournament
When: Noon to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13; check-in from 11 to 11:45 a.m.
Where: Silver Lake in Blackwell Forest Preserve, off Butterfield Road, a quarter-mile west of Winfield Road
Cost: $15 in advance, $20 at the event
Info: (630) 933-7200 or dupageforest.com