Ryan Wisniewski
Sam Theuer (left) and Toby Reinke (right) examine their fish finder to see if there’s any activity under the ice.
Several members of UW-Madison’s fishing team gather mid-morning next to the boathouse at Brittingham Boats on Monona Bay. Registration opened at 7 a.m. on Feb. 1 for Badger Battle on the Bay, the team’s first annual ice fishing tournament, and 131 people have signed up to participate. The tournament is a fundraiser for the fishing team and the money raised will help offset costs of team fishing trips and travel for tournaments. A few UW fishing team members are competing, but mostly it’s people from the general public. They have paid $10 for the chance to win a prize for the day’s longest bluegill and crappie.
While a grill smokes with brats, team vice president Leo Krenz passes out Choco Tacos to fellow team members who are helping to run the tournament. No one seems to mind that the temperature hovers in the mid-30s or that the skies are overcast for the 10th day in a row. Soon 14-year old William Kuester Jr. of McFarland comes off the ice with a bluegill. Measuring 8 1/2 inches, Kuester Jr.’s fish makes the current leaderboard for the youth division. Kuester Jr. turns around and heads back to the ice. The winners will be announced when the tournament ends at 3 p.m.
As we stand near a fire pit, I mention I didn’t know UW-Madison had a fishing team, until a few days ago. “A lot of people don’t,” says Mike Richter, the team’s media director. Richter, a senior at UW-Madison studying actuarial science and finance, says raising awareness about the team is one of the missions of today’s event. “A tournament brings people together,” Richter says. “And we can get our name out there to the people who fish here every weekend.”
Founded in 1996, the Wisconsin Fishing Team formed as a student organization with about 10 members. In the spring of 2017 team officers applied to become a sport club — the next level up from a club, Richter says — and the team now receives support from the university, which includes funds for uniforms and competition entry fees.
Now the fishing team has 75 dues-paying members, says team president Colin Steck, a junior at UW-Madison studying nutritional science. One of the main goals of the team is to “foster a sense of community” for fellow anglers, Steck says. Regular events include pizza nights, guest speakers and fishing trips.
While Steck’s “true love” is bass fishing — he qualified to compete on behalf of UW-Madison later this month at a Fishing League Worldwide bass tournament in Florida — he loves ice fishing because it’s so accessible. To compete in fishing competitions during open water season you need a boat, Steck says, “but with this tournament all you need is a pair of boots, a jacket, an auger and a rod.”
Out on the ice UW-Madison freshman Arjay McCandless is wearing a large parka and using an auger to drill holes. A member of the fishing team, McCandless is volunteering with several other team members for an event that the Department of Natural Resources is running alongside the tournament to teach people to fish. Originally from the Bay Area in California, McCandless grew up fishing but he is new to the sport of ice fishing. “The strategy is completely different, it’s dictated by where the holes are,” he says. But he’s back at it today despite some initial challenges. “It was my first time ice fishing last week and I got my first bluegill after about six hours,” he says with a laugh.
Steck notes that ice fishing tournaments are less common than regular season ones, and that today’s tournament might be the first ever held on Monona Bay. Out on the ice Steck meets David Dominas of McFarland, one of today’s competitors, who agrees with him. “I was kind of surprised to find out that there was never an ice fishing tournament here.”
9 1/8 inches: length of the winning bluegill in the first annual Badger Battle on the Bay (youth division).
3: The age Colin Steck, president of UW-Madison’s fishing team, started fishing.
Steck’s other claim to fame: He started the Waunakee High School fishing team when he was a student there.
700: number of registered college bass fishing clubs in the United States in 2016, according to Gear Patrol magazine.
