Anglers look to make SL the 'Walleye Capitol'

By DANA LARSEN
Pilot-Tribune Editor

If there's a walleye capitol of the fishing world, Storm Lake may be it,
says Dean Higgins, director of I.O.W.A. - the Iowa Organization of Walleye
Anglers.
With some of the top fishing competitors in the state, members demanded
that Storm Lake be put on the schedule for the team fishing tournament in
2008 - in fact, it will be the first stop on the tour, April 6.
'It had been many years since we had come to Storm Lake, and last year we
wanted to shake things up a little and so we put Storm Lake on the
schedule.Everybody just absolutely fell in love with the community, the lake
and the fishing, and so they voted to come back to Storm Lake for sure,'
Higgins said.
'Despite getting caught in one of the worst storms of the summer last
year, we still had a lot of guys catch their limits. The fishing is
tremendous.'
King's Pointe is helping with the planning, and has been named as the
official host hotel of the event. About 50 fishing teams will descend on the
city, and the event is expected to have an economic impact of about 50,000.
The walleye fishermen will release all the fish they catch in Storm Lake,
and work within the DNR's slot limit.
'We think the timing for this year's stop will be good and challenging for
our anglers - they will have to pull some more tricks out of their bag,'
Higgins said.
The conversion of the state marina at Casino Beach may also make accessing
the lake itself a bit of a challenge in April, he admits.
The I.O.W.A. group has been holding competitive fishing tours for 13
years, with the event growing each year. This year's tour includes Clear
Lake and Rathbun as well as Storm Lake, leading to the championships in
October, to be hosted by Cabela's in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
'This gives people a chance to compete in a field they love and to
experience the waters in and around Iowa.'
'We want to create a family atmosphere, an appreciation for the Iowa
outdoors, and build friendship and sportsmanship among anglers,' Higgins
said of the tour.
Last year, events saw an average of 17 family teams. 'If you want to
create memories with your son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father or
grandparents this is the place for you. I can tell you on a personal note
that many of my greatest memories are fishing a tournament with my sons
and my wife,' Higgins said.
Teams this year will compete to win cash as well as $34,000 in prizes.
Entry fee is $240 per team, with an 80 percent prize payback.
'We have been so successful in building comaraderie that we are finding
that the anglers miss each other when the season is over. This winter they
asked us to have an ice fishing event for the first time, mostly so the
could just get out and grill some hot dogs and see their friends again.'
The anglers are eager to get to Storm Lake this spring to get back on the
water.
'Katie Schwint at King's Pointe has been telling us that Storm Lake is
going to be the Walleye Capitol of Iowa,' Higgins laughed. 'I said. 'Let's
get 'er done.''