World Ice Fishin Championship

[Lee Borgersen]

What is the 2013 World Ice Fishin Championship in Wausau, Wisconsin? :fishing2:

They’ve come by plane. By big ‘ol jet airliner. By turbo powered evolutions of the Kitty Hawk – and the locals, Team USA, by Suburban and Smart Car. (Okay, maybe – hopefully – not Smart Cars.) An international mix of the best ice anglers on earth have collapsed on Central Wisconsin’s Wausau to spar in the 2013 World Ice Fishing Championship. And the mix of representing nations is diverse to say the least.

Beyond the hometown stars and stripes, the bill includes the Scandinavian bloc countries of Sweden and Finland. Mongolia is representing – no Genghis Kahn, but some well armed ice warriors nonetheless. The Russians have invaded. Can’t throw a party without Kazakhstan, so they were invited to Wisconsin, too. The European roster builds with Estonia, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. Icing the cake is a contingent from the island nation of Japan, where hardwater smelting is popular and tiny techniques mandatory – perhaps a distinct advantage if the bite is nip and tuck.

World war is waged this Saturday and Sunday, February 16-17, 2013 on Big Eau Pleine Reservoir. The two day conflict pits nation against nation, team members brandishing one line per person and fishing only single hooks. Groundbaits and chumming are permitted, but with strict guidelines as to their composition and mass – measured metrically, of course. Anglers fish sector-to-sector under the watchful eyes of officials and with full support from their on-the-ice team coaches. And, if by chance, controversy erupts related to breaches of protocol and rules, an elected jury settles the claim. Sort of like ice fishing’s version of the United Nations.

Unlike classic North American tournaments, which are species-specific, WIFC athletes can register anything with scales and a swim bladder. On Big Eau Plein Reservoir, the piscatorial biomass includes: White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis), Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), Bluegill (Lepmois macrochirus), Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), Perch (Perca fla‐vescens), Yellow Bullhead (Ictalurus natalis), White Sucker (Catostomus commersonii), Creek Chub (Semolus atromaculatus), Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), Shorthead Redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum ) and White‐bass (Morone chrysops ).

An international insider said the underappreciated common carp could separate the wheat from the chaff, victor from spoils. That, or a king’s ransom of golden shiners… Yes, in this one-world event, bait goes in the bucket and gets counted.

Learn more about the WIFC and Team USA, visit www.usaiceteam.com.

[Lee Borgersen]

 Russia takes gold at 2013 World Ice Fishing Championship in Wausau.

Russia won the team gold medal at the 2013 World Ice Fishing Championships, outpacing Finland (silver) and Lithuania (bronze).

The U.S. took fourth out of 11 teams. The event was held Saturday and Sunday on Big Eau Pleine Reservoir near Wausau.

Returning to "home ice," the U.S. team had high hopes going into the event. The U.S. won the gold medal in 2010 when the event was at Boom Lake near Rhinelander. It finished 11th last year at the competition in Kazakhstan.

Tournament rules did not allow the use of electronics or power augers. Anglers competed on approximately half-acre zones on the ice. They could move within the zone but couldn't fish closer than 15 feet to another angler.

Competitors were ranked based on order of finish in their zone and the total weight of panfish and rough fish caught. Game fish were not allowed.

Toni Stenberg of Finland won the 2013 individual gold medal and Sergei Bolyakhin of Russia took the silver.

The top U.S. finisher was Chad Schaub of Michigan. Schaub won his section and weighed the most fish (0.676 kilograms) on the second day of the event to place third overall.

Mike Boedeker of Michigan was the next highest U.S. finisher (18th out of 60 competitors). The other U.S. anglers were Myron Gilbert of Michigan (27th), Bill Whiteside of Eau Claire (30th), Michael Thompson of Minnesota (52nd) and Jeff Kelm of Sheboygan (58th).

The U.S. Ice Team was directed by Mike McNett of Illinois and coached by Brian Gaber of Rhinelander.

The final team results were: Russia, Finland, Lithuania, United States, Ukraine, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland, Estonia and Japan.



Click here for complete list of results.


  

http://www.usaiceteam.com/wp-content/uploads/wifc-x-results-final.pdf