West Lake is a popular spot for ice fishing, but this weekend there will be crowds on surface like Osceola has never seen.
When Cody Mundy started the West Lake Ice Out ice fishing tournament four years ago, he had no idea it would become as popular as it is.
"It's the second-largest in the state," said his dad, Charlie Mundy.
A quick look at the list of door prizes and giveaways makes it easy to tell why it's so popular.
Cody Mundy estimates between 150-200 two-person teams show up on the ice 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. The estimated payout for first place is $1,500, and that's based on 100 entries. If all goes as planned, first prize could be twice that. However, that's not the only thing people look forward to winning.
"This year we have lots of safety equipment," said Mundy, but door prizes also include reels, warming shoe inserts and other fishing supplies.
"Everybody goes home with door prizes," said Mundy, stressing he tries to make the $75 entry fee per team worth the expense. "We have the banquet, so we’re feeding them an extra meal. We also have lunch for them on the day of the tournament."
Registration will be from 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Eagles Lodge during the Ice Out banquet and again Sunday morning from 6:30-6:30 a.m. at the north boat ramp on West Lake. Launch begins at the boat ramp at 7:30 a.m.
Due to the number of participants this year, launch will be done in phases to prevent any one area of the ice from holding too much weight. Participants will have a few other rules to contend with.
For instance, no alcohol is allowed on site. Team members have to fish within 10 feet of each other. All fish must be kept fresh, even in frigid temperatures. Finally, up to 25 crappies from each team will be weighed. Bringing in other species results in penalties.
“The start of it was, I’d entered in a fishing tournament, and the reason they’d had the tournament was to help the quality of the lake. The lake in Osceola has an overabundance of smaller fish, said Mundy.” I thought it would help by taking some of those out.”
Crappies are desirable but those living in West Lake are very small. The Ice Out was planned partially to keep fish populations under control.
“Every year the quality of fish has gotten better and better,” said Mundy. “We weighed in well over 3000 fish last year. It helps out a lot.”
As an additional benefit, a friend of the family attends a church with a fish fry, which is where many of the crappies taken from West Lake wind up.
For more information on entering the tournament or the rules that need to be followed, people can call Cody Mundy at 641-414-8624.