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Contest seeks to top $200,000 in lifetime donations to Institute

East Side Lake should have plenty of ice this year to host the return of the Austin area’s only ice fishing contest later this month.

After unseasonably warm weather last winter made ice fishing impossible, the annual Fishing for a Cure fundraiser as part of the Paint the Town Pink will return Saturday, Feb. 15, to East Side Lake to raise money for cancer research at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota.

Organizers will have holes drilled throughout the lake for anglers of all ages, with the contest running from noon to 2 p.m. Registration will open at 11 a.m. in East Side Lake park area along Oakland Place Northeast. Portable fish houses are allowed on the lake, and Minnesota fishing regulations apply to all anglers.

A meal and silent auction will follow the contest at the Austin Eagles Club, 107 11th St. N.E. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the silent auction even if they did not fish in the contest.

Glenn Newman again is leading Fishing for a Cure with his daughter, Hayley Erdahl and son, Zach Newman.

“This is always a great time on the ice for families and people of all ages,” Hayley Erdahl said. “We make it easy for people to ice fish with dozens of holes drilled on the lake so you also can move around during the contest.”

Started in 2009, Fishing for a Cure has raised more than $217,161 for The Hormel Institute’s cancer research since 2009.

In February 2024, Fishing for a Cure – whose motto is “Continuing in the fight against cancer” – canceled the ice fishing contest due to unsafe ice conditions but hosted the meal and silent auction at the Eagles, raising more than $14,000.

Organizers typically drill 200 to 250 holes in East Side Lake but can drill more, if needed. Holes usually are flagged and participants can pick any available hole on the lake; anglers also can bring their auger to create their own fishing holes.

Entry is $20 per person, which includes fishing, drilled holes, bait, meal and entry into door prizes at the Eagles. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 biggest fish caught: $300 for first, $200 for second and $100 for third.

In recent years, the winning fish mostly have been good-sized largemouth bass except for a 9.1-ounce sucker in 2022.

One of the event sponsors again is the state’s Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) awareness campaign to prevent the spread of invasive species in Minnesota waters. It reminds all to make watercraft is “Clean In, Clean Out” when boating or fishing.

For more information, email austinfishingforacure@gmail.com or call Hayley at 507-440-8167 or Glenn at 507-438-0313.