An Angler’s Tailgate Dream

More than 1,000 anglers fill little Detroit Lake for the sixth annual poles and holes fishing derby.
 
It’s your average tailgate: food, beer, and plenty of country tunes.

But you won’t find a football game here because for these thousand people, they’re enjoying a day on the ice, hoping for the big catch.
 
“It’s almost more like gambling than fishing because there’s so many lines out you just hope that you’re the lucky one and get the fish up,” says Tommy Ailie of Detroit Lakes.
 
For most of the anglers, bringing home the big fish requires a similar technique.
 
“A lot of sitting and waiting like everybody else I think,” says Kevin Piekutowski of Barnesville.
 
Just remember, patience is a virtue.
 
“People just come out to have fun. They’re setting up and playing yard games out on the ice. We got a guy with a living room chair on skis that he’s hauled out here to fish with today,” says Detroit Lakes Rotary Club Member Brent Gerber.
 

“That’s my official fishing derby chair. I hope it’s the winning ticket I haven’t caught anything but here’s hoping,” says Ailie.
 
Remaining hopeful might be the name of the game.
 
“I’m just waiting till the end. I’m going to catch one at the end and take home the big prize,” says Piekutowski.
 
But aside from hoping and waiting, many just enjoy the company.
 
“I ran into a few people I haven’t seen in a few years so that’s kind of nice,” says Piekutowski.
 
“I got an uncle over there and my cousin another cousin, my sister and her boyfriend somewhere over there,” says Ailie.
 
And what’s a better excuse to escape the winter hibernation…
 
“You go to work, you go home, you stay in the house,” says one eager angler.
 
…than a cold beer and a fishing pole.
 
The fishing derby’s top prize is an $11,000 fishing house.

The rotary club offered over $30,000 worth in prizes for the thirty biggest fishes.