2015 Team Extreme Ice Fishing Team of the Year

Mark Anderson and I with a pair of big crappies

March 1st marked the last event in this 4 tournament series.  Team Extreme is an organization who brings top-notch ice tournaments to Iowa.  They also have a Minnesota and Wisconsin division.  The Team of the Year standings is the total number points collected by a team who fishes the events.  Mark Anderson and I made a commitment to fish all the events this year to see how we matched with other top ice anglers from all over the state.

Stop #1- West Lake Okoboji: Bluegills were the target on this famous Iowa lake in the Emerson Bay area.  Green weeds were the target and we found a couple good areas that bluegills were cruising through.  Sight fishing in shallow water for big gills...it's a rush!  We ended up in 5th place at this event with 22 teams fishing.

Stop#2- Big Creek Lake- This is a lake that my partner Mark Anderson knows very well.  He has spent countless hours on the lake drilling a thousand or more holes.  The lake was "off" all winter long and this tournament was by far the toughest of the year.  No team caught a limit of 8 crappies and 8 bluegills.  We ended up in 2nd place out of 12 teams.  This took us to the top of the Team of the Year leader board.

Stop #3- Brushy Creek Lake- If you know anything about this lake it is all about the standing timber and the old creek channels.  This was a lake that neither one of us had any experience on.  During our practice time over the span of 3 weekends we were able to narrow down the lake to 3 different areas.  Our crappies came early on our fist spot, and our bluegills came on our second spot.  We never made it to our third area.  We ended up in 2nd place out of 14 and once again extended our lead in the Team of the Year race.

Stop #4- Rock Creek Lake- Much like Big Creek, this is a lake that I have drilled a thousand or more holes on over the past decade.  We had a game-plan for the lake at several different areas and we executed it well.  We just didn't' get a bigger bite with our crappies.  A limit was easily caught but we ended up in 5th place out of 17 teams, which was plenty to achieve our goal that we set before the season began.

Mark Anderson and I were crowned the Team Extreme Ice Fishing Iowa Team of the Year and we couldn't be happier.  We didn't win a tournament, however we never finished below 5th place and accumulated 390 points out of a perfect 400.  This couldn't have been possible without the seamless teamwork that Mark and I executed throughout the year.  We have rarely fished together outside of tournaments, but have proven that we make a great team on the ice!

This accomplishment won't be soon forgotten.  It took a commitment to prepare and compete in four different tournaments.  This is something that I enjoy and look forward to, but at the same time appreciate my family for putting up with my absence at home, and when my kids ask how the tournament went, or if I brought fish home or to see pictures of the fish it makes me feel a lot better.

So, in conclusion I cannot thank my family enough, my partner Mark Anderson and Vexilar for all they have provided me through this ice fishing season.