(Perch Extravaganza goers await the prize drawings Saturday at Hunters Point Resort)

When it comes to Mille Lacs Lake ice fishing fun, the Adamek family has it nailed.

On Saturday, members of this Jordan, Minn. clan deployed their 8.5 by 22-foot wheeled Custom Cottage fish house at the edge of the on-ice awards area out-front of Hunters Point Resort at 9 a.m., as part of   the 28^th Annual Perch Extravaganza.

They augered holes in three feet of ice, dropped lines, powered up their generator and enjoyed themselves, fishing in four feet of water. Six couples stayed warm, cozy and well supplied, pulling the full contest shift.

 “We had 19 people in there shaking dice with the windows open, listening to numbers,” said Corey Adamek, referring to the 91-minute, post-fishing tourney raffle ceremony – which really was the main event after the 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. perch contest.  “It was a total blast.”

The Adamek team caught some big ones.  Prizes, that is.  Two of their many button numbers were called, netting them a pair of Aqua-Vu underwater fish cameras, capping one of the luckiest weekends they can collectively recall at Mille Lacs Lake.  Several family members scored big on pull tabs at Long Siding (Friday night) and Bayview Bar and Grill (Saturday evening)

“Then we pulled it (the house) back across the lake and we’re back out there fishing again,” said Adamek, who was with his whole group Saturday evening at Bayview, sharing a meal. “We’ve been coming up here for 20 years and we love it!”

Perhaps the luckiest participant of all Saturday was Elk River resident  Steve Bellrichard.  His button number  – 1597 – was drawn last, handing him a new Ice Castle Fish house from Milaca Unclaimed Freight. Guns, ice augers, GPS units, and countless other pricey prizes were given away. A more detailed description of prizes is at the Johnson Portside Bait and Liquor website. 

For the record, the winning perch was just more than 1.65 pounds, landing the lucky angler a $500 cash prize.  In all, 21 perch more than a pound made the leader board. We’ve requested a list of the fishing winners and some post-event information from organizer Steve Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Portside Bait and Liquor. We will post more details when we receive them.

Sales of the $10 tournament buttons may have eclipsed records this year.  Different colored, leftover buttons from 2010 and 2009 were dragged out to meet demand.  Those “yellow ones”, with number, were called, helping ensure the integrity of the raffle drawing.  Several long-time veterans of the tourney claimed it was the biggest on-ice group they had witnessed in years.

The Adamek group poses for a post-event shot at Bayview Bar and Grill

The largest Mille Lacs Lake ice fishing tourney of the season -- participant-wise -- starts Saturday at 8 a.m.  at ANY location on the Big Pond, concluding at Hunters Point Resort for a fifth straight year.

The 28^th Annual Perch Extravaganza runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.  lake-wide.  To enter, you must purchase a $10 tourney button.  The contest buttons can be purchased at either Johnson’s Portside Bait and Liquor or Hunters Point Resort, according to a staff member we spoke with this morning at Portside.

The Top 10 perch weighed – alive – make the leader board and get prizes.  You must be present for prizes, according to a post on the Johnson’s Portside website.  The site has complete details on the event.  Make It Mille Lacs will be present to document the experience.

The grand prize is an Ice Castle wheeled fish house.  Big fish prize is $500 cash.  A drawing for a large list of prizes – including ice augers and Aqua views – happens after the 2 p.m. awards ceremony at Hunters Point.  A t-shirt shooter and kids prizes (under 12) are featured, making this a family event.

The button also gets you free lake access at the following locations:  Appeldoorn's Sunset Bay Resort; Chapman's Mille Lacs Resort & Guide Service; Fishermen's Wharf Resort;  Lyback's Ice Fishing;  Mac's Twin Bay Resort; and Nitti's Hunters Point Resort.

Just how big of an event is this? Consider that Jerry Brandt’s south shore ice fishing operation will be plowing a road and leading an entourage estimated to be more than 60 vehicles to Hunter’s Point to make the awards ceremony.  That’s a trek, but it’s become an annual, fun affair.

One new twist – and a great one for Mille Lacs – is the hand out of thousands of garbage bags to anglers. Organizers Steve Johnson and George Nitti are requesting that folks bag any lake garbage and bring it to available dumpsters at Hunters Point.

Area businesses will see a financial spike for a third straight weekend, following in the wake of Arctic Blast and the Ducks Unlimited/Hunters Point Perch-Pout Fests. “It’ll be pretty much full-up on the eastern shore,” said Tina Chapman, executive director of Mille Lacs Tourism, referring to lodging.  She said fish house rentals were brisk and that a majority of private houses on the eastern side will be occupied and possibly tied to the event.

Across the lake, in Garrison, the Minnesota State Ice Racing championships run both Saturday and Sunday, featuring studded motorcycles and studded and non-studded ATV races.  For more information visit the Minnesota Ice Racing website.  A Fire and Ice Barbeque planned for Buzzie’s on The Bay has been cancelled this weekend, Chapman said.

Jill Hofstrand, Deerwood, and son, Jordan, and daughter, Jayce, fished the whole event Saturday.

Garrison -- People, local businesses and ducks all won at Saturday’s 7^th Annual Ducks Unlimited Fishing Tournament on Garrison Bay.

Scott Ashby, St. Cloud, won a Chevrolet four-wheel drive truck with a 2.3 pound northern;  Mark Fleick, Lonsdale, won the 18-foot wheeled fish house with his .29 pound perch.  See the Make It Mille Lacs photo array!

A record-setting 3,054 anglers fished in moderate weather; Bette Hough and staff served 1,500 brats and hot dogs for the Svoboda Spotlight Café; and Garrison Commercial Club provided canned beer, doing a brisk business.

“It was a little raw out there with that slight breeze.  If that sun would have come out we would have had it all,” said Tournament Director Greg Erickson, who said more than 204 Ducks Unlimited volunteers from around the state helped with the event. He said he was pleased that both duck hunters and fishing folks got exposed to each other’s sports, creating an area win-win situation for the future.

However, it is the local duck population which could benefit most.  Proceeds from this event help provide local wild rice habitat for ducks.  Erickson is waiting on the final financial status of the event, but guessed it would net $80,000 to $90,000.

For Monte and DeAnn Caddy of Ironton, the tournament was a milestone.  It was the first time the couple has fished outside a fish house in 57 winters on Mille Lacs Lake.  “It terrible cold right now, but it is a great tourney, “ Monte Caddy said, covered with a sleeping bag, but tending to his jiggle stick with fervor right up until the final flare gun blasted.   The Caddy’s brought their daughter, Jill Hofstrand, and grandkids, Jayce, and Jordan to fish.   The family was shutout and without a nibble but had fun.

For a rundown of the full leader board, go to the Garrison Ducks Unlimited website.

Our coverage of the Ducks Unlimited Fishing Tournament will run Tuesday, allowing for follow-up and a large array of photos posted online. See more photos from the Hunters Point Perch and Pout Fest in our photo gallery, click here.

Saturday’s Annual Hunters Point Perch and Pout Fest drew more than 1,700 anglers to the eastern shore of Mille Lacs Lake.

The top three Perch placers were:   Jeff Novotny 1.370 lbs;  Gordy Brehmer 1.340 lbs;  Andy Olson 1.330 lbs.  The top three Pout were:  Tom Inderieden 2.255 lbs;  Toni Baumgartner 2.045 lbs;  Patty Pribbenow 1.290 lbs. The winners in each class got a $300 cash prize.

Thanks to a hard freeze on Friday evening, the lake stiffened, allowing for easy travel after what had developed into some slop Thursday.   The Perch and Pout Fest also served as a “tune-up” for this Saturday’s 28^th Annual Perch Extravaganza, which will be run out of Hunters Point Resort.  That event could draw more than 4,000 anglers.  Make It Mille Lacs will run a preview of that event Wednesday on our home page and be there to cover it Saturday.

At Hunter’s Point Saturday, the resort was a beehive of activity with a meat raffle, a full bar and the restaurant all humming while the tournament ran from 7 am to 2 pm.  Scott Peterson, general manager, and Doug Ertl, public relations director, were multi-tasking to keep everything rolling.

Those clad in Hunters Point attire indoors may have been a slight minority, making you wonder just how big of a following this resort has.  With more than 1,000 Facebook fans and one of the top web sites on the Big Pond, Hunters Point has a very loyal customer base as we found out.

“It’s our home away from home – it’s our winter weekend house,” said Cindy Taylor, Monticello.  She and her husband, Jeremiah, were enjoying the meat raffle with Guerry and Suzanne Schuman of Maple Grove.  Guerry wore the “signature” Hunters Point black and red sweat shirt, joining a bevy of others who also sported the gear. “The first time we came here we met George and Linda (Nitti) and they talked to us and they’ve never forgotten our name.”

“The customer service here is awesome,” said Suzanne who won three meat raffle draws while we were there. “You can always expect to come back and see the people you know.”  

Garrison – This weekend’s Mille Lacs major event is the Seventh Annual Ducks Unlimited Ice Fishing Contest and anglers will compete for more than $75,000 worth of prizes.

The largest fish wins a Chevrolet 4 X 4 pickup.  The 75^th fish wins a wheeled fish house.  A lucky raffle winner gets a Arctic Cat ATV.  More than 3,500 people are expected to crowd this town, population 217, on one of its biggest business weekends of the year.

We talked with Tournament Director Greg Erickson to provide you with some information past and present.  Erickson said the local Ducks Unlimited Chapter is the No. 1 fund raising chapter in Minnesota, having raised more than $80,000 at last year’s event.  That event featured almost 2,500 participants. He said they hoped to surpass that number on Saturday.

“There’s a good 28 to 30 inches of ice and the snow isn’t even melted off yet, so we’re sitting good,”  said Erickson, who works for Garrison Sports.  “The fish houses will be full up here and the motels are filling up.”

Registration for the event was $30 if signed up before Feb. 13 and $40 now.  You can register on the ice Saturday for the noon to 3 pm event.  Erickson said there will be roads leading out to Garrison Bay from Blue Goose Inn and Garrison Sports.  The headquarters for the event is on the ice in a huge tent and food and beverage are available.

A majority of the local money spent by the Garrison DU Chapter goes for local wild rice, Erickson said.  He said many of the event’s volunteers are from DU chapters from around the state. “I get to work with lots of great people.

If you are trying to follow your fishing entrant from afar, click on the link above as the tournament is supposed to be automated, meaning there are real-time updates. Make It Mille Lacs will also be beaming shots from the events for periodic postings to its Facebook account Saturday.

Snacks on Mille Lacs Cafe owner Laura Stoothoff

Isle -- If you’re a coffee house lover spending a day, the weekend or most of your time in the southern Mille Lacs Lake area, Isle’s Snacks on Mille Lacs Café is for you. In all seasons!

With a medium-sized snack line, diverse and eclectic lunch specials -- a full array of coffees, espressos, lattes and mochas-- this polished, yet quaint, easy-to-find coffee shop has become a big hit in Isle and word is spreading.

“Being a barista is fun,” said owner Laura Stoothoff who is one of four happy souls you might get to meet, working the place.  She took a couple minutes to chat with us between customers last week. “I like working for myself, interacting with all the people and I really enjoy what I do.”

A group from the Mille Lacs Messenger staff raved about the cinnamon crunch and cranberry orange muffins.  Another customer was sipping an espresso, working on her computer in one of the best-smelling Wi-Fi equipped social fun spots around Mille Lacs Lake.

Stoothoff detailed her establishment’s offerings best:  “Snacks has a friendly, quaint atmosphere offering fresh, quality sandwiches, smoothies, Bridgeman’s ice cream, specialty coffee and more! From a basic cup of “Joe” to a specialty “funky monkey” mocha! Whatever it is you crave we want you to know our ingredients are fresh! Every pot of coffee is ground fresh and every sandwich is made to order. Our quality, artisan breads are baked fresh and our famous coleslaw is homemade here at the shop, brine and all! “Snacks on Mille Lacs” does not offer fried foods, just a different alternative. Coming soon this year also: take-and-go salads, and fruit parfaits.”

With it’s main-street location, Snack’s On Mille Lacs is an easy-in, easy-out operation as well, allowing the passerby or regular resident the next-best-thing to a drive-through coffee experience.  Snacks on Mille Lacs Café is located between Tinshack Company, offering organic knitting needs, and Someday Isle, which has creative arts.  It’s casual so regular, golf or fishing attire is fine.  Did we say the lunch is, well, outstanding?  The most recent Facebook special:  “Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast on fresh European Ciabatto squares.....MMMMM! Served with chips or slaw. *Loaded Potato soup topped with crumbled bacon!”

Open since May 2009, the Snacks on Mille Lacs Café is essentially a “family” coffee shop moved from Duluth.  You’ll have to visit to get that full story. When you are there you will see top-shelf décor, redone hard-wood floors and art work that shouts, “We Care.”  Stoothoff’s  mother, Jean Vandenberg, aunt, Kathy Tate, and Isle High School student Emily Mellon work the various business shifts.  The store is open 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Wednesday; 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday; and 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday.

Finally, Snacks on Mille Lacs is mobile in a society that is demanding it! It caters to resorts, fishing launches or special events. Trust us, you’ll be impressed when you stop by Snacks on Mille Lacs and you won’t visit just once.  Call 320-676-3511 or email snacksonmillelacs@hotmail.com to find out how they can serve you. 

Watertown’s Leif Jensen (pictured above) won a pair of Minnesota Viking season tickets. A $30,000 prize party closed out Arctic Blast XVI Sunday as more than 900 people packed the Grand Casino Mille Lacs Event and Convention Center main ballroom for the two-plus hour prize drawing giveaway.

Morning on-air radio personality John Hines of WCCO-AM radio, and former Viking players “benchwarmer” Bob Lurtsema and Doug Sutherland combined to emcee the event that drew an estimated 4,000 visitors to the greater Mille Lacs Lake area last weekend.

For an extensive array of photos, checkout The Make It Mille Lacs Arctic Blast 2011 photo page . Once there, you will find a link to email us your photos.  We will post to that page. We will be adding some more photos to the page.

Event proceeds went to the Minnesota Vikings Children Fund.   “The fans are the best,” said former Viking Robert Tate.  “We just want to give something back to them.  They’ve always been there for us and now it’s our turn to be there for them.”  Tate joined former players Carl Lee, Jim Marshall, Matt Blair, Henry Thomas, Matt Blair, Bob Lurtsema, Doug Sutherland and Chris Dolemen at Bay Lake’s White Hawk for a Friday night VIP private party.

Saturday, it was wall-to-wall people at the four Blast Points – Blue Goose Inn, Garrison; Castaways Bar Restaurant, Malmo; Nitti’s Hunters Point Resort, Isle; and Buzzie’s On the Bay, Isle.  We were told some Arctic Blast attendees were staying in lodging as far south as Elk River.

Janelle and Eric Hart of Ely were first-time Mille Lacs-area visitors.  Eric, who works for Frontier, won a company contest for lead referrals and received a free-stay at Eddy’s Resort. “It’s a really, really big lake, and this should be a lot of  fun,” Janelle said.  The couple were waiting to accompany one of the three Viking rider contingents from McQuoid’s Resort Inn Saturday morning in Isle.

Arctic Blast XVI officially kicked off at Castaways Bar last night with a private party from 6-10 p.m., featuring former players Doug Sutherland, Jim Marshall, Carl Lee and Bob Lurtsema.  They were accompanied by some Viking cheerleaders and Pat Leopold, Director of the Vikings Children Fund.  The event helped raise money for the Children's Fund.

Some current Vikings, former players and team executives along with Viktor the Viking arrive at the Mille Lacs Friday for a weekend of fun that will draw thousands to the area. It’s Arctic Blast! And Make It Mille Lacs will be there to cover the event.

The Vikings are staying at McQuoid’s Inn and Resort, shuttling northwest in a pair of 50-passenger buses -- weather permitting – around 5:30 pm Friday night all the way to White Hawk’s Bar and Restaurant on Bay Lake.  There, the Vikings group will take part in a private party. The group may stop in Garrison enroute back to McQuoid’s, we were told by Vikings Children’s Fund Director Pat Leopold, who attended a Garrison Commercial Club meeting on February 2^nd.

Active players scheduled to attend are: Ben Leber, E.J. Henderson, Heath Farwell, Jeff Dugan, Fred Evans and Erin Henderson.  Coaches Bud Grant and Karl Dunbar and former Vikings Jim Marshall, Paul Krause, Chris Doleman, Henry Thomas, Matt Blair, Bob Lurtsema, Stu Voigt, Pete Bercich, Doug Sutherland and Gerald Robinson will attend. Also on hand will be the Vikings radio voice Paul Allen and team cheerleaders

Leopold praised  the Garrison Commercial Club at a Feb. 2 member meeting: “We never, ever thought we’d have the kind of numbers of people that we now have here,” Leopold said.  The event moved from the Ely, Tower and Embarrass area 13 years ago and is a Mille Lacs February mainstay.

“We’ve raised more than $100,000 (for the Vikings Children's Fund) these last three years," Leopold said. “Although we are struggling to get people to register early.”  Sledders must register and check in at least two of the Four Blast Points to qualify for Sunday’s $30,000 worth of prizes drawing at the Mille Lacs Grand Casino Recreation and Events Center. Event goers can also register at each Blast Point on “Game Day”.

Saturday starts off with a breakfast with the annual Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe community breakfast at the Mille Lacs Events and Convention Center. The breakfast runs from 9 a.m. – noon Tickets available at the door: Breakfast: $8.50 for adults, $5.50 for children 12 ...or under
No Breakfast: $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under. And then it's off to the Blast Points!

This year’s route avoids the lake proper all together, instead traversing the 80-some miles around Mighty Mille Lacs.  Let’s hope for some good weather and decent trail conditions and there are some lengthy travel times to get from places like Blue Goose to Castaways or from Buzzie’s on The Bay back up to the Blue Goose.  There is a combination of some nice trail riding and some ditch beating on this mission.

Everybody knows Toucan Sam, the famous Neotropical Fruit Loops Bird.

Fishermen’s Wharf Resort has an anonymous Toucan mascot headquartered in the establishment’s bar/restaurant whose motto is: "Two Cans are just the beginning."

Welcome to Toucan’s—Fishermen’s Wharf Bar and Restaurant. It powers the "fun engine" that is running on all cylinders at this popular East Shore Mille Lacs Lake Resort.

On arrival, the tropical theme embraces you. Its ocean blue, olive green, goldenrod and purple colors—with strategically-placed Toucan wall murals—help you forget about bone-chilling cold. In warmer seasons, the décor shouts "cool fun". The pull tab boxes, window view of the lake, coupled with scores of cheerful fishing folks and snowmobilers remind one that you are at Mille Lacs Lake.

The Toucan’s branding and warm feel are neat and unique to these parts, augmenting FWR’s great food, one-of-a-kind bar specials, superior service and depth of options that make it one of the finest operations on the Big Pond.

"We have the best food on the lake," said Neveda, general manager, when pressed for what sets Toucan's apart from its competition. She goes without a last name for privacy reasons. "And we’ve got our signature drinks. I can’t tell you about the last one – you’ll just have to come try it!"

Neveda was referring to the Toucan's Nut Shot. We’ll list the other beverages you won’t find elsewhere on Mille Lacs. Toucan's Trash Can (warning,  24 ounces); Toucan's Punch; Toucandy Cane; Toucan's Tea. The bar also offers bottomless bloody marys and screwdrivers for $10 from 3-6 pm Sundays this month.

While you are enjoying yourself or tackling a signature drink, you can order off a  huge menu for a great variety of quality food.  I’ve eaten everything from the omelet breakfast to burger baskets to steak dinners at FWR.  Trust me, the chow is very good!

Did we mention FWR sports a full-scale ice fishing business, lodging options, a marina and a host of family-oriented options?   Or that Fishermen’s Wharf Resort is also a summer mecca for fun? Or that it employs more than 20 people? One of the great parts of my job is visiting and experiencing all there is to offer on Mille Lacs. I can truly tell you that FWR is fun; it has great food; it's clean; and has a service staff that really enjoys serving, enhancing your experience.

FWR is a must-stop on the Mille Lacs to-visit list for Fun. To book your stay, fish house or party at FWR call 1-800-645-3693 or visit the links above. Help Toucan's name its mascot by posting ideas on the FWR Facebook page.