Perch Extravaganza Saturday

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.