ADDISON TWP. ? Dressed warmly and huddled in shanties, 33 hearty fishermen braved Saturday’s frigid temperatures and punched through Lakeville Lake’s thick sheet of ice in search of a toothy predator known as the northern pike.
It was all part of the Bear Paw Cafe’s second annual ice fishing contest, which ran from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
With the exception of one fisherman who went it alone, everyone participated in two-man teams to see who could catch the longest pike and who could catch the most pike in terms of weight.
The prize ? a year’s worth of bragging rights plus a wad of cash.
Scott Rouse, of Addison, was the winner in both categories with his 30-inch, 6.5-pound pike.
He caught it in the lake’s north end using a tip-up baited with a 4-inch shiner.
‘I grew up fishing this lake, but I haven’t fished it in a while,? said 1987 Oxford High School graduate.
Rouse’s partner was Leonard resident Larry Crawford, who won last year’s contest with his pike measuring 35? inches and weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces.