-WIFA TIMES-  

Issue 3 🎣 Back to School 2019 Edition 🎣 http://studentfishing.com/index.html

STATE 2020--THE EAGLE HAS LANDED  RAFFLE UPDATE 

The Northwoods. Up North. God’s Country. The Snowmobile Capital of the World™. The largest freshwater chain of connected lakes in the world. However you refer to this slice of beauty, come mid-February, Eagle River will have one more moniker to go by: the host city for WIFA’s 2020 State Ice Fishing Tournament. One thing is for certain, Eagle River is known throughout the country as being one of Wisconsin’s premiere fishing destinations for most inland species of gamefish and panfish. In fact, this State Tournament has the potential for being a slug-fest, not unlike what was seen in LaCrosse. Initial reports from the WI DNR are consistent: plan on catching fish.   Looking to streamline the state tournament, WIFA’s board of directors voted on, and approved, some notable changes to the State Tournament this coming season:  

1. Each school will be allowed to bring one (1) team of 12 anglers. 

2. Each team will be allowed three (3) official coaches--permitting teams to potentially divide into three groups on the ice. 

3. There will be no Friday night dinner for all participants. Instead, a per-diem will be offered to each team angler and coach. 

4. The rules meeting Friday evening will be for team captains and at least one (1) coach. It will be their responsibility to disseminate the rules for tournament day to the rest of their team. 

5. FishDonkey will be the app used to record all fish this year! Training will be available Friday night so all teams and participants are comfortable with how to run the app. 

NOW EARN 60% BACK - FUND YOUR TEAM'S SEASON!   The Fall/Winter WIFA Raffle now offers teams even a greater incentive to sell raffle tickets! Your team will earn 60% money back on total raffle ticket sales, with the other 40% going to WIFA! Proceeds from the raffle help WIFA offer student scholarships, host the State Championship, provide grants for team projects or host tournaments, and more!   Contact WIFA VP Ted Bonde in September to allocate an amount of tickets for your team.   Tickets will be available for sale from October thru December!  Items to note: 

● In 2019 the WIFA Raffle raised over $59,000 

● Over $29,000 went back to High School Teams to fund their teams! 

● $6000 went directly back to students in scholarships handed out too! 

 There really aren’t too many options for a fund-raiser that returns--to the team directly--60% of money taken in. Please STRONGLY consider selling WIFA raffle tickets for your team’s fundraising needs this season. 

WIFA TEAMS IN THE NEWS 

NEENAH More than just a tournament team. Throughout the course of the year, the NHS Fishing Team makes a point of sharing their love for fishing with others. Whether participating in an after school fishing program with Menasha elementary students or assisting with a memory cafe outing for individuals with Alzheimers, the team is committed to promoting fishing whenever possible. They also had the privilege to experience the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour stage 8 event in Neenah in June.    

WI RAPIDS CO-OP Battle On Bago has made giving back possible for several years now for high school students from the Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point communities coached by Scott Stankowski. This year, Kaukauna joined in on the fun with coach Greg Franzen lending his skills along with his team to help fillet fish.   

The fillets of fish (packaged in groups of 20) went to several charities. Brian Gliszenski board member of Battle on Bago and in charge of the weigh in portion of the battle has empowered Stankowski with the task of organizing cleaners, arranging charities for pick-up of fish packages and clean-up.   

Charlie Berens, host of the Manitowoc Minute, stopped by several times to let the kids and coaches know how appreciative he was that what they were doing was meaningful. When he went up on stage he made sure the crowd knew what was going on behind the scenes.   

The fresh packages of white bass, walleye, perch and crappies made their way to places like the Christine Ann Center in Winnebago County, the Family Center in Wood County and the Father Carr homeless center in Oshkosh received fillets. The Father Carr center delivers more than 150 meals a day to those in need.   

Finally Doug Nelson of Wolf River resort took some fish that will be cooked in the spring for Veterans of foreign wars through the American Legion in Winneconnee.  

Article submitted by Scott Stankowski (coach of the WI Rapids CO-OP team)

 

 

KAUKAUNA We are blessed in Kaukauna to have great support from parents, local groups, administration, and our team’s anglers. Last season we were able to give back by helping clean fish at Battle on Bago, that sent fish to local charities. We also participated in the Wolf /Fox River Watershed Earth Day clean up. We hope to do more volunteering this year and look forward to the upcoming season. Be safe and tight lines!  

MASTER ANGLER LEADERBOARD  Current as of 09.13.2019  LOOKING AHEAD 

1. (TIE) 16 species Brendan Papesh--Appleton North Cade Stankowski--WI Rapids Co-Op  3. Ben Redlin--Pulaski--14 species  4. Trevor Engel--Campbellsport--13 species  5. Evan Marcell--DC Everest--10 species   

2019 Statistics to date:  

● There have been 77 High School anglers with registered fish so far in 2019 (last year’s total was 52)  

● Through September 2019, over 170 Master Angler fish have been registered by High School students  

● Through September, there are already 3 new Hall of Fame Anglers with over 14 master angler fish caught since February. 

Saturday, October 12th 9AM-4PM Fishing for Dinner and WI DNR Angler Education Workshop, East Troy. See https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Fishing/AnglerEducation/ for more information and registration instructions.  Saturday, October 26th 2-5PM HS Ice Fishing Seminar--Carpenter Nature Center, Hastings, MN . This FREE event is open to all high school anglers and their coaches. Please contact Jason Brazzale if you/your team is going to attend (brazzale@prescott.k12.wi.us)  Saturday, November 2nd 9AM- 4PM Fishing for Dinner and WI DNR Angler Education Workshop, Camp Upham Woods, Wisconsin Dells. See https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Fishing/AnglerEducation/ for more information and registration instructions.  December 1st, 2019 WI DNR R3 Grant requests due. See https://dnr.wi.gov/Aid/angler.html for more information on how to support/fund your fishing team.  December 6-9th, 2019 St Paul Ice Fishing & Winter Sports Show, St. Paul RiverCenter  Tournaments- see STUDENTFISHING.COM  *NOTE* please let Ted Bonde or Pat Kolbe know if you are hosting a tournament. The sooner it’s on the website, the more exposure it gets. 

WIFA GIVING BACK  

Grants  Scholarships 

$1,000 to the Eagle Lake Association for stocking purposes 

  $350 to WI DPI/Career Train for their summer educator workshop   $250 to Edgerton Fishing Team for use during their summer school fishing program 

$2,000 to Austin Stankowski--SPASH $1,000 to Connor Dugree--West DePere High School $1,000 to Wyatt Johnson--Alma High School $1,000 to Colby Nelson--Goodman-Armstrong Creek HS $1,000 to Ian Waters--Prescott High School 

 

FALL FAVORITES: WIFA BOARD MEMBERS PICKS FOR AUTUMN FISHING

Tributary rivers 

Eastern WI  I would say that in mid to late September you can wade into tributary streams and catch salmon on Mepps spinners and Cleos. One place I go is Shoto, WI, but I am sure any crick that flows into the Big Lake holds fish. Of course, I am lucky as heck that Lake Winnebago is in my backyard and I fish that often, focusing primarily on sheephead, though an occasional walleye, catfish, smally, or perch bite. I love to anchor near a reef, put out a dead stick, a slip bobber, and drag a 1/16th oz case construction yellow jig tipped with nightcrawler across every rock-Thump-fish on!  Coach Fanzen--Kaukauna 

 Chetek Chain 

Barron Co.  I am very fond of the Chetek Chain because of the wide variety of fish available to catch - especially walleyes since they have been stocking them significantly the past few years!  Coach Dallmann--Prairie Farm WIFA President  

 Bay of Green Bay 

Lake Michigan I have to be honest, I spend much of my fall in a treestand chasing whitetail deer, but if I do get out on the water you can bet it's going to be the Bay of Green Bay chasing trophy sized walleyes. Options abound on this Great Lakes fishery, but fall fishing this giant body of water certainly isn't for the faint of heart. Many times, while fishing in the fall for pig-bellied walleyes it entails fishing in the dark. Night jigging or casting crankbaits on the Fox River in De Pere can produce a mixed bag of fish besides nice walleyes, including big pike, whitefish or even musky. Much further north into the UP of Michigan, fishing the Bay out of Cedar River, MI offers a daytime deep structure bite casting Rippin Raps or Moonshine Shiver Minnows, while nightime requires a switch to trolling big stickbaits like Reef Runners or Husky Jerks over shallower humps. Finally, if you can brave the frigid temps, heading even further north to Little Bay de Noc out of Escanaba, MI in late October thru first ice in November can produce some absolute giant fish. Again, night trolling stickbaits offers the greatest chance for multiple hook-ups with 10+ pound walleyes!  Coach Kolbe--North Fondy Fishing Club  

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: SCOTT LAFLER  THE LAST CAST 

Many WIFA board members are classroom educators at various middle and high schools around the state. This allows them to naturally have access to the student anglers and coach a team. However, one of the pioneers of this organization isn’t a traditional classroom teacher. Scott Lafler’s influence on WIFA simply can not be understated. As someone who is humble and not willing to say a whole lot about himself, it is important to note just what he means for youth angling in Wisconsin. If you enjoy the offerings our State Tournament has provided, you can look no further than Scott. He is the person who lines up all venues, caterers and starts the discussion with the various Chambers of Commerce to negotiate an affordable fishing experience. He also runs a wildly successful tournament in Ashland each free fishing weekend in the winter. Finally, with safety being a number one priority, Scott is constantly in communication with the local DNR and law enforcement to navigate the safe ice and more importantly identify the unsafe areas. Read on to find out more about Scott Lafler. 

College attended: Illinois State University – cardinal stretch 

Major: Communications and Fishing 

Generosity in the Tackle Box  By: Denny Nowakowski  I have come to realize something in my many years on this orb we call Earth: anglers (really any outdoors people) are 

some of the most generous people around. I have heard too many stories for this not to be a true statement. Just in 2019 alone, here are some of the stories conveyed to me about WIFA coaches/anglers giving back:  

● Multiple teams/coaches hosting a fishing trip for special needs students--often times involving a stop at McDonalds or an ice cream parlor on the coaches dime 

 ● Over a half dozen WIFA 

anglers/coaches handing out lures to kids at the fishing docks of their favorite lakes/rivers. Oh, these lures 

Current Career: US Army retired 22 years – Current Master Trainer, Lead Facilitator DOD Contracted 

Years involved with WIFA: 9 

Reason for serving with WIFA: As a young man things were not always great at home, my Grandfather was my inspiration and took me fishing a lot. We would fish Lake Petenwell for walleye and he also owned a place in Algoma WI where we spent many weekends out on Lake Michigan fishing for salmon and lake trout. I’m not sure where I would have been without my Grandfather and/or fishing. While many of my neighbors, friends and family were up to no good you could usually find me on my bike fishing Lake Wazeecha, Nepco or the Wisconsin River. 

I have never seen a program that crosses social borders like ours with students from all walks of life sharing experiences on lakes all across our great state. I think giving back is just a big part of who I am. We have a tremendous board of directors for WIFA and I am proud to call each of them my friend.  

My favorite species of fish: This has changed over the years. As a child, anything that would bite my hook is what I was after; I remember my Grandma Lafler helping me dig up worms and finding a cork for me to use as a bobber. As I got older I loved chasing carp on the Wisconsin River as well as smallmouth bass and pike. Then as a teenager and young adult I loved catching Walleye. Today I fish competitively on bass circuits, but my new found passion over the last several years has been saltwater fishing. I have caught fish all over from Honduras to Belize, the tropics and South America to the Florida Keys. A few of my favorite fish include a Wahoo I caught in Honduras, a huge Bull Shark in the Keys along with a Goliath Grouper and Sailfish in the Bahamas, and Mahi-mahi in Mexico. But what really gets me excited is helping someone else catch a fish.  

Today I am all about family, I only hope that I can be as good of a grandfather to my Grandson Finley Scott as mine was to me. He is the light of my life these days and I spend every minute I can with him. 

Scott Scott’s son 

are a part of their personal tackle box. ● The Battle on Bago and the fish 

cleaning services two of our established teams have helped organize and run 

 ● One cannot overlook the money, and 

more importantly, the time WIFA coaches and its board of directors give to make sure the students in this state have a premier competitive fishing league to participate in. 

 In this issue of WIFA Times, you will notice two sections that highlight how WIFA, as an organization, is leading by example. If you haven’t already, please direct your attention to the section WIFA TEAMS IN THE NEWS. There are some real leaders being forged in the high schools around the state. These students and coaches are giving generously to society, trying diligently to make it a better place. Of course, these aren’t the only teams providing public service to their communities, it is only a small sampling.  One other section of this newsletter worth mentioning is WIFA GIVING BACK. There is a reason WIFA is a 501c(3) organization--this group is seriously interested in giving back. My Wisconsin math tells me, after some quick addition, there was nearly $37,000 in 2019 given back to teams, individual students or causes aligned to WIFA’s Mission and Values. I was simply blown away by the 2019 State Tournament in LaCrosse. That whole weekend wasn’t free (even though LaCrosse really showed out and offered all the amenities for well below cost). I am sure if WIFA really wanted to boast, they could inform everyone that well over $45,000 was actually given back to the students and teams of this state in the 2019 calendar year.   It all boils down to this: outdoors people generally want to help others become successful. Whether it’s hunting, trapping, fishing or any of the paddle sports that are so popular right now. Look no further than this issue’s Board Member Spotlight, WIFA’s own Scott Lafler said it best, “...what really gets me excited is helping someone else catch a fish”. Well said Mr. Lafler, I firmly believe all WIFA coaches echo that statement and try to promote that as best they can.  Looking ahead to the 2020 ice and open water season, maybe think about the idea of giving back. In fact, it doesn’t even have to cost you money directly. My charge for all the fantastic WIFA coaches and volunteers is this: get someone new to fishing in the boat or better yet, on the ice with your team. Also, if there is a new team in your area, please reach out and see if they need any help--the guidance of a veteran ice fishing coach has helped out more than a couple WIFA teams so far.  Until next time, tight lines.  Denny