Baudette, MN – The Sportsman’s Lodge Annual Sturgeon Tournament had a full field of 60 boats and 169 anglers that battled it out over two days on Friday May 4 and Saturday May 5 for over $9,000 in cash and prizes. The 12th annual catch and release tournament was headquartered at the beautiful Sportsman’s Lodge and the fishing area was focused on 1.2 mile area right in front of the lodge on the Rainy River. Tournament Emcee Bryan “Beef” Sathre said “Over 150 sturgeon were caught and released with five of those fish being previously tagged by DNR fisheries.”
Tournament participants paid a $90 entry fee per person which included an incredible prime rib dinner as part of the tournament fee. The top two sturgeon of each day were awarded large cash prizes to match their big catch, with third place each day receiving a custom built fishing rod built by Sportsman’s guide, Ralph Christofferson. In addition, many more prizes were awarded for the biggest Bullhead, Sucker, Eel Pout, under 18 years old, and biggest sturgeon caught by a female.
For the first time in the history of this tournament, at the banquet, the participants helped raise funds for the Lake of the Woods Take a Kid Fishing Program (TAKF). Through this the participants had the chance to win prizes from generous sponsorships from local businesses and fishing industry providers.
The tournament raised $2,610 for the TAKF event. “We are very deeply appreciative of the support the participants put forth to raise this money for such a great local program,” Gregg Hennum, Owner of Sportsman’s Lodge said. Lake of the Woods TAKF board member Ralph Christofferson, was on hand to accept the donation. “This is amazing, thank you,” he said.
Sportsman’s Lodge would like to thank the participants, tournament coordinator and emcee extraordinaire Bryan “Beef” Sathre from Fathead Guide Service, guides, staff, and the gracious sponsors, Northwood’s Bait and Tackle, Log Cabin Bait, CLAM, Mission Tackle, Jim Joy from Sysco Foods, Restaurant 71, S.S. Bait Co, Striker Ice, and Northland Fishing Tackle. “Without all the help we couldn’t have made this such a huge success,” Sathre said. “Thank you to everyone who attended, It was a blast and we can’t wait for next year.”
Next year’s tournament is scheduled for May 3 & 4, 2019. At this time the tournament is already sold out for next year but anyone interested in joining is always encouraged to join the waiting list by contacting Sportsman’s Lodge at 800-862-8602 or online at www.sportsmanslodges.com.
Results:
Day 1 winner Jake Waldo
Day 1

First Place: Jake Waldo 63.5″ 22″ girth Bovey
Second Place: Tony Klaers 59″ 22.5″ girth Bemidji
Third Place: Marshall Hopp 57″ 19.75″ girth Valley City, ND
Day 2 Winner Tony Klaers
Day 2

First Place: Tony Klaers 63″ 26.75″ girth Bemidji
Second Place: Mark Sage 63″ 20.5″ girth Thompson, ND
Third Place: Ben Simonson 62 1/8″ 23.5″ girth Valley City, ND