Log in Subscribe

King of the Ice draws hundreds to White Lake

Matt Shortall - Co-editor
Posted 2/25/21

When the clock struck 6 a.m. on Sunday, February 21 the competition was on. Hundreds of participants ventured out onto a frozen White Lake for this year's King of Ice fishing tournament.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

King of the Ice draws hundreds to White Lake

Posted

When the clock struck 6 a.m. on Sunday, February 21 the competition was on. Hundreds of participants ventured out onto a frozen White Lake for this year's King of Ice fishing tournament.

Organized by the Sullivan County Conservation Club and hosted by the White Lake Fire Company, King of the Ice attracts contestants from across Sullivan County and the region.

Hayden Carnell of Monticello is no novice sportsman, but this was his first year participating in King of the Ice. As luck would have it, Carnell caught the very first fish that morning which ended up being the largest catch of the day. That afternoon he was crowned this year's King of the Ice with a 8.2 lb, 26.5" Walleye.

“We were shocked,” Carnell said. “We pretty much just came for the fundraiser and didn't think we'd catch anything. I guess now we're hooked. We'll definitely be back next year.”

Sullivan County Conservation Club Secretary, Jay Mendels, said they usually get a minimum of 300 people who participate. Although the tournament was canceled last year due to warm weather, conditions were good this time around with at least 12 inches of ice on the lake.

The 440 people who participated this year included many families and children.

“It was a gorgeous day and overall a great event,” Mendels said. “We've had a couple of years where [the weather] has been touch and go. We were definitely fortunate this year to have a good ice base built up.”

They came with sleds, snowmobiles, dogs, ice huts, grills and plenty of bait fish. Participants stretched from one side of White Lake to the other. While people wore masks and face coverings at the weigh station, they were able to maintain enough distance on the ice to enjoy the day's competition and forget about the pandemic for a while.

“Ice fishing, by its very nature, tends to be a socially distanced activity, so it worked out fine,” Mendels said. “So many people have been cooped up for so long because of the pandemic that they were anxious and excited to get out here. To have an excuse like this to come out was a wonderful thing.”

Fundraising from Sunday's event will help benefit the White Lake Fire Company as well as the Conservation Club's youth and adult education programs and conservation efforts. In addition to his duties as Conservation Club secretary, Mendels is also the club's youth coordinator.

Mendels thanked the White Lake Fire Company for hosting the event at their facilities on Route 17B, which made a big difference compared to previous years when the event took place at the public boat launch where there's no electricity and access to the lake was sometimes limited due to snow accumulation.

“Sharing their facility like they did really made things a lot better for the event as a whole,” Mendels said.

Winners

Adult Division

Trout

1 (Tie) - Joe Riveria

1 (Tie) - Eric Thayer

3 - Joseph Firman

Crappie

1 - Bill Payne

2 - Nick Mootz

3 - Joe Stant

Walleye

1 - Scott Smith

2 - Gordon Seaman

3 - Ron Vance

Pickerel

1 - Nick Mootz

2 - Pasquale Destio

3 - Todd Angus

Perch

1 - Bob Festa

2 - Joe Milk

3 - Jess Huggins

Youth Division

Pickerel

1 - Jacob Pennell

2 - Talise Rogers

3 - Gavin Beseth

Perch

1 - Dylan King

2 - Trevor Zupetz

3 - Jaden Rion

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here