Vincent Hoskins became the 19th winner of the Voyageur Press Local Catch contest. Vincent landed a memorable catch on July 11, 2024, while fishing on Lake Minnewawa—one that marked multiple firsts in his angling experience. While trolling, Hoskins hooked into a powerful northern pike measuring an impressive 34 1/4 inches and weighing approximately 13 pounds.

The catch was especially significant as it was his very first northern pike caught on Lake Minnewawa, and notably, his first ever caught while trolling. The moment combined patience, technique, and a bit of luck, making it a milestone worth remembering.

After the excitement of the catch and a quick photo, Hoskins released the pike back into the lake, allowing the fish to continue thriving in its natural habitat. It was a successful day on the water and a story that will no doubt stand out in his fishing adventures for years to come.

Issabelle Fredrickson, age 12, is the 2023 Rembering Gary Local Catch Fishing Contest winner. Issabelle caught a sunfish on Douglas Lake at Grandma Beth’s south of Tamarack.

Issabelle shared that she enjoys fishing and frequently fishes at her grandma’s during the summer. “I also do some fishing with my friend and her dad on the Crow Wing River,” she added. “In the winter, I go ice fishing.”

Issabelle shared that she mostly fishes using worms, but her grandma has been teaching her to fly fish. “I have been learning how to cast it,” she shared. We use flies with feathers mainly and we have been using a bee.”

When not fishing, Issabelle enjoys drawing, watching TV, reading, and collecting.

Issabelle credits her grandma Beth with teaching her several ways to catch fish. “From the time since I was little kid, she encouraged me enter this contest hoping that I would win,” Issabelle explained. “We have a great time fishing and spending time together on the dock or boat.”

Issabelle attends Forestview Middle School in Baxter, Minnesota.

Easton Borscheim had one heck of a summer on Big Sandy Lake this year. Not only did he reel in several fish, but he reeled in a $200 cash prize by winning the 2022 Voyageur Press Local Catch Fishing Contest.

Easton became the 16th winner of the contest.

Easton submitted several fish in the contest, all on Big Sandy Lake. His first fish was a small mouth bass he caught in June. During the 4th of July weekend, Easton reeled in a nice Northern Pike and then on Labor Day weekend, he caught a walleye and another bass.

Easton shared that he tries to go fishing two or three times every week and almost every weekend possible. Easton isn’t picky. He admits he will fish for any species. “We have cabins on Big Sandy as well as one on a lake in Bemidji,” said Easton. “My biggest fish this summer was a 4-pound large mouth bass caught in Hayward, Wisconsin.

Easton is just 12 years old and resides in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, so he relies on his mother Beth for transportation. “My mom is a teacher and home all summer,” he said. “She drives my friends and I to rivers and lakes all over the Eau Claire area. Weekends are on Big Sandy or in Bemidji fishing.

When not catching fish, Easton enjoys playing hockey, football and hunting. “I also have a bait business called Borsheim Baits that I make jigs, soft plastics, and Lindy rigs,” he said.

Easton started Borsheim Baits two years ago. “I was bored during Covid and thought it would be fun to give it a try after finding my dads old box of feathers and tools. I started with jigs and now have several molds to make soft plastic baits, like paddle tails. It’s a fun pastime that I’ve set up in my basement.”

Easton enjoys coming to Big Sandy Lake each summer. His great, great grandparents started the family cabin on Indian point many years ago. “My family has been coming ever since,” he added.  

After a solid day of fishing, Easton often enjoys a trip to Zorbaz in the pontoon for dinner.

Ruby Laine is the 15th winner in the Voyageur Press Local Catch contest and earned $200. Ruby caught a nice walleye this past summer and submitted her photo.

Ruby shared she enjoys catching walleyes, but her favorite fish to catch are bass. “They give you a fun fight and surprise you,” said Ruby. “When I went camping this summer I caught an 18-inch large mouth bass. That was my personal best of that fish.”

Ruby really loves to try new places to fish. “We just fished the St. Louis River and the low water level made it fun to explore the rocks.”

When not fishing, Ruby likes to go hunting with her family. She also enjoys playing with her bunny and cat, riding her bike and playing volleyball.

Ruby does lots of fishing with her mom, Jacqueline. When asked who is better at fishing, Ruby didn’t hesitate. “Me!  Mom always catches the little fish.”

Ruby concluded by thanking the Voyageur Press for having the fishing contest. “I look forward to participating in it again next year!”

No Local Catch contest due to the pandemic.

Congratulations to Jordan Haussner, the 2019 Local Catch — Just for Fishing contest winner. Jordan caught his northern July 3 on Lake Minnewawa. “It was off my Grandma and Grandpa’s (Jack and Judy Haussner) dock,” he said. “I was fishing using a crank bait lure.”

Jordan likes to fish and caught bass, sunnies, northern, walleye and a lake trout this year. “My biggest fish this year was a 29-inch lake trout,” he shared. “I caught the fish in Canada in July.”

Jordan enjoys visiting his grandparents on Lake Minnewawa. They often visit every 4th of July weekend.

When not fishing, Jordan likes to hunt, golf and play sports(football and hockey).

Jordan won $200 and is the 14th winner in the Local Catch contest sponsored by Willeys Sport Shop & Spirits and the Voyageur Press.

Jordyn Belden became the 13th winner of the Willeys Sport Shop & Spirits/Voyageur Press Local Catch contest. Jordyn caught a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass on Big Sandy Lake the final weekend of the contest.

Jordyn shared that she caught the fish using a hook and a worm with a bobber.

Fishing is actually Jordyn’s favorite hobby. She caught several northerns, walleyes and crappies with her parents John and Kristie this summer at a variety of locations — Big Sandy Lake, Sand, Sheriff and Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

“I’ve been fishing since I was 2 years old,” said Jordyn. “When I’m not fishing, I’m drawing or spending time with family and friends.”

Jordyn’s father, John, agreed. “She absolutely loves it,” he said. “She enjoys ice fishing, too (see photo at right) and is a hunter.”

Jordyn concluded with a few fun facts:

Favorite fish to catch — Walleye

Favorite fish to eat — Crappie

Favorite hobby — Fishing

Fourteen-year-old Ty Elde was pretty excited to learn he had won the Willeys Sports Shop & Spirits/Voyageur Press local catch fishing contest. “Really? I did? Two hundred dollars?” he exclaimed.

Ty entered the contest this summer with a 1 lb., 1 oz. walleye he caught in June on Big Sandy Lake. He had almost forgotten he had entered the contest and was pretty happy to learn he had won.

He and his family live in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a place not known for an abundance of lakes, so he looks forward to trips during the summer to his grandpa’s cabin on Big Sandy. “We mostly fish for northern, walleye, and pan fish,” he said. “My biggest fish ever were probably the northern I caught in South Dakota and a 20-inch, two-pound smallmouth bass,” said Ty.

Ty says his favorite fishing buddies are his dad and grandpa and, in addition to fishing, he likes to go tubing, play hockey and golf. Minnesota National Golf Course is one of his favorite courses.

Ty doesn’t know what he’ll spend the money on yet, but he said he’ll think of something.

Congratulations, Ty! Hurry back­—there’s still plenty of good fishing to do this fall.

The 2016 “Local Catch” fishing contest is officially over for 2016. This year’s winner of $200 was Tim Mlodozyniec, who was fishing with his brother-in-law, Mark Smith, on Big Sandy Lake.

Mark and his wife, Gail, have a cabin on Big Sandy Lake and Tim enjoys visiting. “It is close,” said Tim, who is from Duluth, Minn. “It is a beautiful place to go and the fishing is great.”

Tim admits that he used to spend more time fishing at what they called “the Secret Lake” (Aitkin Lake), but more recently, he visits their favorite bay on Big Sandy Lake. “It is protected by the wind, and it just so happens that it was too windy there the day I caught the fish, so we moved over one more bay that we had never fished in before.”

After catching a few “carpenter pencils” (eight-10-inch northerns), the big one hit and Tim landed a 33-incher.  “He gave up quite a fight.”

Believe it or not, Tim’s brother-in-law caught his own 33-inch northern pike two days later in the same bay. “At first we thought it was the same one, but when I saw the photo, his is a little skinnier, so mine was better.”

For those interested in knowing where to catch these big northerns, Tim and Mark just respond by telling folks they are in Bay 33.  “That is the name of the bay after catching a pair of 33-inch northerns,” Tim shared.

When not catching big northerns, Tim and Mark enjoy catching walleyes closer to the cabin. Tim concluded by sharing that the five-pound small mouth bass was fun to catch off the end of the dock.

Long-time resident, Jan Eld was the winner of the Willeys Sport Shop & Spirits/Voyageur Press local catch fishing contest. Jan’s husband Dick was pictured in the newspaper in early July holding up Jan’s 2-pound, 13-ounce Largemouth Bass.

“That fish was a total fluke,” said Jan, who enjoys fishing off her dock on Lake Minnewawa. “I was fishing with a worm for sunnies and caught this big bass.”

Jan shared that she landed it herself. “I called for my husband, but he did not hear me,” explained Jan. “I was yelling, but he wouldn’t come down to the dock.”

“She’s always yelling about a big fish,” joked Dick. “This time she really happened to have one on the line!”

All joking aside, Jan and Dick love living on the lake and both enjoy the relaxation that comes along with fishing. “We are retired and we get to do what we want to,” Jan reported. “We especially enjoy just fishing on our dock.”

Dick and Jan have owned their cabin on Lake Minnewawa for 34 years. Over those 34 years, the couple has enjoyed camping and fishing in Canada and up the North Shore. Now they primarily fish Lake Minnewawa and Big Sandy.

The biggest fish Jan caught was a 26-inch walleye last year on Big Sandy. “We had a delicious walleye dinner!”

Zach Sroka shared with his family recently that he was “halfway famous.” That’s because he is the official winner of the Local Catch fishing contest sponsored by Willeys Sport Shop & Spirits and the Voyageur Press.

The crappie he caught this summer on Big Sandy Lake while fishing with his father, Brian, earned him $200 and the title of being “halfway famous.”

Zach shared some of his secrets that he enjoys fishing crappies, which is the fish that won him the $200. “I like fishing with my dad (Brian) and my brother (Ben) comes along,” said Zach. “We catch crappies in the boat on Big Sandy Lake.”

“He caught the crappie with minnows purchased at Willeys Sport Shop,” said his father.

Zach was about to reveal the “secret” spot, but dad interrupted and explained that a good fisherman doesn’t reveal the best fishing locations.

Zach continued to share that he is quite an accomplished fisherman. In addition to crappies he has reeled in northern pike, walleye, rainbow trout, sunfish and bass.

Grandpa John’s cabin is where the Sroka family gathers when they visit from the Twin Cities. Grandpa John was the one to encourage both his grandsons, Zach, and his brother, Ben, to participate in the Local Catch Contest. Grandpa John noted that Ben is also very enthusiastic about catching fish and actually caught an 11.5-ounce sunfish off his dock.

Zach’s biggest fish has been a 4-pound northern.

When not fishing, Zach can be found running around outside or playing football. He also joins his father for some bird hunting.

Summer and fall fishing is about to end. That won’t deter Zach. He will be out on the ice once it is thick enough.

As for the $200, Zach noted that he already has $100 saved up and has his sights set on an electronic game.

Six-year-old Bryanna Foster is the winner of the 2013 Local Catch Contest. Bryanna has been fishing for about three years, but the truth is, she would rather be playing with her cousins.

Now that Bryanna won the contest she shared that she plans on fishing even more.

Bryanna’s mom, Cindy shared that she likes to fish off the dock at her grandparent’s (Jon and Fay Sampson) cabin on Wilkins Lake. “She has been taking a liking to fishing a little more lately and probably even more now that she won,” said Cindy. “In fact, just this past weekend while we were at the cabin, she asked her dad (David) if he would take her fishing.”

“I’m not sure if it was because it was bed time or if she really wanted to go, but inevitably, since it was so late at night, she caught her first bullhead and was very proud to show everyone,” Cindy added.

Obviously, her cousins weren’t visiting either.

Bryanna is very excited that she won the contest. She just started 1st grade at Cromwell.

The fishing contest was held Memorial Day in May through Labor Day in September. 

Pictures were submitted each week by anglers in the area and posted in the Voyageur Press. All ages were accepted and there was no entry fee. Anyone who submitted a photo was eligible for the $100. The drawing took place September 3.  

This event was sponsored by the Voyageur Press, Willey’s Sport Shop & Spirits, the Portage News, Wayside Corner, and Up-Scale Fish Taxidermy.

Austin Strong is a 17- year old high school junior who lives in Saginaw. His family has a camper at Eagle Point where they have been spending the summer for the last seven years.

Austin and a buddy of his usually make a trip over to Rat Lake to try out the fishing over there once a year or so. This year it paid off because that’s when he caught the northern he entered into the contest.

Austin considers himself an avid fisherman and he will be using his $100 prize to buy more fishing equipment.

Once again summer has  come to an end. Thank you to all of our entrants who brought their fish in to Willey’s or the Wayside Corner to get their picture taken or submitted their picture directly to the Voyageur Press or Portage News. Close to 100 photos were published and the two winners were drawn at random. First place went to Cole Hoover and second place went to Trent Schaffler. They are pictured below along with the last submissions.

Cole is a 12 year old McGregor resident anFall is here and the fishing photo contest has oncd attends the seventh grade at McGregor School. He is son of Shawn and Mindy Hoover. As the first place winner he will receive a $200 cash prize. Cole’s picture was published in the July 12 Voyageur Press and was of a sunny he caught on Aitkin Lake.

Cole has been fishing every chance he gets for 10 years. He loves to fish with his older brother Chase and his Grandpa Darrell. Grandpa Darrell shows him “secret honey holes” on the small lakes. Cole’s favorite fishing spot is in Baudette at Grandpa’s cabin on Rainy River where he catches monster sturgeon.

Cole is very happy that his mom convinced him to enter the contest and he plans on using his winnings to invest in more fishing and hunting equipment.

As our second place winner, Trent will receive a $50 gift certificate towards mounting with Up-Scale Fish Taxidermy. Trent brought his winning crappie that he caught on Big Sandy into Willey’s on our final deadline day.

Trent’s favorite fishing spot on Big Sandy is Davis Bay and he tries to get out fishing every morning with his three children when he’s not traveling on business. “If I could fish every day I’d be a happier guy,” admits Trent.

Trent works for United Health Group. He lives in St. Louis Park and has a year-round cabin on Big Sandy. He and his family come up 2–3 weekends a month. “I enjoy doing the family thing,” says Trent. “We have a hoot catching crappies in the fall.”

Congratulations to both of our winners. Thank you again to all of our sponsors Willey’s Sports Shop & Spirits, Wayside Corner and Up-Scale Fish Taxidermy and to all of the contestants who submitted photos.

Congratulations to Josh Haaf of Elk River for being selected as the Voyageur Press’ 2010 Fishing Contest winner. Josh won himself $200 just for fishing. 

Josh caught a large crappie on Big Sandy Lake where his grandmother and grandfather have a cabin. Josh entered his catch at Willey’s Sports Shop & Spirits this summer. Josh commented that “[The fish] was big, so we brought it in.” The fish weighed in at 14 ounces. 

Josh said that he likes going up to his grandma and grandpa’s place a few times throughout the summer and going fishing with them off their dock. What started out as a great summer, spending some quality time fishing with his grandparents has helped contribute to a great birthday surprise. 

Josh was 12 years old when he caught that big crappie off Grandma and Grandpa’s dock. Turns out his birthday is actually the day that this issue of the paper came out, September 21. So congratulations and Happy Birthday Josh!

This summer Samantha Sundin from Willow River visited the McGregor area to stay with her grandparents at their summer cabin.

Samantha is an energetic seven year old that loves the outdoors, according to her mother, Jeanna Sundin.

While visiting her grandparents, they took her out fishing on Lake Minnewawa where she caught an 11-ounce sunfish.

Her grandparents took her to Willey’s Sport Shop where she had her picture taken, and she was entered into the local fishing contest, sponsored by the Voyageur Press and Willey’s Sport Shop.

Last week Samantha’s name was drawn as the lucky winner of the $200 cash prize for the contest.

Samantha is no stranger to fishing. “She loves to fish,” exclaimed Samantha’s mom. “She has an older brother who fishes with her, and she always goes out with her grandparents. We also take her out ice fishing.”

Samantha is experiencing some really good payoff for her fishing experience and is sure to keep on fishing!

Brook Weyand loves fishing. She has her own little spot that she fishes right off of the dock on Lake Minnewawa. Little did she know that a sunfish she caught that day would earn her $400.

Six-year-old Brooke from Superior, Wisconsin, is the winner of this summer’s Local Catch Contest sponsored by the Voyageur Press and local bait shops. Brook is the grandaughter of Charlie and Mary Weyand from McGregor, and the daughter of Jeremy and Theresa Weyand. Brook and her brother Bryce visit their grandparents frequently over the summer months, and that is where she caught her sunfish on Lake Minnewawa over the 4th of July.

Brook enjoys fishing with her dad and grandpa and was encouraged by Grandpa Charlie to submit her catch for the contest. Theresa recollects the nice summer day that Brook caught them. “She was afraid the fish were going to bite her when she was trying to hang on to them,” Theresa said, “but then she decided it was OK.”

Brook remembers catching her two big sunfish. She says she loves to fish off her grandparents’ dock during the summer but also enjoys swimming. When asked what were her other favorite things to do, she replied, “Playing at recess.”

Congratulations Brooke!

Mary Jo Westrum of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, is this year’s The Local Catch winner and will receive $500 from Willey’s Marine, and Hillcrest Resort, and the Voyageur Press of McGregor. 

Mary Jo’s family has had a cabin on Big Sandy Lake for 80 years. Here her winning catch was a Northern Pike.

For seven years, Marie and Mel Horbath have been coming up to Big Sandy Lake to enjoy the great outdoors. “We have a travel trailer that we park at Eagle Point Campground,” said Marie. “We have been coming up for seven years.”

Marie and Mel won the $500 Local Catch fishing contest sponsored by the Voyageur Press, Willey’s Sport Shop, Hillcrest, Big Sandy Lodge and Resort, Pier 65, Palisade One Stop, McGregor 66, and the Cromwell Self-serve. The contest was from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day and simply included having a picture taken for the paper. There were 72 local catches that were pictured in the paper.

Marie and Mel shared that they looked for a place that was two hours from their home in Ramsey, Minnesota, and they heard about Big Sandy Lake. “We come up every weekend,” added Marie, “and we fish all the time.”

Marie noted that they fish for sunfish and walleyes and not just on Big Sandy Lake. “We fish Round Lake and Lake Minnewawa also,” she said. “This year the walleyes were biting better than last year.”

Congratulations to Marie and Mel Horbath!