31st Annual Valentine Ice Fishing Tournament Draws 36 Teams
The 31st annual Cork Thornton Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament which is sponsored by the Valentine Chamber of Commerce
was held January 24th on Merritt Resrvoir located south of Valentine, NE.
Thirty-six two man teams, representing three states entered in the event this year.
The teams not only had to compete with each other, they also had to contend with 50 MPH wind gusts.
The North Platte, NE. team, Drew Armstrong and Andy Young took 13.84 lbs. of fish from the 40′ depths on the Snake Arm using jigs tipped with minnows.
The 2nd place team also fished in the Snake Arm. Dan Priel, Cambridge, NE. and his partner Ken Priel came in with 10.11 lbs
In third place was the father/son team of Ted & Nathan Lindstedt from Cozad, NE. who caught 8.23 lbs of fish.
Finishing in 4th place were last years championship team of Scott & Monte Mares, Lincoln, NE. with 8:01 lbs.
In fifth place was a team from Thedford, NE. Russ and Rich Reiser took fifth place with 5.84 lbs.
Largest fish of the tournament were:
Crappie: 1.44 lbs. Tie Ken Priel, North Platte & Scott Mares, Lincoln
Bluegill: .61 lb. Tracy Spencer, Mullen, NE.
Bass: 2.10 lbs. Gary Kurtzer, Lincoln, NE.
Perch: 1.20 lbs. Dan Morrison, Valentine, NE.
Walleye: 3.76 lbs. Byron Harrison, Casper, WY.