photocredit: misskatecuttables.com

BY: RACHEL SMITH

After last weekend, with the influx of Rock ‘n Roll enthusiasts from around the World, I thought maybe there would be a lull of activity around town.  Restaurants could catch their breath after the overload of customers.  Streets would clear and traffic would subside.

I thought completely wrong.

In just a few days, our little tourist town that is known for the hustle and bustle of summer days, will embark on a busy weekend of winter fun.  The frozen lake, once a playground for boaters and skiers, will become home to hundreds and hundreds of snowmobile enthusiasts.

Friday and Saturday is “The Jack Race” an annual memorial snowmobile event to honor the late Jack Helgren, and area businessman, avid snowmobiler, former dealer/racer, and promoter of the sport in the area.  To celebrate the 10th year of this annual winter event Jack’s son, John, who owns House of Sports in Mason City, is donating a 1975 Ski-Doo TNT 400 F/A.  It will be auctioned off at the awards banquet on Saturday night at the Best Western Holiday Lodge.  The proceeds from the auction will go to charity.

But that’s not the only option for super-duper winter fun on our frozen oasis.  Over to the West, the lake will be inundated with fishing enthusiasts, hoping for tight lines to catch an abundance of Yellow Bass.

The Yellow Bass Bonanza has quickly become one of the largest ice fishing tournaments in the Midwest, bringing in lovers of the sport from all over.  The winner of the event is the team with the highest weight of their best fifty fish.

Fifty.

That’s a lot of fish!

With thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, the incentives are high for these fishermen to pull out all the stops, to utilize every strategy to reel in the big ones.

Kevan Paul and the crew at Clear Lake Bait & Tackle have created an amazing event to bring a slew of new folks into town.  We wish them all the best again this year and hope for a great few days of fishing fun and camaraderie.

So be patient this weekend.  Traffic will be heavy.  Hotels are all booked.  Restaurants may be extra-crowded.  But if all these people are willing to come and play, spending their hard-earned money in the freezing winter cold on super-fun events in a frozen tundra – maybe they’ll come back to town when the ice has thawed.

We can only hope!

And you thought there was nothing to do in Clear Lake in the winter.

Nonsense!  Fun times at the Lake happen all year ’round!