HOUGHTON LAKE—Jack Metzger, of Otisville, caught the second tagged fish in this year’s Catch Us if You Can fishing contest sponsored by the Houghton Lake Area Tourism Bureau.
“The first fish I caught was this bass,” Metzger said. “I knew a tagged fish meant something was going on. My grandparents knew about the contest.”
Kim Laverty of Kalkaska is also entered into the contest. Kim’s family has quite the history in Houghton Lake. His grandparents once owned the property where the south DNR fish launch is now located. His dad helped build the Pines Theater. The cabins his family built now reside in the Houghton Lake Historical Village. And now, Kim, of Kalkaska, has some history of his own – as an angler who caught a tagged fish in the Houghton Lake Area Tourism Bureau’s Catch Us If You Can fishing contest.
Kim was up for the second weekend of Tip Up Town and walked straight out from Bobcat field to 13 or 14 feet of water where he caught a number of fish, including the tagged largemouth bass.
Jack and Kim registered their fish at Lyman’s on the Lake in Houghton Lake, where they received a $50 gas card and were entered into the contest. The tagged fish made them eligible for a chance to win a grand prize of $100,000 and a new Lund boat from Spicer’s Boat City. There is a guaranteed major prize of $1000 cash. The second-place prize is a Mark Martin Ice Fishing School valued at $500. A prize packet will be awarded to a third angler sponsored by Pioneer Hills Marine.
The contest runs year-around, ending on March 15 each year, and beginning again March 16. More than 100 tagged fish are swimming in Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake, and Lake St. Helen. Anglers can bring their tagged fish in for verification at Lyman’s on the Lake in Houghton Lake, Korbinski’s Marine in Prudenville; The Sports Barn in Higgins Lake, or in St. Helen at The Minnow Bucket at Exit 222 or Trails Inn.
For more information on the contest, please contact the HLATB office at 1-989-422-2002, 1-800-676-5330 or email info@visithoughtonlake.com. Contest rules are found on www.visithoughtonlake.com.
