REGION—Calvin Stire II of Laingsburg, was pre-fishing for the Good Intentions bass tournament on Houghton Lake when he caught the sixth tagged fish in the 2023 – 2024 Houghton Lake Area Tourism Bureau’s Catch Us If You Can fishing contest.
“I caught the fish practicing for a bass tournament, it was spawning on a bed,” Calvin said.
He was at Houghton Lake before the opening of bass season. Knowing it was out of season, he released the small mouth bass, but not before writing down the tag number.
“I called it into Lyman’s,” Calvin said. “They said I needed either the tag or a clear picture showing the tag and number.
“So, I drove back up Friday before the opening day, recaught the fish, and took the tag.”
Julian Sweet, of Grand Blanc, was pre-fishing for the Good Intentions bass tournament on Houghton Lake when he caught the fifth tagged fish.
Julian was fishing with his family when he caught the tagged small mouth bass. He noticed the tag but didn’t know what it was for. After marking the bass bed on his gps, he released the fish.
“I scrolled online afterward,” Julian said, “and found the contest information. The next day I went back out to the bed and recaught the same fish.”
Matthew Ensing, of Interlochen, caught the seventh tagged fish.
Matthew was fishing Houghton Lake with family when he caught the tagged walleye.
“It was Father’s Day. I was out with my father-in-law, his wife, my wife, and an aunt and uncle,” Matthew said. “We were fishing East Bay; it was about 6 or 6:30 in the evening when I caught it.”
They had been bobber fishing and had caught a variety of other fish earlier that day. Matthew said he had heard of the fishing contest, but not the details.
Kenneth Wishiewiski, of Bay City, caught a tagged largemouth bass from Houghton Lake recently and was the nineth tagged fish.
“It was fun!” Kenneth said about catching the tagged fish. “I was in a bass tournament when I caught it. I didn’t place in the contest, I guess my consolation prize was catching a tagged fish!”
Kenneth comes to Houghton Lake to fish around seven times a year. He had heard that the HLATB tagged fish and knew about the contest but had never caught one.
Allison Unrath, of Hartford, is the latest angler to catch a tagged fish in the Houghton Lake Area Tourism Bureau’s Catch Us If You Can fishing contest
Allison was fishing Houghton Lake August 7 when she caught the tagged bass, the 11th fish in the contest.
“My husband and I took dad to Houghton Lake for a Christmas/Birthday trip,” Allison said. “It was our first-time fishing there; we were hoping to get whatever we could get.”
Allison took a video and photo of the bass, clearly showing the tag and numbers. Then, thinking the tag was for a study the DNR was doing, she released the fish.
“We went to Lyman’s and told them about how we did the day before, and mentioned we had caught a tagged fish,” she said.
The contest runs year-around, ending on March 15 each year, and beginning again March 16.
Adult anglers catching tagged fish are eligible for a chance to win a grand prize of $100,000 and a 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.
Youth anglers (under 17 years old) are eligible to win a $250 cash prize and a new kayak, sponsored by Art-Y-Facts of Roscommon.
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
