ROSCOMMON COUNTY—Tony Pieprzyk and his wife Rose, of Sanford, were trolling Higgins Lake April 16 when he landed the prize catch of the day, a tagged lake trout.
“We were taking turns reeling in the fish,” Tony said, “my wife went first. She caught the first one, the largest, and a total of three. But I caught the tagged one!”
Tony gives credit to his wife. “Rose was a big help maintaining boat control while I was reeling it in, and in netting the fish. She did a super job.”
They were fishing in 90 feet of water, pulling plastic bait, and ended up with five lake trout for the day. When he saw the tag, Tony knew it wasn’t one of the DNR’s. Rose did the research on the yellow tag, and called a local bait shop.
Tony registered his fish at Lyman’s on the Lake in Houghton Lake, where he received a $50 gas card and was entered into the contest.
Tony’s tagged fish was the first caught in the Houghton Lake Area Tourism Bureau’s (HLATB) Catch Us If You Can fishing contest. The contest runs year-around, ending on March 15 each year, and beginning again March 16.
The 2024-25 season is also the 20th anniversary of the contest, and HLATB has additional prizes for this year’s drawing.
Adult anglers catching tagged fish are eligible for a chance to win a grand prize of $100,000; a Lund boat from Spicer’s Boat City; and $50,000 towards a new truck from Don Nester Auto Group. There is a guaranteed major prize of $1000 cash. Other prizes available include a Mark Martin Ice Fishing School valued at $575; and prize packets worth $250 sponsored by Pioneer Hills Marine and The Minnow Bucket at Exit 222.
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.
