Ice Fishing Tourney Sees 65 Team Turnout

Wade Frederick of Yankton and Mark Rettig of Niobrara took home the first place trophy and traveling plaques with a finish of 10.36 pounds.

People of all ages across Nebraska gathered at Grove Lake for another year of the Royal Ice Fishing Tournament. 

An impressive 65 teams showed up to compete, topping last year's number of 59 teams. The event is held each year as a fundraiser for the fire department. 

Royal Fire Chief Gary Ober said its nice to see the amount of teams increasing and the support from local businesses and the many competitors is very appreciated. 

The event started out as a family event 35 years ago as a fun event for the department. Over the years, the event has grown into a popular one for the town of Royal. The first year of the tournament saw a turnout of just 17 teams, with a gradual increase throughout the years. This year's registration of 65 teams sat just under their record of 75 teams entered. 

After holding a calcutta to kick off the event on Saturday evening, the fishermen hit the lake at 9 a.m. Sunday morning and caught as many fish as they could until 2 p.m. Cash awards and trophies were given to winning teams, and trophies were also awarded to the oldest fisherman, youngest male fisherman and the youngest female fisherman.

Wade Frederick of Yankton and Mark Rettig of Niobrara took home first place with a total weight of 10.36 pounds. Brylie Billings of Orchard was given the award for the youngest female fisherman at eights years old. Dakota Velleck of Verdigre took the award for youngest male fisherman at age four. Max Hieter of Royal led the way as the oldest fisherman in the tournament.

Kyle Coover of Norfolk came away with the biggest individual catch of the day, pulling in a 3.4 pound bass. Terry Ronk caught the largest crappie of the day at .69 pounds. Fishermen catching the largest blue gill was tied at .58 pounds between Wade Frederick of Yankton and Austin Hilker of O'Neill. The largest perch belonged to Max Hieter of Royal, weighing .58 pounds. 
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RESULTS FROM THE 2018 ROYAL ICE FISHING TOURNAMENT
1st Place: Team #13 - 10.36 pounds
                  Wade Frederick, Yankton 
                  Mark Rettig, Niobrara 

2nd Place: Team #6 - 7.4 pounds
                   Brock Belik, Orchard 
                   Justin Brandt, O'Neill

3rd Place: Team #10 - 6.14 pounds
                   Derek Thiele, Clearwater
                   Eric Allemang, Clearwater

4th Place: Team #51 - 5.73 pounds
                   Pat Gallagher, Inman
​                   Tyson Cole, Page 

5th Place: Team #45 - 5.19 pounds
                   Kyle Coover, Norfolk
​                  Terry Ronk Jr., Norfolk
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6th Place: Team #30 - 4.86 pounds 
                   Dave Hansen, Grand Island
                   Wade Williby, Grand Island

7th Place: Team #15 - 4.86 pounds
                   Derek Price, Pierce
                   Rod Johnson, Pierce
***Tie for 6th & 7th settled by coin flip***

8th Place: Team #26 - 4.55 pounds
                  Doug Krueger, Stanton
                  Nate Krueger, Hadar

SPECIES
Trout: None

Blue Gill: Wade Frederick, Yankton .58 pounds
                 Austin Hilker, O’Neill .58 pounds

Perch: Max Hieter, Royal .58 pounds

Bass: Kyle Coover, Norfolk 3.4 pounds

Crappie: Terry Ronk, Jr .69 pounds

Oldest Fisherman: Max Hieter, Royal

Youngest Male Fisherman: Dakota Vellek, Verdigre, Age 4
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Missy Hieter Eckmann Trophy for the Youngest Female: Brylie Billings, Orchard, Age 8

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