From the Brainerd Dispatch

[fishinmedic]

Unseasonably warm weather has forced the cancellation of one famous ice fishing contest, but organizers of the Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza say plans for their 17th annual event haven't changed.

The contest is scheduled for Jan. 20. The Jaycees have monitored the ice on Gull Lake since Dec. 4, said Bob Slaybaugh, Jaycees media contact.

Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl said Tuesday that the minimum thickness needed for this year's contest is 16 inches, an increase of two inches over last year's minimum. He said he would meet with the Jaycees early next week.

Anglers interviewed Tuesday on Hole in the Day Bay said they were fishing on 12 inches of ice.

An angler headed out to Hole-in-the-Day Bay at Gull Lake Tuesday. Anglers fishing the bay estimated ice thickness at about 12 inches. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

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"Twenty-four days ago we had zero inches of ice on Hole in the Day Bay," Slaybaugh said. "We have more than two weeks to go. The only prudent thing to do is keep planning. It's too early to announce contingency plans. We'll work with the sheriff as always as we plan for the 20th."

Last week organizers of the Golden Rainbow Ice Fishing Contest announced that after 24 years on Forest Lake the contest will move to Pokegama Lake near Grand Rapids in 2008. Pokegama Lake is 125 miles north of Forest Lake, where the Golden Rainbow had been canceled three times in the past five years, including this year, because of poor ice.

Last year the Crow Wing County sheriff said 14 inches of ice was the minimum needed for the Extravaganza. When it was apparent Gull wouldn't have enough ice the contest was moved to Round Lake, marking the only time it took place elsewhere than Gull. In 2002 it was postponed to Feb. 9 due to unseasonably warm weather. That year 7,500 anglers competed, one of the lowest turnouts in contest history.

"Personal safety is our No. 1 priority," Dahl said. "We don't want anybody hurt. The ice right now is not real safe."

For the latest information on the contest, go to www.icefishing.org.