NAIFC

By Thom Gabrukiewicz
tgabrukiew@argusleader.com
Argus Leader

Harrisburg fisherman uses technology (and a little luck) to chase a spot on Team USA for world championships

Harrisburg, SD - In the world of competitive ice fishing, Team USA could use a little help in getting its word out.

Eric Wolfe of Harrisburg is doing his part.

The tournament ice fisherman and his angling partner, Travis Bell, recently qualified for the national championships through the North American Ice Fishing Circuit. The tour’s top prize is $100,000.

Wolfe also is fishing to win a spot in the World Ice Fishing Championship on March 12-14 in Rhinelander, Wis.

Just five ice fishermen will represent Team USA in the contest. It’s only the second year the U.S. will have sent a team to the event - and the first time it’s been contested on American ice.

It’s us against the world - and the world, especially Eastern Europe, is serious about this competition.

“All the teams come with coaches and equipment managers,” Wolfe says. “The Russians come with their own scientists to test the water.”

Good thing Wolfe lives to ice fish.

“It’s a chess match, along with a fishing tournament,” Wolfe says. “I like the outdoors; I hunt for deer and pheasant. But when it gets cold, I put up the deer rifle and file the turkey tags I didn’t use and wait for the ice. Summer fishing, man that makes for a long day. But winter fishing, you feel fresh when you come off the ice - fresh enough to want to take your wife out for a night on the town.”

But competitive ice fishing? Seriously?

Sure.

In a crazy sports world that follows plenty of fringe activities, pro ice fishing is an extension of friendly wagering found among friends sitting in shacks pulling perch, crappie, walleye and bluegill from a hole in the ice.

In other words, an everyman sport for the masses.

“Yeah, I know it’s kind of a niche sport, like darts or pro bowling,” says Wolfe, who owns Simply Superior Lawn. “It’s not like pro football or baseball. But in ice fishing, everyone has a chance to beat me. I want people to try. Think of it - people can spend as little as $100 on equipment and still be on Team USA.”

And with its own television reality series - “Ice Men” on Versus - ice fishing is ready for prime-time exposure.

Especially when it comes to the world championships.

“Hey, I tell you what, I’m the first one to wave the flag,” says Jack Baker, vice president of operations for the North American Ice Fishing Circuit. “This is an honor - I get goosebumps just talking about it. The world is very serious about this and to go up against the best, you can’t help but be proud.”

So does Wolfe have what it takes to represent the U.S. against the world on Wisconsin ice?

“With his attitude and his execution, and what I saw in Aberdeen (at a qualifying tournament), Eric has what it takes,” Baker says. “I believe he was the only one who took the time to learn the rules and knew what he was supposed to be doing out there on the ice.”

Wolfe got his start ice fishing like a lot of South Dakotans - his father took him out once with an auger and a mini rod and reel.

Four years ago, he got serious.

“I got a Vexilar,” he says, pointing to the embroidered logo on his heavy red-and-black winter jacket. “You know, underwater sonar. That changed everything.”

In the bed of Wolfe’s pickup rests everything he needs to fish: An all-terrain vehicle, portable shelter, heater, sonar, underwater camera and his fishing gear. And since he’s in the lawn-care business, he’s got plenty of time to pursue his passions.

“I spray lawns all summer, I spray trees,” he says. “I still have to work in the winter, but maybe three days a week. That leaves time for me to practice. You’d like to think this could be the thing, a way to make a living. But for right now, I’ve definitely spent more money on ice fishing than I’ve won.”

It also helps to marry someone who totally supports - and understands - your passions.

Three years ago today, Wolfe married his wife, Kristina, in Sioux Falls.

That morning, Wolfe and a groomsman were on Lake Sinai near Brookings, entered in a fishing a tournament.

“I made it to the wedding on time, but I’m sure there was some nail-biting at the church,” he says, laughing. “We did take two vehicles, just in case something happened, so we could abandon one vehicle and still make it.”

Wolfe says Kristina’s support - and that of their children, Patience, 13, Braden, 10, and Skyler 9 - has never wavered.

“She still comes to tournaments and even when it’s below zero, she’ll watch from shore,” he says. “My kids, they love to fish. We’re a fish-eating family - well, we have to be. But if there’s not that support at home, it just doesn’t work.”

His passion exposed Wolfe to local True Ice tournaments, which were created by the state’s ice anglers to highlight South Dakota lakes. True Ice led Wolfe to the NAIFC - and now a shot at the world championships and the coveted Team USA berth.

“I’m pretty proud of him,” says Jay Butler, one of the founders of True Ice. “He’s got a great opportunity to do this. He beat some pretty good sticks to get where he’s at. There’s some skill and there’s some luck. And this year, it seems Eric has both. But it also helps that he’s very competitive.”

On Saturday, Wolfe fished Island Lake west of Colton, just trying to find his groove.

The world championship format frowns on powered augers, sonar, cameras, ATVs, shelters and even certain jigs. It’s you, a hand auger, your gear and a sled in one of five zones etched out on the ice that anglers are assigned to during the two-day tournament.

“I call it ‘fishing naked,’ compared to what I’m used to,” Wolfe says. “But without the equipment, you get a feel for the basics again.”

Wolfe says he feels pretty good about his chances for a slot on the national team. But he also knows the fickleness of sitting over a rod on a frozen Midwest lake, waiting for a bite.

“The Dakotas, for ice fishing, it’s a real powerhouse,” he says. “The guys around here can fish - I may get caught, I may not make it. But I just want to help show that us Dakota boys can fish.”