Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette Members of Team Net’n Yet, from left, Nicki Sprinkle, Lindsay Fortin and Maija White display their winning catch at Finns Bar and Grill’s 7th Annual Women’s Fishing Tournament on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Finns Bar and Grill hosted the 7th Annual Women’s Fishing Tournament. The event saw 12 boats occupied by 34 women competing for the heaviest load of five lake trout. The tournament had a difficult start for the women with the conditions of the qualifying Superior waters of Keweenaw Bay from Gay Stack to Big Bay Lighthouse being choppy.

The conditions of the water had many prepared to postpone the event to the next day, but no small craft advisory was placed and the tournament continued on. Though the waters could be managed, the women were fishing in intense heat and humidity, but this did not stop the hauls of lake trout that day. There were cash prizes and bragging rights on the line.

Each team could consist of up to four women, captain and a “captain’s buddy” with only the women allowed to have fishing lines in the water. The prizes would be distributed the heaviest loads of fish, the heaviest single fish, and the least load of fish caught. The first place team would be awarded $420, second place would receive $300, third place would get $200, and the angler of the heaviest fish would win $100. The least weight of the fish haul would gain a prize basket from Skyttas Country Feed & General Store.

The tournament was put on by the trio of Danielle Collins, Nicki Frisk and Shelley Lloyd. The three put together the event for the fun of it and to enjoy their female circles in the community.

“Women deserve a day, right?” Lloyd said. “And the guys are our captains — they wait on us, they give us our drinks, they give us our food, they net our fish, they take care of us; so it’s good.”

The tournament was held for years at the Eagles Club and then moved to the Whirl-I-Gig until conflicted dates forced the tournament to search for a new host. The Finns Bar and Grill took on the task to host with a likelihood to be hosting the event for the upcoming years. The manager of the Finns Bar and Grill, Gail Hollon, was delighted to be able to host the event after participating in it herself for many years. She did not wish to participate this year due to the regular sea sickness she experienced out on the water, but being able to give a space for her friends to gather and compete was a way for her to have fun with the tournament.

There were less boats signed up this year due to other events being held in the area and the weather but that has not deterred the trio nor the Finns Bar and Grill from wishing to grow the event next year.

After the boats came back to shore and the fish were weighed, the winners were announced. The least weight of fish at 3.84 pounds went to the crew of Jennifer St. George, Jamie Case, Kerry Varline and Tracy LaPlante. The heaviest single lake trout caught that day was 7.73 pounds and caught by Lloyd. Third place went to Team Dark Side for a haul of 22.75 pounds and second place went to Team The Struggle Is Reel for a haul of 22.83 pounds. The first-place winner was team Net’n Yet made up of Lindsay Fortin, Maija White and Nicki Sprinkle. Their overall haul of lake trout was 22.87 pounds.

“We were a little bit nervous because we figured that all it would take was maybe someone with one really big fish and a few other decent fish to beat us,” Fortin said. “We knew we stood a chance placing or at least hoped we did.”

The trip for Net’n Yet was very bumpy that morning with the crew feeling seasick. Because of the water conditions, the team decided to stay closer to shore than originally planned. That however ended up benefiting the team with the largest fish caught that day being near the shore in the early morning hours. As the waters calmed somewhat later on that day, the team moved out to deeper waters and continued to fish. Fortin said that the day out on the water was a blast and that everyday on the boat is fun chaos.

“It’s fun to see so many women involved in fishing,” Fortin said. “You just do not see so many women involved in outdoor recreation sports like this. I think it’s good to have like-people around.”

The tournament ended with every woman angler and the captains of the teams earning prizes donated from a multitude of businesses in the region. The prizes were distributed via a raffle while everyone gathered over drinks, food and fishing tales.