Registration is now open for the April 2021-23 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, near Solon. While the focus of BOW is primarily for women, the workshop is an opportunity for anyone 18 years or older to learn outdoor skills.

What great weather we had last Friday and Saturday! After the sun burned off the early morning fog on Friday, it was an awesome morning to be on the lake. I was fortunate to find a nice bunch of bluegills along a weedline on West Okoboji, and there was no one within a half mile. Call it luck or whatever. ... I could have drilled a hole 100 yards in a different direction and never had fish under me. I guess it’s sometimes better to be lucky than good.

There are several types of baits that anglers employ in an effort to catch a fish. Crankbaits are a type of lure that can be a very effective fish catcher. Crankbaits come in several shapes, so once we determine that we want to use a crankbait, we need to decide what shape of crankbait to tie on.

March is the month that anglers head out for the outdoor/fishing shows that appear annually in anticipation of the open water season. Folks will often travel to Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Omaha and Des Moines. However, the Iowa Great Lakes area has one of its own!

Oak Hill Outdoor is hosting its second annual “Quest for Net Open Water Fishing Expo” on Saturday, March 18. The day kicks off at 10 a.m. and concludes with a concert by the group She’s With Us from 5-8 p.m.

SPENCER — The Spencer YMCA Tigersharks prepare for thier final competitions of the season with state contests taking place this weekend and next. The team heads to the YMCA State Swim Meet this weekend in Marshalltown. Their final meet is the GISL State Swim Meet next weekend in Des Moines.

SPENCER — After a groundbreaking historic season for Spencer girls wrestling and all Iowa girls wrestling. Girls were then honored for their excellence in the classroom, as the Lakes Conference all-academic team was announced. Seven Tiger wrestlers were listed on the first team. Olivia Huckfelt, Kiersten Campbell, Breanna Johnson, Samantha Richarson, Joshlynn Johnson and Shaylee Sutherland.

SPENCER — After a 17-7 season and making it to the regional final, Spencer received news about their all-conference selections. Four Tiger girls were selected for their playing this season. Jada Piercy, Jerra Merchant were both selected to the Lakes Conference first team. Mo McDermott was selected to be on the second team. Jayna Graettinger was chosen as a honorable mention.

SPENCER — On Tuesday, the Lakes Conference announced it’s all-conference teams and all-academic teams for boys wrestling. Logan Huckfelt, Gabe Cauthron, Wyatt Heying, Levi Johnson, Kade Johnson, Trayton Logan and Jace Fullhart were all selected to the first team all-conference. Connor Stickrod, Izak Peterson and Tate Zinn were selected to the second team all-conference.

SPENCER — Now that the Spencer winter sports season is officially over, Lakes Conference honors were announced earlier this week for the Tiger boys basketball team. Owen Olson led the charge for Spencer all season long, being named to the Lakes Conference first team. Riley DeWitt, took home second team honors after running the Tiger offense as the point guard this year. Gavin Honkomp earned honorable mention for the Lakes Conference.

OKOBOJI — Sioux Central took on the Sibley-Ocheyedan Generals at Okoboji High School for the right to play in the 2A Iowa Girls State Tournament. The gymnasium was rocking in Milford on Friday night. Sioux Central would get out to a good start, but ultimately the play of Madison Brouwer would be too much for the Rebels. Sibley-Ocheyedan advanced to the state tournament, defeating Sioux Central 78-57.

The eighth-ranked Iowa Lakes men's basketball team moved to 22-7 overall and 13-2 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference play with 83-68 win over sixth-ranked Kirkwood. With the win the Lakers are regular season ICCAC champions and will be the No. 1 seed in the Region XI Tournament which will be held in Estherville, March 3-5. The Lakers were led by Anthony Holden with 16 points, Sam West had 15, Creighton Morisch had 14, and Isaiah Williams had 10.

Iowa Lakes Community College volleyball coach Mike Turnbull is proud to announce the signing of hitter Felicity Sanders from Inverness, Florida. She will join the Laker volleyball team and enroll at Iowa Lakes this fall. Felicity is a hitter from South Sumter High School, she will compete at all three hitting positions this fall. Felicity was a multisport athlete in high school, also participating in track and soccer.

Iowa Lakes softball player Bryn Bohmann recently signed to continue her athletic and academic careers at Goldey-Beacom College. She will be studying psychology at the institution located in Wilmington, Delaware. Bohmann is the daughter of Darren and Lynette Bohmann. She is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, where she graduated from Bethlehem Catholic High School. In her first year as a Laker, Bohmann was a key player to the Lakers success.

IDA GROVE — Electric is an understatement to describe the atmosphere at OABCIG High School on Saturday night. In a clash of two of the best Class 2A boys basketball teams in Iowa. Undefeated Sioux Central was the home team against the Carroll Kuemper-Catholic Knights. A back-and-forth battle between the two powerhouses, came down to the end. Kuemper-Catholic would outlast Sioux Central, 69-67 to advance to the State Tournament.

SPENCER — After more than 50 years in the golf industry, former Spencer Golf and Country Club Superintendent Chuck Mohr was honored for his hard work. Mohr was the recipient with the 2022 Golf Course Superintendents’ Association Distinguished Service Award. Mohr spent 28 years as the superintendent of the SPGCC.