In the six decades since Fisharama began, the Tri Lakes Community Center in Superior has only had to cancel the annual February ice fishing extravaganza a couple of times. Two of those cancellations happened in the last two years.
In 2023, there was too much snow on Amnicon Lake, where the event is regularly held. In 2024, warm temperatures and melting ice forced organizers to cancel again.
This year, the third attempt at the 58th annual Fisharama, organizer Kathy Lisdahl is feeling more optimistic.
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“(We’re feeling) much more positive with the inches of ice that are on the lake and not a whole lot of snow,” Lisdahl told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
While lake conditions should be good, Fisharama organizers are currently facing a different challenge: a lack of volunteers. But they’re determined to make it work.
“We have a skeleton crew in comparison to what we usually have, but I think that we will be able to pull it off,” Lisdahl said.
Lisdahl cited several possible reasons for why it’s been hard to recruit volunteers this year.
“A lot of people are just so busy with their own personal lives: children, work,” Lisdahl said. “Some people have helped for a number of years and are getting much older.”
Lisdahl and her fellow Tri Lakes Community Center board member Judy Peterson organize the volunteers to keep the fishing contests and raffles running smoothly — and to sell hot food and drinks to participants.
Proceeds from the event benefit the Tri Lakes Community Center, which holds events for people living around Amnicon, Dowling and Lyman Lake. They host community dinners, exercise classes, vendors’ markets and more.
In short, it’s all in support of bringing together their rural community.
“I think that it’s a very safe place for people to come,” Lisdahl said. “Anybody that’s a member can use the building free of charge.”
Fisharama is a valuable part of the yearly lineup, and not just because of the revenue.
“It’s getting people together, having fun — something to do in the winter,” Peterson said. “(Community members) look forward to this every year. It’s probably because it has been going on for so long.”
Despite recent setbacks, Lisdahl and Peterson hope that Fisharama can happen for many more years to come. It’s a staple of their rural community.
Peterson put it simply: “People in the Northwoods like having fishing contests.”
Fisharama will be held from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Tri Lakes Community Center on Amnicon Lake. More details can be found at the Tri Lakes Community Center Facebook page.
