Indoor Ice Fishing Tournament in St. George

St. George Lodge No. 12, in partnership with the Charlotte County Shrine Club, will be hosting another Luxor Lake Indoor Ice Fishing Tournament at the Masonic Lodge on the evening of Saturday, February 7th, 2026.

Entry fee for the tournament will be $30 a person and that includes an ice fishing license, a door prize ticket, 25 fishing lures, and a Bean & Wieners supper. In addition to the Door Prize, prizes will be awarded for the top three fishers based on the largest total weight of fish caught. Also, a “Lunker” prize will be awarded to one fisher who catches just one 1-lb fish.

Tickets will be only available at the door the evening of the tournament but can be reserved by eTransfer of $30/fisher to PeterC.Justason@Gmail.com by Friday, January 30th, 2026. Only 60 licenses will be available for this tournament.

Doors open at 5:30 PM with the Beans & Wieners supper starting at 6:00 PM and the Lodge Bar will be open the entire evening to celebrate or commiserate your ice fishing successes. The Luxor Lake Ice Fishing Tournament is open to the first 60 fishers, both males and females who claim their licenses, but others are encouraged to attend and cheer on the fishers.

Proceeds from the Tournament Entry fees are for Luxor Shriners activities. Payments are not deductible as charitable contributions.

How does it work?

After paying the tournament entry fee, each of the 60 fishers will receive their license which they must always keep on them, a door prize ticket, and 25 lure tickets. After depositing the door prize ticket in the door prize basket, the fisher proceeds into the Lodge and begins the fishing tournament. The 25 “lures” that accompany the fishing license, that look very much like tickets, are deposited into any of 12 “fishing holes” placed on the Lodge Hall floor. The 25 lures can be placed in one hole, 12 holes, or any combination of holes the fisher thinks will get them the most fish. Once the lures are all placed in the “holes” the fisher can go to a table and enjoy supper with a beverage.

Once all the fishers have placed their lures, the Head Fish Warden will officially open the tournament and explain the rules on how the fish are caught and their fish weights will be recorded. Remember the fishers with the top three weights of fish will receive prizes.

So how do the fishers catch a fish? Once the Tournament commences, the Head Warden will randomly select one of the 12 fishing holes for a fish to be caught. He will announce the hole to those attending causing the Assistant Warden to go to that hole and reach in to selects one lure. That lure will have a number on it that corresponds with a fishing license of one of the fishers. The owner of that license number cries out “Fish On”. That alerts the Junior Assistant Warden to go to that fisher with a deck of 52 cards. The lucky fisher selects one of the cards to determine the weight of the fish. Selecting an Ace is a one-pound fish, a 10 is a 10-pound fish, a seven is a 7-pound fish and so on. The card/weight of the fish is announced by the Junior Assistant Warden and the weight of the fish is recorded for that fisher. However, if the fisher selects a Jack, Queen, or King, that fish got away and no weight is recorded for that fisher. This process is repeated many times during the evening so fishers may catch multiple fish during the evening. A running tab of the results of each fishers’ success will be made available periodically during the evening and especially during the closing minutes of the tournament so the fishers can see the top fishers of the tournament.

Once the tournament closes, prizes will be awarded by the Head Warden. In the event there are ties for the largest weight of fish, cards will be drawn with the highest card winning the tie. In the event there is tie for multiple fishers catching just one fish of one pound, cards will be drawn out of a deck, with the lowest card, Aces be low and Ace of Spades being lowest, wins the “Lunker” prize.