When the month of August was coming to a close and most students were finishing summer assignments, seniors Grant Weedman and Axel Toft were out on the water, competing in a fishing tournament on Lake Vermillion. 

Four hours away from Benilde-St.Margaret’s, Lake Vermillion isn’t a short trip, but Weedman and Toft, members of BSM’s fishing team traveled to this lake near Ely, Minnesota to participate in the Student Anglers Tournament Trail. The benefit of this tournament is that 10 of 500 students competing are awarded college scholarships, with the largest scholarship of $10,000 awarded to the winners of the tournament. 

Toft––who had never fished the lake before––found techniques like fishing in the shallow waters worked well. “We used finesse style techniques and caught finicky biting fish,” Toft said. 

Their average fish came in at around three pounds. “The bite was tough, but once they hit, they were big,” Toft said. 

After two days of fishing, Weedman and Toft weighed in their seven largest fish and ending up placing fourth out of all of the participants, earning them each a $2,000 college-related expense scholarship. “We were honored and relieved from our hard work throughout the week as we battled through the cold, rainy and windy conditions,” Weedman said.