ON ISLAND LAKE, Minn. _ Greg Bernu and Bruce Cox had three good reasons to be waiting for walleyes to bite Saturday morning on Island Lake. Both men were fishing in the 22nd annual Kolar Toyota ALS Walleye Tournament on the popular reservoir lake north of Duluth.
Bernu, of Cloquet, and Cox, of Shevlin, both had lost their mothers to ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. And, at least during the morning hours, the anglers were joined in the boat by Duluth's Kelly Fleissner, who was diagnosed with ALS last September. Bernu and Fleissner are old friends and former college classmates in forestry at the University of Minnesota.
ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's Disease, is an incurable nervous system disease that weakens muscles and affects physical functions.
Cox has fished the tournament the past eight years with his father. This is Bernu's first year. A total of 177 boats and 354 anglers took part in the tournament this year, the most in 10 years.
"When mom was first diagnosed, (ALS) was all new to us," Cox said. "We got in touch with the ALS Association, and it was just amazing. They were instrumental in mom having a good quality of life right to the end."
"We're very appreciative of the things they do," Betty Fleissner, Kelly's wife, said at the Minnesota Power Hideaway boat landing on Island Lake early Saturday.
Money raised at the fishing tournament and at the annual Black Woods Blizzard Tour snowmobile ride each winter, goes to services for those with ALS and for ALS research, said Mike Stephenson, communications director for the ALS Association.
The 2017 Blizzard Tour raised $1.1 million for the ALS Association, and the 2016 fishing contest raised a record $212,000. Blake Kolquist, part of the Kolquist family that founded the fishing contest, said organizers hope to raise $240,000 this year.
"The Northland community has been amazing to us," said Stephenson of the ALS Association, "both raising funds and raising awareness of ALS. So many come back year after year to honor people they've lost or who are living with the disease."
Kelly Fleissner put the first fish in the boat Saturday morning with Bernu and Cox. It was a 10-inch walleye.
In a nearby boat, Kerry and Lynette Kowarsch of Cotton were also fishing in the contest. Kerry Kowarsch had lost a sister to ALS several years ago. Other members of their family and some friends also were taking part in the tournament.
"One of my other sisters heard about the tournament," Kerry Kowarsch said. "Obviously, (the ALS Association) was involved in getting help for my sister."
The couple hadn't boated a walleye early Saturday morning, but they had caught and released a northern pike.
Former Minnesota Twins star Kent Hrbek stood at the landing early Saturday watching boats launch for the contest. Hrbek, who lost his father to ALS, has been a regular at the contest for many years. He has come to know many of the Duluth-area anglers who take part.
"The people who come back to this year after year are amazing," Hrbek said. "People in Minnesota love to fish. For them to spend a couple hundred bucks and come out here for a good cause _ it's great."
Anglers went out in three waves early Saturday. As they fished, the sun and clouds wrestled for control of the skies. Boats zipped here and there as anglers searched for productive fishing spots.
While they were after walleyes _ and perhaps a moment of glory if they did well _ many were there because their lives had been touched in some way by ALS.
