Golden Beavers are putting compassion ahead of fishing
OCONOMOWOC – At dawn there was a flurry of action on northern pike.
And as the sun climbed into a cobalt sky in mid-morning the largemouth bass bite picked-up.
But all of that paled in comparison to the activity at 1 p.m.
About 300 people gathered around a tent on the sparkling ice of Silver Lake in Oconomowoc.
Did someone just land a 12-pound walleye? A 2-pound yellow perch?
Actually, the hubbub wasn't about anything with fins. That's pretty much the way it goes when the Golden Beaver Ice Fishing Team holds an outing.
Although the organization has its roots in hard-water angling, it cares much less about catching than it does about giving.
The early afternoon crowd had gathered on the northeastern quadrant of Silver for the crescendo of the Beaver's 2020 event, held Feb. 22.
Michele Baumann of North Prairie served as master-of-ceremony. She grabbed a microphone and summoned 11-year-old Brody Kierzek of West Bend.
"I'll try to get through this without crying," Baumann said as she draped an arm around Kierzek. "But I think you all know why we're here, and this year it's Brody. I hope he's having a fun day. Now let's see if we can make it a little better."
Tables set on the ice in and around the tent were piled with donated prizes. Numbered buckets were filled with paper tickets.
As Baumann spoke, people continued to buy last-minute chances in dozens of raffles.
The winners were about to be determined at the eighth annual Golden Beaver Ice Fishing Team Kids Fest. But there was no scale or ruler – in fact no fish – in sight.
No, this was not your typical ice fishing event. The Golden Beavers' primary goal was to raise money for a local kid and his family as they face a health challenge.
Over the next 30 minutes, Kierzek helped draw tickets out of the buckets and Baumann read the numbers. A smile spread across Kierzek's face as cheers went up from the crowd with every announcement.
The all-volunteer Golden Beavers have a motto: "We fish for a reason." And it's not to limit out.
The group started informally in 2008 when Andy Schultz of Oconomowoc, then a neophyte ice fisherman, was invited to join brothers Brian and Pete Baumann for a hard-water outing on School Section Lake in Dousman.
"They came out and showed me how, it was literally one of the best times of my life," said Schultz, 39. "I was like I love this, this is awesome."
The group adopted its name from a clip weight (commonly used by anglers to determine depth of water as they set tip-ups) they purchased that had a distinctive cast beaver head.
The Golden Beavers – which grew to include principals Norm Habersat of Dousman and Jeremy Hoadely of Oconomowoc – continued to meet for ice fishing trips on local lakes. As the years passed and the men's families grew, they began to bring their children along.
The outings began to be a "thing," so they started to call them the Golden Beavers Kids Fest. The goal at the time was to teach youth to fish and enjoy the outdoors.
Then in 2016, things changed. The Golden Beavers learned about Steven Seraphine, a local boy who was battling leukemia. They decided in addition to teaching kids to fish they would try to raise money to donate to the Seraphine family for whatever they needed. Medical expenses, food, gas, whatever.
The Golden Beavers made up hats for sale and collected items from Lake Country businesses for raffles. They donated $6,000 to the Seraphine family that year, Schultz said.
"What we saw on a small frozen lake was one of the most amazing things we had taken part in," the Golden Beavers state on their website. "We did not cure anything that day, but we did make kids smile, we did make kids laugh, and we taught a few kids how to fish."
Schultz, who serves as club president, said he didn't know if the fundraising efforts would continue.
The next year, though, everyone on the club's board of directors was fully in support.
The formula was set: The organization selects a child from the area who is facing health challenges and donates all proceeds from the one-day ice fishing outing to the family.
This year Kierzek was selected. The 11-year-old from West Bend suffers from a chronic condition called bronchiectasis which causes infections and polyps in his lungs.
He's had 11 surgeries in the last 3 years to remove the polyps; his specialized treatments include frequent trips to Children's Hospital of Milwaukee and an annual visit to the National Institute of Health in Maryland.
Kierzek was accompanied to the event by his parents, Jason and Becky, his sister Faith and his grandfather Tom.
The Golden Beavers are all-volunteer; no member is compensated in any way, Schultz said. The group has applied for 501(c)(3) non-profit status and expects to receive it this year.
The events are held on Silver Lake.
The owners of Lucky Chucky's Beach Bar and Grill allow participants to park in the business's lot.
About 6 a.m. the Golden Beavers hit the ice, drill some holes and set some tip-ups with the early arriving anglers.
The crowd grows through the morning.
The main event takes place at 1 p.m. when the raffles are decided. All proceeds are immediately turned over to the beneficiary family.
The tangible portion isn't insignificant. Any family that is dealing with a serious health condition for one of its members feels an extra financial strain.
But the intangible part of the gathering could be even more important.
"It feels pretty cool to know these people support me," Brody Kierzek said.
No, the Golden Beavers Ice Fishing Team events are not typical.
They provide a lift for a kid and their family, but the local community is affected, too.
The sense of good will and compassion was palpable among the crowd on the ice of Silver Lake.
"It feels so much better to live in an area where you know people care about each other," Michele Bauman said.
If you're thinking about learning a new fishing strategy, you'd do well to emulate the Golden Beavers.