![39th Annual Eelpout Festival Set to Begin Thursday in Walker](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2018/02/chase-with-people.jpg?w=980&q=75)
39th Annual Eelpout Festival Set to Begin Thursday in Walker
WALKER -- A northern Minnesota festival to celebrate an ugly bottom-feeding fish enters its 39th year Thursday. The International Eelpout Festival in Walker is held on Leech Lake and was started as a way to draw tourists to town in the wintertime.
Jared Olson is one of the organizers of the festival and describes it as Mardi Gras on the ice.
There are events planned Thursday through Sunday, including fishing contests, a fish fry, dog sled rides, polar pout plunge and more.
Olson says Mother Nature is cooperating for this year's festival in Walker by making ice that's 27 inches thick at the site. Olson says, as a result, there are no driving restrictions on the lake this year.
For more information on the events, visit the International Eelpout Festival website.
More From AM 1240 WJON
![Man Found Dead at Eelpout Festival Died of CO Poisoning](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2017/12/police-lights3.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![News @ Noon: The Eelpout Being Celebrated this Weekend on Leech Lake [AUDIO]](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2015/02/Eelpout-Festival.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Going to the Trump Rally in St. Cloud? Here’s What You Need to Know](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-Trump-at-RNC-Photo-Brandon-Bell-Getty-Images.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![New Wave of COVID-19 Increasing Cases in Minnesota](http://townsquare.media/site/341/files/2020/04/fusion-medical-animation-rnr8D3FNUNY-unsplash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Suffers Significant Injuries in Fire](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2020/05/Fire-gear.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Emmer Honors Retiring St. Cloud Mayor on U.S. House Floor](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-Emmer-Kleis.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Virtual Ice Fishing Tournament Changes Ownership](http://townsquare.media/site/65/files/2024/02/attachment-GettyImages-1367444464.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man Killed in Crash on Highway 23 Near Willmar](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/06/State-Patrol-Stock-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![MN DFL Breaks Fundraising Record 2nd Day in a Row](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-GettyImages-2161823256.jpg?w=980&q=75)