Mattoon smelt fry raises thousands for area youth

Smelt was all the rage in Mattoon over the past weekend, as a popular fundraiser once again took place at the Mattoon Village Hall.

The Mattoon Sportsman’s Club’s 57th smelt fry took place May 6 to allow visitors from Mattoon and surrounding communities to enjoy a lunch of smelt and french fries, catch up with friends and support the community.

“It started out about 50-60 years ago with the Mattoon Sportsman’s Club not having any money,” said club president Butch Schultz. “We were looking to raise some money for different projects and somebody came up with the idea of catching smelt in Marinette and having a smelt fry to make some money.”

Historically, the smelt fry has served anywhere from 600-800 people. Schultz said that this year’s attendance fell in line with that number.

“It is sort of gratifying to see everybody — it is like a homecoming to many people,” said Schultz. “There are people coming from Ringo, Hatley, Wausau, Appleton and Marinette. There is a lot of times where this is the only opportunity to see all of these people. It is a reunion-type thing.”

This year, Schultz estimated that between $6,000 and $8,000 was raised from the event.

“About 75% of that goes towards the youth,” said Schultz. “Our big thing that we hold is the fisheree for the kids up on Moose Lake (in Antigo) every year. It takes about $2,000-$2,500 to put that on. The kids get major prizes, with prizes for the biggest fish.”

Other than the fisheree, the money raised at the smelt fry also goes to little league baseball and softball in the area. On top of that the sportsman’s club has also donated to fire safety courses and the Birnamwood Bowhunters club.

“The thing is, we realized that the youth is our future,” said Schultz on why the money goes to support local youth organizations. “There is a lot of bad stuff out there that kids can get into. If they can in to sports and outdoor hobbies and stuff like that, it is usually not letting them go the wrong way.”

More than just supporting the Mattoon Sportsman’s Club, Schultz called it a great feeling to see so many people come together to support the youth in the area.

“When you see 145 kids raising fishing poles, tip-ups and tackle boxes, it really gives you a good feeling of gratification that you have done something right,” said Schultz.

Schultz added that the event sees close to 450 lbs of smelt being consumed, which is about half of what was consumed 20 or so years ago.

“There was a time when that hall was packed even until midnight,” said Schultz. “With new laws and other people having things to do, the attendance is a little bit down. There were times where we served 900 people.”

Wrapping it all up, Schultz said he enjoys getting to be a part of the event every year and hopes that the tradition can continue long into the future.

“The majority of all of the members come out of the woodwork for this, usually the meetings aren’t heavily attended, but when it comes to something like this, they come out,” said Schultz. “It is a big thing that we enjoy doing and the community enjoys as well.”

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com