Island Lake fishing tournament raises more than $284,000 for ALS

More than $284,180 from the 31st annual Kolar Toyota ALS Fishing Tournament will go to ALS treatment trials, research and direct care for people and families facing the disease, turning a weekend on Island Lake into a major local funding source for care that can be hard to access.

The two-day tournament drew 110 two-person teams on the water and seven more teams fishing virtually, then wrapped with an awards ceremony at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. John Yankowiak and Cory Nelson won the top spot with six walleyes totaling 129 inches, while the longest walleyes measured 27.25 inches and two teams tied at that mark.

Kraig and Hayden Anderson kept the title for the longest stringer of five bass at 95.5 inches. The event also recognized individual bass catches, underscoring how the tournament mixes competitive fishing with a fundraiser that now reaches far beyond one lake or one weekend.

The money matters because ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no cure, and most people die within three to five years of symptom onset. Never Surrender Inc., the Northern Minnesota nonprofit behind the tournament, says the fundraiser supports treatment trials, research and direct care, including help for individuals and families navigating the disease.

That local support has a direct St. Louis County footprint. Never Surrender says it is partnering with the Healey ALS Platform Trial and helping fund a trial being brought to Essentia Health in Duluth, while The ALS Association’s Minnesota chapter says it serves 446 people living with ALS in Minnesota and works with seven ALS clinics.

The 2026 total also shows why the tournament still matters after 31 years. It came in below last year’s record $315,650 and the $287,560 raised in 2024, but it kept a long-running fundraising streak alive for a disease that depends heavily on donor support. Never Surrender says the tournament has pushed its all-time total beyond $4.9 million, a figure that reflects decades of local anglers, sponsors and volunteers turning Island Lake into one of the Northland’s most durable charitable events.