Is it a tournament if nobody catches a fish? Thousands of anglers might have been asking themselves that question last weekend following the 11th annual Alexandria Ice Fishing Challenge on Minnesota’s Lake Agnes.

Although almost 2,200 anglers were registered for the event, not one fish was weighed-in during the three-hour tournament. It’s not as if the incentive wasn’t there, as each of the top 100 finishers would have received $100, with the fisherman weighing in the heaviest catch collecting $10,000. However, with no fish caught, the entire 2011 prize purse will be rolled into the 2012 event.

Event co-chairman Eddie Reif had the best explanation regarding the lack of fish: “unfortunately, they just didn’t bite.”

Dean Beck, the area fishery supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources, says the lake is well-stocked with walleyes, bass, pike and yellow perch. He speculated that low barometric pressure and a sudden air temperature rise might have kept all the fish in the lake from biting – or at least biting the baits of the tournament anglers.