My First Chainsaw Competition!
- DustyGirl
- Sep 3
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 28
From Austin to Iowa: My Wild Walleye Adventure at the Storm Lake Chainsaw Competition!
My trusty carving truck was loaded, and my little sister Shasta (the real MVP of this story, let's be honest) was buckled in. We were off! The journey from Austin to Storm Lake, Iowa, was punctuated by questionable gas station snacks and one particularly memorable stop in Kansas.
Y'all, buckle up! My first chainsaw carving competition was less "graceful artistic endeavor" and more "chainsaw massacre... of my original plans." But hey, that's what makes for a good story, right? Who needs a perfectly executed plan when you have a sassy sister, a giant saw, and a whole lotta caffeine?
It all started with an image: me, pre-competition, looking deceptively calm next to a perfectly innocent log. Little did that log know, it was about to be put through the wringer.
The Gauntlet, or, "Oh Cool, I'm the Only Girl!"
Six carvers, and yours truly, the lone extra girly female. I was surrounded by well-known carvers like Patrick Berrigar, Keith Gregory, Nate Hall, and Chad Kilpatrick (all award-winning, naturally), along with fellow newbie Dylan. Awards were up for grabs: Judges' Choice (1st, 2nd, 3rd), People's Choice, and Carvers' Choice. Was I nervous? Pfft. Of course not! My only goal was to finish on time. Winning? That was a concept existing in a completely different galaxy than my current mental state.
My meticulously crafted carving plan, born from hours of study and contemplation, met its untimely demise with the lottery for the logs. I drew a skinny one. My beautiful, grand vision of a contemporary great-horned owl metaphorically sank into Storm Lake.
Enter Shasta, my lil' sister, who, bless her heart, thinks I can carve anything. "Hey!" she said semi-quietly, "Since we're on a lake, and they catch walleye... carve that!" My internal monologue was a series of question marks. "Okay. Um... what does a walleye look like?"
From Free Willy to Frustration
The horn blew. Go time.
My arsenal of saws decided to stage a rebellion. I was left with a 15lb Stihl 500i (with a 26" bar, because why make it easy?) and two very small Stihl battery-powered home saws. Oh, and my die grinder? It decided to take an early retirement. Fantastic!
When I finally finished my blockout, my fish had a beautiful S-shape and, much to my horror, bore a striking resemblance to Free Willy.
Nine straight hours of wrestling that big saw, and all I had was a whale. The horn signaled the end of day one. But wait, there's more! A quick 90-minute break, then straight into a 90-minute "quick carve" for the auction. Madison County Winery (a vendor with excellent taste, clearly) asked me to carve their "Phat Man" wine bottle and label.
Never done a quick carve before. My arms were dead. All I managed was the basic shape. More on this later because my arms are still protesting.
Day Two: The Dolphin Dilemma and the Daring Cut
Day two dawned, and my "walleye" still needed a serious intervention. Armed with photos from real fishermen, Google images, and anatomy specs (including Sis running to the grocery for a frozen walleye), I was determined.
Then a little boy, bless his honest heart, piped up, "Your fish looks like a dolphin!" Frustration, my friends, was officially setting in. I stared at my aquatic mammal for a solid ten minutes, then decided it was time for a daring cut to the mouth.
You can actually see the moment of pure "oh crap" realization on my face as I cut out a chunk, only to realize I'd taken too much. My walleye was getting another face-lift.
End of day two, and the cold hard truth hit: day three was only five hours of carving. This fish had to be shortened and reshaped, and fast. Sleep? What's sleep when you have a semi-whale, semi-dolphin to transform into a walleye? My goal shifted from "just finish" to "finish with a fish that actually looks like a walleye."
The Walleye Whisperer and the Win!
Day three arrived. One hour in, my carving angel walked into my world. Lynn Anderson of L.A.'s Wildwood Creations from Fort Dodge, IA, a former comp judge and master carver of fish, was there. His fish are so realistic they might just swim away. His specialty? Walleye. No kidding.
He talked with me, pointing out a couple of key details I was missing. It all clicked. I made the adjustments, started adding all the fins, and carved out the water that supported the fish. My little sister, a true champion, was right there, sanding, burning, chatting with festival-goers, and acting as my "saw-back."
This was her idea, after all, and I couldn't let her down.
A last bit of detail magic: some huge fish eyes I found floating around in my art bag. A final layer of sealer, and I had 17 minutes to spare. Seventeen long minutes!
"Carvers, come to the stage!"
I hammed it up between all the guys – too funny until the realness settled in. Then, I strategically moved to the far left side of the stage, creating a visible separation from the five potential winners. You know, just in case.
Then they called third place.
My hand flew to my mouth. I clearly missed the memo: "There's no crying in chainsaw carving!" I accepted my award in disbelief, frantically searching for my sister in the crowd. She was crying too. A truly epic moment.
Here are the winners: 1st place went to Chad Kilpatrick, 2nd to Keith Gregory, and... me, 3rd! Dylan Ptacek snagged Carvers' Choice with his fun Sasquatch holding a chainsaw, and Nate Hall won People's Choice with his giant ear of corn.
The Auction, Wilbur, and What's Next?
It's not over till the fat lady sings, and in this case, the fat lady was the auctioneer.
The video of my auction is a must-see. My walleye was sold to a gentleman who had watched my carving from the very beginning. He bought it for an incredible $1250! Wow, what a feeling. Special thanks to Keith Gregory for helping to get that big fish in the new owner's truck!
Final thing: there were so many kids at the festival that I decided to hold a naming contest for the fish, starting with "W." Thirty-nine entries and a blind drawing later, nine-year-old Braelynn from Arizona named him "Wilbur the Walleye." I engraved that into the inside tail of the fish and announced it on my @DustyGirlCarvings Facebook page.
Wilbur the Walleye
Will this be a one-and-done competition for me? I don't think so. I need to compete in a bigger competition with more carvers. I know one thing for certain: it was totally worth every minute for the memories I made with my little sister and for meeting other carvers who were encouraging and just downright cool.
Stay tuned for more carving adventures (and probably more sarcastic commentary)!
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