Are there still any good ice fishing contests?

[fishmon]

As someone who has'nt been to a contest on the ice since I was a kid are there any good contests out there anymore, I would like to take my kids to one I saw the news footage of the ones in Forest Lake and by Brainerd but competeing against 50,000 other people sounds like a waste of time and no fun for the kids?

[09ultra]

Depends where you live or how far you want to travel,there are a couple good small ones on Maple Lake and Green Lake coming up.Not to spendy but some good prizes and lots of fun!!

[Kylersk]

Fishing Minnesota use to put on a few fun, free and family friendly contests a few years ago. What I really liked about it was it was a great way to meet people, since the contest was only about a trophy. That meant people were just out to have fun and not compete. They also had a raffle for everyone that joined the contest and gave away great prizes like a marcum flasher or otter fish house.

Wish they'd bring that back......

[bogeyman1]

Ice Fishing Challenge- February'9 - Alexandria about 4000 attend this well run event. 1st place- truck and other great prizes. go to www.icefishingchallenge.org

[eelpout50]

Try the Chaska Firemans contest. It's only two hours long so it's great for the kids and it's right in the middle of town. They have lots of raffles and prizes plus all the money goes to the fire dept. All the fish are small but it's a good excuse to drink beer. Just look up the fire dept's web site and that has all the info.

[hunt fish repeat]

The Somerset Youth Athletic Association Contest is February 23rd. Again this year we will be awarding prizes for the top 50 largest fish, our first prize will be a new Chevrolet Silverado 4x4 pickup truck with other prizes including ice augers, shelters, tree stands, shotguns, underwater cameras, discounts on guide trips and many many more. All prizes to be handed out total over $50,000. Very few contests in the entire Midwest offer prize packages this large and we are located just 10 miles East of Stillwater. GANDER Mtn. the premier outdoors retailer of the Twin Cities, in an expresion of their civic pride, has become our title sponsor with additional sponsors such as Marcum, Frabill, Ameristep, Ardisam, Eskimo, and many more.

The registration fee for adults is $30.00 per entry. Per Wisconsin law entrants are allowed up to three holes each. In an attempt to further promote a family atmosphere we are bringing back the juniors division with youth 15 years old and under paying just $10.00.

1st and 2nd place winners in the juniors division will be awarded Nintendo Wii game consoles, 3rd and 4th place winners will go home jamming to new Ipods while 5th through 10th place contestants will receive Air Soft guns.

The contest will once again be held on Bass Lake in Somerset Wisconsin from 12 noon to 3:00 pm with pre-registration to begin at 9:00 am. Food and beverage concessions including beer sales will be available on the ice. With less than 2000 people attending annualy your odds are very good, all prizes will be given away regardless of fish caught.

The Somerset Youth Athletic Association is a non profit group made up of community volunteers dedicated to providing area youth with expanded opportunities for athletic and academic excellence. 100% of the profits from the contest will go directly to the Association.

For Complete details visit www.icetourney.com

[mr_jman]

There are plenty of good ones around. Just depends where you are from I guess. There is a good one in Bemidji, and a really fun one in Menahga south of Park Rapids on Highway 71. It's fairly small, costs only $5 to enter, and the top prize is a 4 wheeler. There are also drawings. Park Rapids runs a nice bigger one also. South Central Minnesota has one around Mankato usually, also St. James does one as well!