Ice Fishing Contest #1 - IN THE BOOKS!
On Saturday February 6th, 2022 Northcast, LLC and Urban Boatbuilders came together to host an ice fishing contest on Lake Minnetonka.
Planning began around early November, with a very bare-bones idea of event components and needs. We chose a date; location was TBD; we built some sponsorship levels and launched a registration page. Through the holidays, that site was pretty quiet, which we expected. Ice fishing contests typically receive large volume of participation within 2 weeks of the event.
Once we chose a location: Maxwell Bay of Lake Minnetonka, we determined which part of the bay made the most sense for people to access from shore, with enough depth to catch something. Then we mapped out the event area (which ended up changing on the day-of) and planned the layout for sponsor tents, fire pits, food and games.
A few sponsors signed up early, and we had a good number of free spectators registered as well as fishing contestants. Our goal was 100-200 people. Getting the prizes and raffle items together was a lot of fun - we had an eclectic mix of prizes; not just all fishing related things. We held 3-4 meetings both on zoom and in-person to take inventory, go over event details, costs, procedures and ideas leading up to the contest.
Before we knew it, February 6th was here! I woke up that morning ready to seize the day and give it my all. Whatever the outcome, I was proud of our execution and our intentions. We arrived to the bay a little after 8am; volunteers were showing up at 9am; contestants were to arrive around 10:30am.
There was plenty of time to set up our tents, organize our supplies, lay out the prizes, start fires, and prepare for the fun! Winter wind had a different plan for us, as it blew over a few things and kept a chill in the air for the entire day. Despite the frigid temperature, people still managed to have a good time and hang out for a few hours in support of an amazing cause!
Many small fish were on the board; we were fishing in shallow water - I mapped out a ridge that went from 10’ - 30’ but we may have missed the mark. Regardless, people were catching perch and crappies and, even though they were tiny, a fish is a fish! So our contest winner took home the prize on a fish that was under 6” long.
We saved our raffle for the end, which, next year we will plan to raffle items throughout the contest. I’m also thinking we shorten the contest down to a 2 hour window, closer to sunset for prime bite. This will keep the pace going a little faster so we don’t have people leaving early before prizes are called.
All in all, this was a FANTASTIC first event! We achieved our goals, we made new friends, and best of all we raised money for Urban Boatbuilders - it was a WIN in my book!
Thank you to all of my friends and family who came out to support us, or who supported us by donating online. We truly could not have done it without you.
Hope to see you next year!