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970 Grand County
970 Grand County
Ice Fishing Adventures: Contests, Prizes, and Community Spirit
This episode celebrates the impending ice fishing contests at Three Lakes and Wolford, focusing on community involvement, family traditions, and prize offerings. Kayte and Brittany discuss event details, unique features, and the spirit of camaraderie that accompanies these outdoor activities.
• Overview of the Three Lakes and Wolford Ice Fishing Contest dates and locations
• Unique conservation focus on Mackinaw trout size
• Prize categories with significant cash and equipment rewards
• Emphasis on youth participation and opportunities
• Introduction of the Wolford Ice Fishing Contest, highlighting its community appeal
• Overview of cash prizes and raffle opportunities for attendees
• Discussion about the generational nature of these events
• Insights into local business involvement and community support
• Closing thoughts on the importance of family traditions in ice fishing
I have two wonderful guests today Katie from Destination Granby and Brittany from Kremlin Chamber of Commerce. They are here to talk about the ice fishing contest that they are hosting that are right around the corner. Katie talks about the Three Lakes Ice Fishing Contest that is happening January the 24th through the 26th, and Brittany talks about the Wolford Ice Fishing Contest, february 15th. They talk about what to expect that day, the prizes that one can win and so much more. So sit back and enjoy. Good afternoon, katie and Brittany. How are you, both of you?
Speaker 3:We're doing well. It's cold, but it's the season for cold and we like that, that's right?
Speaker 1:Yes, I agree, You're wanting it cold, especially for those ice fishermen that are going to be coming in the next couple of weeks. So, Katie, let's talk first about the Three Lakes Ice Fishing Tournament that's going to be happening on Lake Granby January. Oh, I'm already wishing July.
Speaker 3:I shouldn't do that January, the 24th through the 26th. What year is this? So this is the 37th year and it's called the Three Lakes Ice Fishing Contest because it's actually on Lake Granby, shadow Mountain Reservoir and Grant Lake.
Speaker 1:So it's Three Lakes, because you can fish on Three Lakes, okay and tell me a little bit about the events, like how the dates start or how the days start, what happens um, what prizes are all of that fun stuff?
Speaker 3:so the days start very early. Uh, fishing starts at 6 40 in the morning. But the contestants start arriving, uh, around five in the morning, start kind of getting their sleds ready, get their spots, get out to the ice. It's three days, so Friday, saturday and Sunday. Something that's a little bit different about this ice fishing contest is we're targeting a specific size of fish.
Speaker 3:Lake Granby has a pretty large population of Mackinaw, which are lake trout. So we're targeting Mackinaw that are around 19 inches. So we're not targeting trophy size fish in this contest. We really want to help manage the population or the overpopulation of that size of fish in our lake. So to enter a Mackinaw in our contest it has to be under 19 inches, which is a little untraditional for some fishing contests. So you can fish and enter fish in four different categories Mackinaw, under 19 inches, brown trout and that's going to be the heaviest brown trout entered. Rainbow trout and then a Grand Slam, which is a combined weight of four fish a Mackinaw, a brown trout, a rainbow trout and a kokanee, which some people are surprised that there are kokanee salmon up here in our water systems.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what are some of the prizes that people can win?
Speaker 3:So in the fishing categories you're competing for cash prizes and we give away a total of just about $27,000 over the course of the three days. There's youth categories. They can compete for cash if they have a paid entry. If they're not paid youth, they're competing for trophies and other giveaway prizes. And then all paid entries are competing for raffle giveaways and some larger packages. So there's about $40,000 of other giveaways this year.
Speaker 3:The grand prize is a Ski-Doo snowmobile. It's pretty sleek, cute little. I probably shouldn't describe it as cute, but a yellow snowmobile. It's kind of fun when I get to go shop for that. I don't really know much about like sport utility, like off-road recreational things, and I just trust the judgment of the professionals on that. But they Power World was really great and helped me pick out what they thought was suitable. So it's a snowmobile this year and we're really lucky with some of the sponsors and other partnerships that they send over some really great other recreational products. We've got a nice package from Shields that's got some great ice fishing equipment in it. But yeah, there's a lot of really fun prizes. I had a fun time with Credit Union of the Rockies putting together a youth angler package, so it's a prize package really tailored to a youth outdoors person that one lucky kid will get to win this year.
Speaker 1:What is the ages of the youth category?
Speaker 3:So there's five and under there is six to nine, then there is 10 to 14 and then there's 15 to 17.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what are their rates this year?
Speaker 3:It kind of varied. So there was early bird rates which closed. That was for the first month that registration is open. That's typically some of our repeat contest participants there, like the early bird gets the worm type of thing. So that starts. Registration starts in October. They get out and they get their registration. But for the most part registration one day was sixty five dollars, two days was seventy five and three days was eighty five. If you prefer to pay with cash in person, it's $75 for one day, $85 for two days and $95 for three days.
Speaker 1:Okay, and where can people find out more information and register?
Speaker 3:You can register in person in Granby at Granby Bait and Tackle, or Simply Outdoors, both local tackle shops on Main Street here in Granby. Or you can register online through the Destination Granby website, destinationgranbycom. Backslash events. And then it's Three Lakes Ice Fishing Contest. Okay.
Speaker 1:Katie, thank you Thank you. Let's go on to Brittany now with the Wolford Ice Fishing Contest, which is taking place February 15th. That is correct. And, brittany, how many years has that ice fishing contest been going?
Speaker 4:So this will be our 28th year, so we're about a 10 years behind three legs.
Speaker 1:That's okay, though it's going strong, right? Yes, it is yes, so tell us a little bit about how your fishing contest is going to work.
Speaker 4:So ours is a one day event. It takes place on the 15th at a Wolford mountain reservoir, um. We open the ice for all anglers at 6 30 AM, with drilling starting at seven. Last fish is measured at 3 PM and then we move on to all of our cash prizes and raffles. We have a big fish or tagged fish, so the first tagged fish brought to the tent is $2,500. We have the top 10 biggest fish of the day each get money starting at $1,000 all the way down. We have a free kids category where kiddos 15 and under can come and fish with family and friends and they will get trophies and all sorts of different fun prizes. And then, if they want to, they are more than welcome to pay to fish and then they are eligible to win cash prizes as well. And then we have about $5,000 in raffle giveaways and then door prizes from local businesses, and then Shields participates in that with us and then, yeah, we just give away a ton of things about $20,000 in total of prizes and giveaways. Wow.
Speaker 1:And do you guys both of you do you find that you're getting a lot of people that have come year over year to your contest?
Speaker 4:most of our fishermen have been coming for the entirety of the event. We see that this is turned into a generational event where we have grandpa, dad and then grandkids tagging along. So that's kind of where we and then we get newbies every year. But most of our people have been coming well, what about you, kat?
Speaker 1:Are you finding the same thing for Three Lakes?
Speaker 3:We've seen the same thing. I actually had a gentleman call the other day and he said he's participated since the first year.
Speaker 1:That's fantastic, well, and it really is a family thing too. That it's, you know, like you said, it's something that generations are coming out. But there's also things for if somebody in the family isn't a fisherman, there's other things in this county for people to do. So it is. It can be a family thing where the wife or husband can go off and go soak in the hot springs or go skiing or whatnot here in the county. Absolutely so, brittany, what is the cost of your ice fishing contest?
Speaker 4:So our entry fee is $50 and then the day of it's $60.
Speaker 1:Okay, perfect, and I know these are both big events for you guys and it really sells out the community when you have these, so you want to get people to register as soon as possible. And, brittany, where can they register for the Wolford?
Speaker 4:Our registration is at crumlingchambercom, and then just under the events tab you'll see Wolford Ice Fishing and then you just follow all of the prompts through that, or you can call the chamber at 970-724-3472, and we will help them out.
Speaker 1:That's perfect. So let me ask you each one other question. What would you say is the most unique thing about your ice fishing contests? Putting you on the spot, oh man.
Speaker 4:I mean, I think the most unique for us personally is that mine is um. My family all comes out to help, including my mom, my kiddos, my husband sets up the event and then we have a great partnership with CPW that gets on the ice with us as well. They help measure fish and we just really have created this community on the ice. As cold as this event can be, it is one of my favorite events because it really does turn our reservoirs into a small community and everybody's really excited for each other. The camaraderie out there it's just the energy is you really have to be there to feel it, but it's a wonderful event. What about you, katie?
Speaker 3:I mean, I can't say that. I've been to many ice fishing contests so I don't really know what's unique about ours compared to many of the others. But from what I've heard we at our kickoff party we do something called the frozen fish toss. I've never heard of that before. Fish toss, I've never heard of that before. But you're you're throwing frozen sucker fish kind of in like a cornhole style and you know it's unique.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say that that is unique, yes, okay, well, both of you, let's get those people out there. And it is really fun to be driving by both of the lakes Well, four of the lakes, I guess to those people out there. And it is really fun to be driving by both of the lakes Well, four of the lakes, I guess to see people out there and they really do turn into these like small little villages on the ice. It's really worth it, and people can come and get out on the ice too and go around and talk to the different fishermen, and I used to take my cross-country skis out. It was really fun.
Speaker 4:Oh, absolutely, and also I'm excited to announce that Wolford is officially over 12 inches of ice, so we can take snowmobiles and four-wheelers on the ice, which is always our goal, and with the cold temperatures this week, I feel like Three Lakes is going to be fantastic with their ice conditions for next weekend.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Yeah, we're going to get those below zero temperatures.
Speaker 4:Yeah, which everybody complains about, but it's really needed for these conditions.
Speaker 3:That was something this year we were definitely worried about. To be honest it was it was a late freeze, but we've had pretty optimal conditions the last few weeks and definitely this weekend will help help get us some some really great ice conditions for next week.
Speaker 1:Well, katie and Brittany, thank you so much for taking the time today. I know you both have a lot to do to get ready for these contests, so I look forward to seeing both of you on the ice. Yes, thank you, gaylene. Thank you, thank you.