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Mobridge Ice Tournament Recap
By FishRecycler | January 15, 2009
The largest competitive ice fishing tournament in the country? Maybe. In the Midwest? Certainly. There are bigger derbies, but if you know of a bigger tournament, we’d like to hear about it.
This is also the only walleye tournament on the Recycled Fish “On Ice” tour.
Over 800 anglers hit sprawling lake Oahe in two man teams to fish an incredible 1 mile x 20 mile tournament field area. The results: the Berkley Big Fish award went to a walleye besting 10 pounds, and the top 10 6-fish limits went over 14 pounds.
Photos are available for download or purchase in our On Ice Photo Center , here are some highlights.
The vast, South Dakota prairie is beautiful – but can be harsh. This was what it looked like on tournament day. The drive in was not so pretty, with freezing rain and tremendous wind. The highway crews did an excellent job of keeping roads sanded for safer travel though, although that meant a sloppy crust on the Recycled Fish rig upon arrival.
While searching out a car wash, it was a cool sight to see how the town of Mobridge pulled together and got behind the tournament.
Following a lively rules meeting the evening prior, dawn broke on the tournament blastoff. The tournament launched from an indoor site – the local Coca-Cola distributor, overlooking Lake Oahe. Every angler got a free Grabber Handwarmer from Recycled Fish as they prepared for a day on the ice.
It was a spectacle to see hundreds of rigs, loaded with ATVs, snowmobiles and ice shacks stretching to the north and south horizon.
How do you know you’re in South Dakota? Pheasants! Everywhere you looked, pheasants! In town. In the fields. On the roads. In the trees! You could have hunted them with a rock.
Roosters were not the target for the day though, walleyes were and while some struggled to find fish, others did quite well.
Some memorable scenes from the ice:
This was hands-down the longest fishing event we’ll participate in this year. With a blastoff at 9 a.m. and weigh-ins at 7 p.m. it was a long day. The weigh-ins for this tournament also took place indoors at the GM dealer’s garage. While not exactly glamorous surroundings, the warm indoor environment was appreciated by everyone.
Shortly after deadline for weigh-ins, the place was utterly packed.
Another “we won’t see this anywhere else” moment: they were serving FREE BEER and energy drinks!
We still made friends with the free Folger’s coffee and the hot cocoa we were handing out to those looking to warm up.
This was an all-harvest tournament, although strict regulations on harvest were maintained, and no fish went to waste. Most anglers chose to keep and eat their walleye, but some were donated to a local food charity program. Plenty of happy anglers stopped by to show off their catch following weigh-ins. Here are a few favorites:
Best of all, many anglers stopped by to take our “Sportsman’s Stewardship Pledge,” and a higher percentage than usual upgraded to “Premium Memberships.” Thanks, Mobridge!
Our hat is off to the great Tourism Board & Chamber in Mobridge for their exceptional work in organizing a great event, start to finish. We look forward to returning next year! Dawn and Rick co-chaired the team that pulled it all off.
Visit our On Ice Photo Center to see more photos, download free medium-resolution photos from the event, or make a small donation to Recycled Fish and we print and mail your photos to you in high resolution prints.
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For more Recycled Fish “On Ice” including our Ice Fishing 101 and Ice Fishing 201 or just visit our video gallery. For more info about our winter activities, visit our “On Ice” Tour page.
To visit the Recycled Fish home page, click here.
Our lakes, streams and seas need stewards like you. Please spend some time on our site and learn about the different ways you can step up as a steward on and off the water!
Partners in Stewardship
The Recycled Fish “On Ice” tour would be impossible without the help of these great sponsors. Be sure to remember them when you hit the hard water.
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