Ice Fishing League Night

[gillcommander]

I think $20 at the start of the year and then $5 or $10 a night isnt gonna break the bank for a little bit of fun every week. In all honesty I don't even care about winning any money as much as just getting together and having fun and hopefully in my case, since I am new to icefishing, learning more about the sport and things technique wise. But that is just me...easy like that!!!

 

[Hoosier]

Personally ,I think you should donate half of any monies,to the boys and girls clubs,or some kids fishing organization in name of Iceshanty,show ppl how we all care and get the word out on just how great not only the sport,but also the ppl that enjoy it are.. JT

[jimmycrown]

the get togethers is the best part of these .like hoosier said a donation would be a good thing

[tank81]

Heck i will buy a IN fishing license how far is the closest lake from kinderhook MI that is in the tourney i would pay 40 since im a michigander and not an indianer lol.

[angolajones]

How about no money and the winner gets to take home so many fish to clean?

Jonesy

[wax_worm]

How about no money and the winner gets to take home so many fish to clean?

Jonesy

If there is no money involved, your turnout is not going to be as good.  Even if the money is not much it will at least pay for the gas to get to the lake and back.  Leagues of any sort are about competition, and winning something (money, trophy, etc.) if you finish at the top.  Winning fish to clean is not really a prize in my opinion.

[crappiehunter]

yeah I agree cleaning the fish is not a prize for the winner, maybe having someone else clean the fish for him!! LOL. Keep the ideas coming, looking forward to a weekly outing during the week.

[perchching]

We are going to have about 8 weeks of fishing at best, so if you ask for 10 dollars a week and 5 from each ten going to the heaviest bag of fish (panfish or whatever people decide should be included) kinda like a skins game. the other 5 going toward the year end award depending on the amount of guys the pot can be anything and i bet you could probly get a donated prize for the winner. 5 bucks a person with ten people is 50 bucks a week times 8 you could have something real nice for the winner ice fishing related being a one or two man clam, flashers, augers, ice suits, boots. its just the weigh-in rules have to be clear because with any contest involving cash or prizes there will always be disputes. even if you split the nightly skins game by two that should pay for gas and bait for the winners and each person has a pretty good odds at winning a skin.

[hounds]

Would love to get involved in this and I'm sure we could get a few guys involved, Lomis is always packed at first ice............Put a sign up with an entry table and you would end up with a lot of guys.  Drop something off at the country bait shop would help also

[Piggyn]

If there is no money involved, your turnout is not going to be as good.

That may be true, but you also avoid a lot of problems by not getting money involved and things stay fun.  Prizes could be something as simple as the nightly winner getting to pick 1 jig out of each participant's tackle box.  I'll bet that everyone stays competitive if a thread is created to keep track of the leaderboard!

As far as scoring goes the combined length of your 5 best panfish (perch, crappies, sunfish) would be an easy way to do it... I would go with a 7" minimum.   Whoever has the longest single fish wins in the event of a tie.  If that still doesn't settle it then go by the length of their 2nd biggest fish and so forth until the winner is determined.

[wax_worm]

I don't get why having money involved makes it 'no fun' or introduces problems.  It is simple enough to make it money optional.  If you don't pay you don't win the money, but your fish count and you may still win the event.  For those the put in money, the highest finisher of that group wins the cash.  It can not get much easier than that.

I do like the idea of the 5 biggest panfish any combination of gills, crappie or perch.  That allows people to target one species instead of trying to find 2 fish of 2 different types in 3 hours.  If traveling by foot, your actual fishing time will be severely limited. 

I have enough people raiding my bait box (slabgill and springbobber)!!!  I also have alot of old lures that have memories attached to them that I would not want someone picking out of my box. 

[A- bomb]

here's my 2 cents.
1. cash...if not why... i fun fish all the time
2. charity? sorry i give way more than my share. if you think i'm being selfish PM me and i will fwd the list & $
3. go by weight no disputes. ties settled by big fish
4. gils and crappie (2 each) no min size.
5. only live fish weighed

basically show up and fish. weigh in your catch and winner takes home some gas money. weight runs thru all events and the total weight wins.

[sbrown8020]

I like the competition of the tourmaments, but would like to us keep to a $20 entry fee and no more than $5 per week.   I have ice fished a few times each year for the past few years, but last year was the first time I became serious.  So, I expect to learn a lot from these competitions, but not win much.

I think each area can work out their lakes, but would like to see some smaller lakes mixed into some larger ones.  I would like to doing some prefishing around the tournament dates.  I started fishing with a buddy from work last year and he took me to a number of lakes I have never been on either in winter or at all and it was a blast. 

The details look cool to me.

On the donations, I agree with A-bomb on this.  My wife and I donate generously based on our personal values and the organizations that match them.  I see this this as more of a personal matter.  Let's just keep it simple and focus on fishing.  Those wishing to donate towards a worthy charity such as the Boys & Girls Club should certainly go ahead and do so. 

Would this start the week after Christmas/ New Years?

[bsufishinguy]

I really like this idea...however i think we may be trying to bite off more than we can chew. 

I would suggest finding a group of local guys and start a league there.  A whole state wide league sounds great..but will be very difficult to pull off. 

I know in the LaPorte area in the summer there is the bass fishing league...only problem in winter is that the conditions from one lake to another can be different...also the weather and travel factor. 

I'd say one town leagues this year to see how well it can be run. 

Lots of things to consider. 

[abishop]

I am with the majority. Here is my 2 cents. If we don't have a money thing we should agree on 5 weeks, and plan to fish a different lake each time and meet whoever can make it. We did that last year at Bass lake and about 7 members came out. It was a fun time and there were no time limitations. I usually stay out till 12 am. good luck 2 all

[Bronzeback5]

Good luck with this guys.

I work nights, therefore i have no life.

[gillcommander]

I am up for whatever lets just do something!!!!

 

[jigginstick]

All the replies sound good. Although I'm not sure that only live fish be weighed, is going to be very easy to do.

[abishop]

I agree,especially when 10 degrees out carring a bucket full of fish and  water.

[wax_worm]

I agree,especially when 10 degrees out carring a bucket full of water.

The live fish rule is there to keep people from cheating (by bringing a previously caught frozen fish) when there is money on the line.  I have seen it enough in bass tournaments if you don't have strict rules, someone will try to break them.  In the winter you don't need a full bucket of water.  Just enough to cover them so they can swim upright....6-8 inches of fresh lake water in the bucket should keep 4-5 fish alive for many hours in the cold.  I have kept dozens of small perch alive in a bucket with 8 inches of water in it until I was done fishing that area then would let them go.  They all swam away just fine.

[abishop]

Yeah, I know what you mean. It is a shame what some will do to take home a prize, or get some recognition.

[A- bomb]

ever get home and throw some water on the half froze fish and they kinda gasp a bit.....
thats what your looking for. 1 gallon of cold water will keep 4 fish alive for 3-4 hrs. alive not real healthy but alive.
 

[kcskypilot]

Prizes could be something as simple as the nightly winner getting to pick 1 jig out of each participant's tackle box.

Love it!!!

I also think the winner should get to go through A-Bombs tackle box no matter which region you're in...

Speaking of regions, I'd like to propose a South Bend/Mishawaka/Elkhart region. There's a lot of guys here that would play nice and would like to have a lake within driving distance. Chain o lakes near Lydick or Simonton in Elkhart would be a couple of good choices.

[Super Yooper]

I think lots of good ideas are coming out.

Live Fish: I agree with waxie.. I fish NAIFC events, you pretty much have to have some type of live rule. Otherwise, someone could be out there all day, and stash fish away, then come in with fish they caught hours ago. I am not saying we need to go to the extremes of a tournament (we even have to pull the hoods open on our snowmobiles at some events), but something to keep guys honest.

Keeping it local: I agree that a statewide thing may not be necessary this year (although if they take off maybe down the road)... that is essentially what trap attacks/ or shanty shootouts are for. I started the post to really have local leagues on night a week... an excuse for all the guys to get out of the house away from the old lady. "Honey, I have to go, it's my league night"

$$$: I think we make it optional, but offer it. I fish 3 or 4 nights a week for fun, a more competitive night would be cool. The idea of the league was to put something on the line and maybe track it for 4 or 5 weeks to get some competition going.... but also fun. That is how most golf leagues are, everyone knows there is "something" on the line, but not enough to take the fun away, just to add to the fun and excitement. A $20 annual league dues and a $5 optional weekly "skins" type pot is not overly large, but with enough guys could make it a decent pot. OF COURSE.. I think we can leave it optional, and anyone can participate, be and be part of the fun. Heck< some guys might even be a part of the weekly skins pot for $5 if they feel lucky, but not want to be part of the overall $20 big year end prize..

My $.02.... but at some point, we need to get together and talk about it in local groups. If the forecast holds, once we get through tonight, I am predicting we could be fishing by the 15th or so.

I would say the NWI guys might meet at BPS in Portage on Dec. 11/or 12th during the ice fishing kickoff.
I would say we start the league after Jan. 1 though..... 

[Super Yooper]

   1 MORE IDEA TO GET THINGS MOVING   

This might work to get this going... Usually with these types of things "Paralysis by Analysis Happens" and nothing gets done

If anyone wants to be volunteer league chair for an area, to get things going and gauge interest, I propose this:

1.) Go to yahoo or hotmail or whatever you prefer.. Open up an account, ie.. [email protected] (this is an example, I am not posting it)

2.) Post the area of the state or lake you want to start the league in AND the email address on this thread AND a possible meeting site and date to discuss rules, etc

3.) Have guys interested in your area or league email you at that email address. Have them include NAME, PHONE, the NIGHT OF THE WEEK THAT WORKS BEST for them and if they want to be a part of the $20 league dues for a prize or "just for fun". Make weekly skin pots optional.

4.) Make a list of interested guys and set a rules meeting night to talk in person.

PM me if you want me to make a sample rules sheet, that you can then tweak to your likings

[crappiehunter]

For the NW Indiana guys, I'd like to suggest a meeting time and place to discuss this. Next Wed night at 6pm, the Friends of Fishing is having our monthly meeting. We are meeting at the Valparaiso Parks Dept Office at  3210 North Campbell Street  Valparaiso, Indiana 46385. We will be discussing plans for the Feb. 5th Ice Fishing Derby on Loomis but we can put a discussion of this Weekly League on our agenda. We usually have 6-7 guys at this meeting already. All of us are ice fisherman. Maybe we can get our region figured out. Who can join us for the meeting?

[hounds]

Not exactly sure I can attend but I'm sure interested in checking in to it............

[crappiehunter]

Ok, I looked by over the posts and here is my proposal:

Ice Fishing Weekly League Rules

Proposal 12-2-10

When will we fish?  We will pick an evening once a week from as soon as we have safe ice to when it becomes unsafe.  Each region can pick a different night but the night needs to stay the same in a region through out the series.

Time? We will start fishing at 5:30pm and end at 8:30 pm each week. Fisherman can join the group at anytime in an evening but can not start fishing on chosen lake until the starting time.

Sign In? Each week we will have a “sign in” at the chosen lake. The guy in charge that week will be the one that people will need to go to sign in and pay their weekly fee.

Cost?  We will have a $20 fee for the overall league. This fee must be paid at the start of the second week’s competition. Points will accumulate each week and the winner at the end will receive the league winnings. First place will receive 50% of the league fee, second place 30% and third place 20%. We will have a $5/weekly fee to participate in the winnings for that night.

Where will we fish? Each week we will determine what lake we will fish in our area. This lake will posted on Iceshanty. The location might change depending on weather and ice conditions. For NW Indiana-we are considering: Valpo-Loomis, Valpo-Flint, Valpo-Long, LaPorte-Stone, LaPorte-Pine, Bass Lake, Maxinkuckee Lake. Fishing must occur on the chosen lake/lakes of that week. No checking in and going to another lake.

How does someone win? Weekly winners will be determined by the length of his top five fish, any combination of species.  Weekly Cash Winnings will only go to the 1st place finisher for that evening. Series winner will be determined by the fisherman with the most points accumulated.

Points: A weekly win gives you 5 points, 2nd place gives you 3 points, 3rd place gives you 1 point

Weigh In/Length In-Each evening the winner will be determined by the length of his top five fish. All fish must be alive at weigh in.

Who can fish? Anyone can join us on a weekly basis. If they pay their weekly entry fee, they are in the pot for the night. No one can enter the Series Championship after the second week.

[Super Yooper]

Ok, I looked by over the posts and here is my proposal:

Ice Fishing Weekly League Rules

Proposal 12-2-10

When will we fish?  We will pick an evening once a week from as soon as we have safe ice to when it becomes unsafe.  Each region can pick a different night but the night needs to stay the same in a region through out the series.

Time? We will start fishing at 5:30pm and end at 8:30 pm each week. Fisherman can join the group at anytime in an evening but can not start fishing on chosen lake until the starting time.

Sign In? Each week we will have a “sign in” at the chosen lake. The guy in charge that week will be the one that people will need to go to sign in and pay their weekly fee.

Cost?  We will have a $20 fee for the overall league. This fee must be paid at the start of the second week’s competition. Points will accumulate each week and the winner at the end will receive the league winnings. First place will receive 50% of the league fee, second place 30% and third place 20%. We will have a $5/weekly fee to participate in the winnings for that night.

Where will we fish? Each week we will determine what lake we will fish in our area. This lake will posted on Iceshanty. The location might change depending on weather and ice conditions. For NW Indiana-we are considering: Valpo-Loomis, Valpo-Flint, Valpo-Long, LaPorte-Stone, LaPorte-Pine, Bass Lake, Maxinkuckee Lake. Fishing must occur on the chosen lake/lakes of that week. No checking in and going to another lake.

How does someone win? Weekly winners will be determined by the length of his top five fish, any combination of species.  Weekly Cash Winnings will only go to the 1st place finisher for that evening. Series winner will be determined by the fisherman with the most points accumulated.

Points: A weekly win gives you 5 points, 2nd place gives you 3 points, 3rd place gives you 1 point

Weigh In/Length In-Each evening the winner will be determined by the length of his top five fish. All fish must be alive at weigh in.

Who can fish? Anyone can join us on a weekly basis. If they pay their weekly entry fee, they are in the pot for the night. No one can enter the Series Championship after the second week.

I like this, good start to the rules. I would say we have an initial meeting in which we vote on some of these topics .... ie. which night we fish, etc.. and pick what works best for most. Then final rules for each league are sent to everyone in that particular league. I think they have to be very specific and spelled out.

I still say weight is the way to go for points (I have an digital scale, this avoids having to get opinions on 3/16" vs 1/4" length etc- and is also MUCH quicker if you have 15 guys with 6 fish each, put them in a bucket and weigh the bucket.) Everyone uses the SAME bucket and SAME scale. Also, I think we limit to Crappie and Gills.( If I was fishing, I wouldn't want to get beat by a dogfish)

I would be willing to be a Co-Chair, and not compete, but just jump from group to group and fish with the guys. This would also allow me to be neutral as a chairman and also jump off the ice a half hour early or so and fire up a grill in the parking lot for everyone to grab a brat or burger?


I am not sure that I would be able to make a meeting next Wed. (not sure what Friends of Fishing is either), but I know for sure I will be at BPS next weekend at the Ice Fishing Kickoff and might be able to have a conf room available for 20 min or so.

[mschma000]

If you guys are planning a meeting, please make another topic with the official meeting time/info.   There is a bunch of info here that is scattered around, and I'm sure it would be better to clarify. JMO.