Happy New Year to all of You!
If you haven’t made your plans yet to come to West Yellowstone for this year’s event on January 16-18, it is time to get on the stick!! It is shaping up to be another really interesting, one-of-a-kind weekend.
There are almost 60 teams already registered for the
Sunday tournament; great competition, big prize pool, lots of product giveaways…and a lot of fantastic anglers to “talk ice fishing” with over 3 days!
To register your team, go www.westyellowstoneicefishing.com and click on the blue “Register Your Team Here”, which will take you to the NAIFC page where you can get it all taken care of. Remember, the sooner you register, the sooner you get out on the lake on tournament day! The “Battle of the Bars–Competition within a Competition” is going strong too; get your favorite watering hole to pony-up the registration fee and you can represent them in the Battle.
The Rules Meeting on Saturday evening will again be at the Holiday Inn, where each registered team member will get a complimentary pasta dinner. (If guests would like to purchase dinner for $15/person, let us know via return email.) And, the popular Calcutta will follow the Rules Meeting again…more big fun and big money!
You won’t want to miss the seminars and demonstrations either. The Friday Night Seminar at the Holiday Inn will get started at 5 pm for beginner discussions with experienced anglers and pros and product exhibits. There will be a number of giveaways, including 2 Clam Vista pop-ups. The seminar will start at 7 pm and will feature:
MICHIGAN-STYLE TIGHT LINING TECHNIQUES: Anthony Rodrigues and Chad Schaub (NAIFC, HT Prostaff, Team USA-BronzeMedalist 2013 World Championship)
TROUT UNDER THE ICE: Eric Wolfe and Sean Warner (NAIFC, Beam Outdoors, USA Ice Team…and consistent top-finishers at the WY/Hebgen Lake NAIFC tournament!)
The Rocky Mountain Product Fair will feature a number of national equipment suppliers. The big news is that Aqua-Vu will have a product rep and service tech here for 3 days to talk to people about electronics AND will be offering significant Tournament Specials on purchase of Aqua-Vu equipment–and they will be here to show you how to use it and answer questions you wished you had asked when you bought it!
Big Sky Brewing and Cardinal Distributing are a couple of our Big Fish sponsors this year…along with Willie’s Distributing, they will be helping you try some Montana beers and spirits at both the Friday and Saturday night events at the Holiday Inn. And, Big Sky and Cardinal also are making available a “Drink Responsibly” shuttle service Friday and Saturday afternoon/evenings so you can get around to the fine establishments in West Yellowstone and Hebgen Lake for food, drink and fun while you are in town.
If you haven’t made your reservations and plans yet, go to our Sponsor page and give any of them a call…ask about Ice Fishing Specials. And, check out the activities and meal/entertainment options in advance so you don’t miss anything while you are here!
http://westyellowstoneicefishing.com/sponsors.htmlNorthwestern Energy is supporting the Kids Ice Camp this year, as they now have purchased Hebgen Dam from PPL Montana. We all appreciate this support because the Kids Camp is very popular with kids and families as a way to be introduced to this fantastic and accessible sport. There will be 2 Kids Camp sessions on the lake this year on Saturday, 1/17. Go to this page for all the details:
http://westyellowstoneicefishing.com/kids_fishing.html And, if you want to help these kids learn about safe and smart ice fishing, come out yourself and join in!
Finally, the Sunday Weigh-in and Awards will be in a new location this year; it will start about 2:30 pm in Hayden Hall in the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone (same conference center as the Friday and Saturday night events.) We appreciate the Hi Country Tavern and Grill hosting it the last two years…but we’ve outgrown that space! (Be sure to stop in and say hi to the Paulsens at Hi Country while you are around the lake.) Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Thanks for being a part of the West Yellowstone/Hebgen Lake ice fishing community! Looking forward to seeing you in just under 2 weeks…drive safe and have fun while you are here.
