Brainerd $150,000 Extravaganza

[FLAG!!]

Appreciate the quick feedback, I've been told the winner has been a walter in the 6-8 lb range the last couple years and it's typically caught during the first few minutes in 50-60 fow?

Looking forward to the madness, best of luck and great times to all.

[Camp Bob]

There are a lot of general facts, like only once has a pike claimed 1st place (canadian with a banjo minnow, go figure) There have been a few pouts over the years but not so many in the past few, DNR s concerned about this fact. Only about 1/2 of the years the 1st place fish was caught asap. Wining fish does typically come from deeper water but the majority come from 10 - 30 ft. I always tell people to catch a fish and get on the board, then let the chips fall where they may for your prize. A 6 oz perch could be $250 cash, an ATV or a fish house. That's what makes this fun. As hard it may seem to believe, 0ne out of 8 people registered a fish last year. It's all about having fun. Remember, every penny over expenses goes to charity! 70% goes to helping people with disabilities enjoy the outdoors at Camp Confidence.

[BizzityB]

Woooo Hoooo couple more days!! I here the weather is going to be a bit chilly but the sun is supposed to be out!! Can't Wait!! Good luck to everyone!! I hope I'm standing next to you in the winner circle!!

[FLAG!!]

Bob- hilarious that the pike came on a banjo minnow! Haven't heard that lure mentioned for years.

Do you think Pike are rarely registered as most sit out in the deeps or do the shallows get plenty of attention as well? Also, maybe a naive ? but why is the DNR concerned about the lack of pout?

Last, appreciate your reminder that this is all going to charity. It'll certainly help when I'm staring at a floating bobber and horizontal tip-up all day haha.

[golfsuper]

thanks for all the info everyone!Im going up the for the first time this year with 3 buddies and have a question.

Does the drop off area get congested? We would like to put all our stuff in a sled to pull it out to the tournement and dont want to bring it all on the shuttle bus.

[pascooter94]

well im leaving now.to all going up be safe have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

next stop sportland to get bait.............

[MAdDuckiceroads]

how early can you go out and mark a hole?

[JP Z]

I believe you can get out on the ice by 8 at least maybe earlier.

[Bear55]

thanks for all the info everyone!Im going up the for the first time this year with 3 buddies and have a question.

Does the drop off area get congested? We would like to put all our stuff in a sled to pull it out to the tournement and dont want to bring it all on the shuttle bus.

It shouldn't be bad in the morning if you get there semi early. However at the end of the contest things can get congested pretty quickly. If your sled isn't too much of a pain to fit on the bus it really is the best way to go.

To the last poster contestants can start hitting the ice around 8:00.

[jwmiller33]

can you arrive via snowmobile on the lake and leave it on the perimeter?

[Camp Bob]

Ok, here's the deal, it was cold on the lake today, but about 25 volunteers handled it well setting up tents etc. Sat will feel like a heatwave, break out the speedo's!

Drop off stations are actually pretty quick if you are organized, if not, you'll get dirty looks. Ok to come by sled etc but do stay outside the plowed perimeter. There are no second chances, some officials are marked and others are not, don't risk it.

Check out the update on the website, no propane at all on the shuttles per federal law. Jc's bought a [PoorWordUsage] load of one pound cylanders that will be available on the ice for $2 per, cheaper than any retailer in the area for your convienience. If you have a heater requiring a 20lb, buy and bring the adpter and you'll be fine. At least you don't have lug that tank around with you!

I'll try to check post again tomorrow night, if not, best of luck to everyone and thanks for your support.

[BKB]

-32 right now with a high of -2 today, make sure to bring a chisel holes are gonna be tight!

[BoxMN]

Wow, thanks for the info guys. Good news on the propane bottles. Will help keep the weight down too!

I gotta go buy a chisel

[walleye-]

headin up for the weekend in an hour dam it is cold out..

[IceProwler]

I put the markers on the community layer of the Navionics app a week or so ago. That was what they had listed as the GPS coordinates at that time. Hopefully they will not change. Might want to play it safe and double check the day of the contest.

[Judge Smails]

Updates, anyone?

[AWH]

Pictures and results are all on their website. icefishing dot org

Aaron

[Camp Bob]

Another Extravaganza has come and gone. A tremendous effort by all the Jaycees and the hundreds of volunteers. I fished for my first time with my wife and son, what a fun experience. He trooped right along, won a great bucket of prizes at the youth olympics but we didn't catch a fish.

On behalf of the campers who use Confidence Learning Center and others who will benefit from the proceeds, thank you to all who participated.

[smartguy]

Thank you for putting it on Jaycees. Its obvious that you all plan this thing very thoroughly and when last minute problems arise (i.e. propane transportation), you always have a solution.

[BoxMN]

We had a great time - 5 of us, all rookies. Made the biggest rookie mistake, got there too late, and ended up only finding 5 holes togehter in about 5-6 feet of water. What the heck though, we camped there. I caught a .56 perch about 5 minutes in and won a Mr. Heater package (#96, not sure what it is, I got to Mills today too late to pick it up, so will get it next weekend, I think a Buddy Heater and hose, guessing big buddy... two tying weights got an Ice55 and Clam shack, but at least I caught a fish and got a good prize too!)

Four of us caught perch, but next year we will get there earlier to get out in 40ish FOW I think. Lots of fish caught, and most seemed like right away, early in. Two of the guys made the mistake of not weighing them in cause they were so small, but won't make that mistake next year, haha!

We tried to park at the church by Sportland, but they stopped shuttles for some reason, so we had to backtrack to BIR and park there. All went pretty well, but was busy shuttles after the end. Next year will get someone to drop us off and pick us up and stay on the ice till all the shuttles are gone.

Great time though, everybody was nice, good fishing neighbors and lots of people happy to see others catch fish! Next year we might have more with us, the two Milwaukee boys had a blast.

[Sportland_Bait]

Cool, glad you guys caught some fish. Kind of a shocker about the shuttles. Lots of upset anglers, not just you guys. The web site said they run shuttles from Nisswa until the contest is over. Not sure who made that decision. I'm guessing whoever did is in hot water. I saw a few people that parked in the lot and waited until it warmed up a little bit, only to be told there were no more buses. Even a couple of kids that couldn't drive and the rest of their group was already on the ice. Kind of a bad deal. Surprised they didn't just run one bus back and forth like in previous years, would have solved the whole problem. But overall everything went pretty good considering the cold weather. Another fun event. Thanks to everyone for another great weekend.

Jason Erlandson

[Bear55]

We had a great time - 5 of us, all rookies. Made the biggest rookie mistake, got there too late, and ended up only finding 5 holes togehter in about 5-6 feet of water. What the heck though, we camped there. I caught a .56 perch about 5 minutes in and won a Mr. Heater package.

I'd say you guys made the perfect mistake, in this contest it's always better to be lucky then good.