From January to March 2022, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Utah State Parks will organize nine ice fishing tournaments across the state.
Many of the tournaments will be for a good cause. The Buckboard "Pup"ulation Control Contest will aid in the control of Flaming Gorge's limited lake trout population. The Burbot Bash will accomplish the same goal, but with burbot, a cod-like fish that reproduces quickly and preys on other species in the reservoir.
Here is a list of the tournaments:
- Buckboard Pupulation Control Contest (Register here)
- Burbot Bash (Register here)
- East Canyon Ice Fishing Derby with Fins and Fur (Register here)
- Ice Addiction Tournament (Register here)
- Millsite on Ice Fishing Tournament (Register here)
- Monster Cisco Disco and Tournament (Register here)
- Rockport Ice Fishing Tournament (Register here)
- Slotbuster Ice Fishing Tournament (Register here)
- Starvation Ice Bowl (Register here)
Other contests, such as the East Canyon Ice Fishing Derby with Fins and Fur, will be exclusively focused on who can catch the largest fish, with cash awards going to the top four catchers and hourly rewards going to the biggest fish caught that hour.
The Bonneville cisco, which is exclusively found at Bear Lake, will be featured in the Monster Cisco Disco and Tournament.
Falling through the ice can be a potentially fatal circumstance, thus ice fishing necessitates a great deal of caution. It's critical to be informed of the conditions before going out on the ice, as they can change dramatically within a few feet during the day.
Anyone above the age of 12 must have a valid Utah fishing license in order to compete in the events.
