Formerly Ryan Hale’s Harbor View Ice Tournament, this battle on hard water attracts many of the best sticks on ice from around the Upper Midwest to sight fish the massive bluegills of Little Emerson Bay. Check out reviews of our Recycled Fish “On Ice” Tour events at the tournament in 2008 and 2009. We’ve been given the opportunity to take over this popular tournament, so we seized it. Like goMozingo! we’re capping this one at 60 anglers.
Save the date for Sunday, January 10, 2010. The Okoboji Hardwater Open is an individual tournament with an entry fee of $65 and an additional $5 Big Fish pot.
The Recycled Fish Okoboji Hardwater Open will be an exciting day on the ice as many of the best sticks from around the ice belt go head-to-head with the smartest bluegills on earth. This tournament was formerly Ryan Hale’s Harbor View tournament, and Recycled Fish is proud to have been a part of this fun, friendly contest on ice for the past two years. We are honored to take over the event as a charity fundraiser for 2010.
The tournament is limited to 60 anglers fishing individually on Little Emerson Bay. Normally this is a heart-pounding sight fishing game for bluegills that could go better than one pound.
Anglers will encounter a number of species, including crappies, perch, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass and the potential for any number of other fish to come under the hole. However, the target species here is bluegill as we weigh in the 10 best fish.
Fish must be weighed alive, dead fish will not be counted.
Pre-fishing is welcome on Saturday, January 9th. A hot lunch will be provided Saturday around noon for an optional donation to Recycled Fish.
There will be a mandatory rules meeting the evening of Saturday, January 9th at Village West Resort. Door prizes and silent auction will be included in the evening’s activities.
Anglers may bring as many rods onto the ice as they wish, but may only fish with one rod at a time.
Electronics (flasher / sonar / video systems) are allowed.
Live bait is allowed.
Portable shacks / fish houses are allowed.
Snowmobiles and ATVs will be allowed pending safe ice.
Cars and trucks are allowed only in special circumstances and must be pre-approved by Recycled Fish.
Complete rules will be available at http://www.RecycledFish.org no less than 90 days prior to the tournament date, onsite at the tournament, and a paper copy will be available upon request in advance.
Payouts for a full field will be as follows:
1st Place $528.00 20.0%
2nd Place $396.00 15.0%
3rd Place $316.80 12.0%
4th Place $264.00 10.0%
5th Place $211.20 8.0%
6th Place $184.80 7.0%
7th Place $171.60 6.5%
8th Place $145.20 5.5%
9th Place $132.00 5.0%
10th Place $118.80 4.5%
11th Place $105.60 4.0%
12th Place $66.00 2.5%
Trophies for the top 5 places.
Payouts will be modified if fewer than 60 anglers compete.
Recycled Fish reserves the right to modify payouts for any reason at any time.
Payout for the Big Fish Pot will be 100% to the biggest fish.
If all anglers participate, the Big Fish Pot will be worth $300.
Your full entry payment includes:
$55 Entry Fee
$10 Conservation Donation to Recycled Fish
$5 Big Fish Pot (100% payout to biggest fish)
Trophies will be awarded to the top positions.
All anglers will receive a “goodie bag” from Recycled Fish partners.
Register here: https://www.regonline.com/OkobojiHardwaterOpen
Thanks in advance for fishing with us to support stewardship of lakes, streams and seas!