Virtual Ice Fishing tournaments

Looks like Jaycees is committed to this. How do you think these are gonna go?

tindall wrote:

Looks like Jaycees is committed to this. How do you think these are gonna go?

I commented on this in another thread. Although I think there could be a massive amount of fraud involved, expansion to any lake in the state could also attract a lot more people to participate since they wouldn’t have to drive to Brainerd. Also, the entries will likely be better than they usually are on Gull Lake just in a specific closed off area.

All kayak tournaments are virtual. When you catch a fish, you place it on a measuring board, take a photo, and submit it. I believe muskie tournaments are done in a similar fashion too. So it can be done.

Officials said that the actual ice fishing isn’t the issue because people are 10 feet apart and outside. The issue is when people go in tents to weigh fish, gather around the leader board, etc.

if there were a way to date and location stamp each picture, that would be extremely helpful

I agree that it might increase turnout. I’ve never made it to Jaycee and will be temped to hit the local lake if the timing is right.

That’s good that it has been done in different contexts – seems ripe for cheating. I assume the required app timestamps the photos?

The app probably does. The next issue would be a blurry photo of a mounted trophy fish hahahahaha

I’ve ran many of these FishDonkey contests (app they are using). The one thing I would have liked to see is a release video of the fish (or any video for that matter). You can get a LOT of information from a short video clip vs just a snapshot. The one big loophole I see is entering a dead fish or fish captured outside of contest hours (caught early) and holding it a day or two. When it’s a hundred bucks the temptation isn’t too great, but when you are mixing in a truck and wheelhouse and ATV’s, things can get dicey. Any contest I’ve done I’ve never had any major prizes, I spread them out and mostly random drawings for qualifiers. It keeps it more fun and friendly and minimizes the temptation to cheat. It will certainly attract more people though and that is awesome!

I have never done the Jaycees but do the Fishing for Ducks every year. If Ducks go virtual there is no chance I am doing it. There is no doubt in my mind there will be massive amounts of cheating. 10 guys fishing on one ticket. Fish caught days in advance. Fish possibly not even caught in this state. With the kind of prizes given out there is no way people won’t be cheating. My 2¢, other people can do what they want.

Here are the official rules. I think they are pretty good rules. The prizes will be chosen at random of the top 150 fish (by length) entered, one registered fish per person, which is probably the best way to do it.

http://www.icefishing.org/about/official-rules/

I highly doubt this will increase the participation from a normal year, considering many people “fish” the tournament because it’s a fun event/party and aren’t hardcore fishermen. There have been a lot of people who already purchased their discounted tickets and are now upset about it and were asking for refunds of their tickets and the Jaycees have offered a ticket exchange for the 2022 event. Kind of funny how people want a refund for a ticket where the money go towards charities.

For those who have strong concerns about cheating, I suggest you read up on the rules of the Fish Donkey app. They’ve been doing virtual contests/tournaments for a while now and have come up with a lot of things to reduce the amount of ways that cheating could be done. This isn’t their first rodeo.

Essentially you can catch a fish and win a truck. $50 to try. I think people will jump all over this.

Reading more into the rules the top 3 will probably be required to take a polygraph.

The people that don’t like the format will probably be replaced by those that do. I never wanted to deal with the crowds and tomfoolery so I’ll probably sign up for this. Pick a favorite local lake. Go out and catch a crappie and maybe win a prize.

I didn’t realize they changed the format for random drawings on prizes rather than awarding the top prizes for big fish. So it’s sort of like the MN Bound crappie contest. Big fish don’t win the top prize; but rather the boat is awarded to a randomly selected weight of a crappie instead.

This, in theory, should cut down on the amount of fraud. And yes, 50 bucks for the chance to win a truck or ATV? Those are actually pretty good odds if you ask me.

Wife and I will be doing it, why the hell not.

Just setup some tips ups at the cabin and drink a beer and see what happens lol.

Charles wrote:

Wife and I will be doing it, why the hell not.

Just setup some tips ups at the cabin and drink a beer and see what happens lol.

We will be doing the same.

Yea with the “catch a fish” rules I cant see why we won’t do 2 or more. You don’t even need to measure them as size is irrelevant.

I’m conflicted. If we can register a fish from anywhere then how can I keep my perfect record intact? 15+ years and never actually caught one during the tournament. I may just uphold the tradition and actually go to Hole in the Day bay

Regardless of rules it’s $50 for charity and they do a ton of good around the community. Buy a ticket and if you can’t make it out that day you’ve done something positive!

patk wrote:

I’m conflicted. If we can register a fish from anywhere then how can I keep my perfect record intact? 15+ years and never actually caught one during the tournament. I may just uphold the tradition and actually go to Hole in the Day bay

Regardless of rules it’s $50 for charity and they do a ton of good around the community. Buy a ticket and if you can’t make it out that day you’ve done something positive!

Pat, did you buy a ticket or 2 from us last year?

We have our room booked already at Grandview lodge. Our group will be there. We will also be fishing hole in the day bay. Pre fish the whole area for next year.

Someone needs to tell your goofy govenor to get over it and quit making MN a California or other liberal state.

riverruns wrote:

Pat, did you buy a ticket or 2 from us last year?

We have our room booked already at Grandview lodge. Our group will be there. We will also be fishing hole in the day bay. Pre fish the whole area for next year.

Yes, we met last year. I’ve actually moved up here full time since March and expect to be here all winter. No clue what we’ll do yet and in no hurry to decide.