2015 Contest

The 2015 Big Fish of the Year contest is just around the corner. We would like to be able to start the contest on January 1st, so we are accepting entrants now! The rules will be similar to the current rules listed above except with a new species and a new word. We also might rearrange the payouts to include more for the secondary fish, but that will depend on how many entrants we have.

As usual we want to keep the fish species a secret until the entrants have paid up. Remember this contest is multi species for a reason and we don't just want people to enter when their species of choice is selected. People will be able to join after the first of the year, but again, try to keep the species a secret until they commit to joining.

We encourage all new participants, so feel free to invite anybody who may be interested.

If anybody has any questions or ideas for the contest please let me know.

Qualified Primary Species
Bass
Walleye
Muskie/Pike
Crappie - Removed due to prior year selection

Qualified Secondary Species
Largemouth Bass
Smallmouth Bass - Removed due to prior year selection
Walleye
Pike
Muskie
Crappie

New Leader, 14" Crappie

Steve just caught a 14" Crappie through the ice. Steve is our new leader. This is the first movement on the top spot since February.

Chad with 20.75" Smallmouth

Another beauty Mille Lacs Smallmouth. Looked to be tied with my previous one but with the tail pinched it turned out to be just shy of 21" Weighed in at 5 lbs even.

Matt with 13.4" Crappie!

Matt caught this nice Crappie which was just short of the lead. 13 7/16" It doesn't get much closer than that! Caught among the mosquitoes on a secret lake in the Chippewa National Forest.

Derek with a 12.5"

Derek caught this 12.5" slab on Whaletail last week.

Jon upgrades to 12"

Jon upgrades his big Crappie of the year to 12"

Chad with 20.25" Smallmouth

Fishing was good for Smallmouth this week on Mille Lacs. Stable weather and warming water. This was the biggest of the day, 20.25" @ 5 lbs.

Steve, 11 1/8" Crappie

Steve gets on the board with this nice 11 1/8" open water crappie!

Jon on the Board!

Jon Stutelberg gets on the board with this 10" Crappie!

2014 Contest Underway!

We have a couple of nice fish already on the board! Josh Foust with a nice 13" Crappie and Chad Dickie with a nice 13.5" Crappie! Everyone should know by now but the species of the year is Crappie and the Bonus fish in Smallmouth Bass! The word for the year is "Zinc" Remember to email me a photo when you ge one! Good luck!

Josh Foust 13" Crappie

Chad Dickie 13.5" Crappie

2014 Contest

Welcome everybody to the 2014 Big Fish of the Year contest. I just wanted to update everyone with the 2014 contest info. We have selected the species and the word of the year. We have been holding off on putting information on the website because we wanted to get everybody signed up first. That said, I thought I could put up the basic info.

The word of the year is "Zinc." So make sure get a photo of the fish on a ruler with the word "Zinc" on it. See the full list of rules in the link at the top of the page.

The contest rules have been updated and one minor change has occurred. There is now a rule that states that the fish must be caught in a sporting manner with the hook in the mouth.

The payouts will be slightly different this year as well. We decided that with over 10 participants we would double the prize money for the bonus fish. The 2014 bonus fish winner will receive $40 and the primary fish winner will get the rest.

There is a change to the email notifications. If you participated last year you should have received an email every time this website was updated with a new post. Unfortunately that feature is only available for up to 10 people. This year our contest is currently at 12 with more possible. I may try to manually email everybody but be sure to check this website just in case.

Lastly, I will wait until February 1st to announce the species and start posting photos. If you have paid and don't know the species please email me at Griggs021@gmail.com

2013 Winners

The winner of the 2013 Big Fish of the Year contest, Primary species is Mike Doughty with this late season pig, a 22" Largemouth Bass.

The winner of 2013 Big Fish of the Year Bonus species, is Derek Griggs for this massive 49.5" Muskellunge.

The 2014 fish have been selected. The Big Fish of the Year board of directors is also considering a few minor rule changes. If your interested in participating this year, as always, you have to be committed before know the species. Congratulations Mike and Derek! 

Mike Doughty with 22" Largemouth

This fish was actually caught on October 5 on a small lake in Wright County flipping plastics in 5-8 ft of water. This was the last fish of the year and overtook both Derek and myself who had 21.5" fish.