Waiting patiently without a bite for a long time, Steamboat local Jan Wolford catches a trout as time passes in the 10th Annual Ice Fishing Tournament at Stagecoach State Park on Saturday, January 7, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
A group of nearly 700 people trod the icy surface of Stagecoach State Park bright and early on Saturday, Jan. 7, hoping to catch the two longest combined trout while ice fishing.
It was the 10th annual Steamboat Fishing Adventures Ice Fishing Tournament and like all the others, it was full of smiling faces and massive trout.
Traveling to his favorite spot on the lake, Steamboat Springs resident Nick Yaw and friends hopped on their snowmobiles at 8 a.m., drove to his spot, and began drilling 10-inch-diameter holes through of the ice, which was a foot thick.
Early morning was the busy part of the day. Yaw and his friends caught tons of fish at first, releasing the small ones and catching the bigger ones.
A little after 10:40 a.m., Yaw got a bite and hooked a fish that took him for a walk. The fish kept taking line but Yaw remained determined.
Finally, he pulled the fish’s head out through the hole in the ice and surfaced. This was a 22 inch rainbow trout that was sure to do some damage to the official measure at the end of the day.
Despite catching a few smaller trout before noon, the lake eventually calmed down. The fish stopped feeding and a disciplined patience grew throughout the park.
Nick Yaw wrestled with this trout early Saturday, January 7, 2023, before pulling the 22-inch fish out of the lake at Stagecoach State Park. It was one of the biggest fish caught on the day, earning Yaw sixth place in the 10th annual Steamboat Fishing Adventures Ice Fishing Tournament.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Yaw has been fishing Stagecoach for decades and says that’s always been the trend on the water there.
“It’s the way Stagecoach is,” Yaw said. “It’s really good in the morning and then it dies down until 3 or 4.”
The point was that the competition ended at 3pm and those with only one big fish found themselves impatient and frantically digging more holes and trying their best to get a fish.
Like Yaw, many competitors knew their setup location had a lot to do with performance and stayed in shallow water because that’s where the fish will feed.
Levi and Nicole Dufford came to the lake with their friend Michael Landgren for the competition. The crew have fished Stagecoach many times and had an exact plan of attack.
Michael Landgren of Routt County catches a trout in the early afternoon of an ice fishing tournament at Stagecoach State Park on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.
Tom Skulski/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Levi Dufford explained that there is a real science to it and the key is knowing the tendencies of the fish and how they work.
“You need to understand what the trout are doing, where they are feeding and when,” he said. “Then you have a structure you can work with. I do a lot of kayak fishing on this lake, so I know where they like to sit.”
This was the tournament’s first time in several years due to the pandemic. Steamboat Fishing Adventures owner Brady Wettlaufer said it brought a tear to his eye to see the competition return.
“Getting to all these people and doing it again makes my heart skip a beat and my stomach turns,” Wettlaufer said. “It just breathes community and breathes kids and that’s what it’s all about right there. It’s amazing to pass that on, we can’t sustain this sport without these kids right here.”