# Ice fishing contest prize ideas?



## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

A Friend of mine is going to have an informal ice fishing contest with just a few friends. In the past when he did this it was just for bragging rights, no money, no prizes. I offered to donate a prize for biggest fish. What are some good prize ideas? I am close to Cabelas so will probably shop there. My ideas so far are a tip up, jig box, and maybe as a runner up prize a Cabelas hat. What are some other ideas? Have you ever won something that you really liked? What was it?


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## Cheye (Dec 9, 2016)

Traveling trophy


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## hawgeye (Mar 3, 2011)

$20 instant ticket


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

Lazer engraved RTIC tumblers. Put the event name, date and what place/event winner on them.


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Cheye said:


> Traveling trophy


I like the trophy idea, but I could see the trophy going to someone who then does not show up the next year. How do traveling trophies normally work? Also, a google search for ice fishing trophies came up with almost nothing. What would an ice fishing trophy look like?


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

hawgeye said:


> $20 instant ticket


Thanks, but I'd like it to be ice fishing related, or at the least outdoors related.


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Burksee said:


> Lazer engraved RTIC tumblers. Put the event name, date and what place/event winner on them.


I googled those tumblers. Not a bad idea here. Where does one get them engraved? I could see having the tumbler engraved with everything but the winners name, just so it could be presented to the winner the day of the event.


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## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

Problem with giving out gear is most of the these guys already have gear. A case of beer and a gift card is always good, until the recovering alcoholic wins.


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## U D (Aug 1, 2012)

Gaff. Not everyone has one. Safety gear like hand spikes, flares, ice creepers, etc.....


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## ezcaller (Feb 21, 2009)

Ice rods are like turkey call you never have enough.If your going top notch maybe a custom rod with winners name on jt


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

U D said:


> Gaff. Not everyone has one. Safety gear like hand spikes, flares, ice creepers, etc.....


Ice creepers is a great idea!


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## Stand By (Jan 23, 2015)

Old school wood tip up with event, name, fish caught and date burned onto it and mounted to a plaque. Maybe put it on a cheap antler mount kit?


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

ezcaller said:


> Ice rods are like turkey call you never have enough.If your going top notch maybe a custom rod with winners name on jt


I am not going top notch, maybe 25-30 bucks. I do agree with you that you can never have too many rods. The only problem with that is I feel the style ice fishing rod you use is kind of a personal decision on what kind you like.

Great ideas guys, keep 'em coming!


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Far Beyond Driven said:


> Problem with giving out gear is most of the these guys already have gear. A case of beer and a gift card is always good, until the recovering alcoholic wins.


The guy having the contest has gluten allergies, so I could see beer being a bad idea, but at first I thought YES! Like you said it's fine until the recovering alcoholic wins. Thinking about this kind of prize a little more it could be something like a bag of buffalo/elk/cupracabra jerky. Not really ice fishing or outdoor related, but many of us like that kind of stuff.


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## Duck-Hunter (Mar 31, 2005)

Get three metal scoops. Rattle can one gold, the other silver and the last one bronze. 1st place gets the Golden Ladle!


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## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

How does cupracabra hold up against Bigfoot and yeti jerkies?


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## Stand By (Jan 23, 2015)

Far Beyond Driven said:


> How does cupracabra hold up against Bigfoot and yeti jerkies?


Terrible. I just leav'em in the bushes for the varmints. Nothing beats smoked grayling, though.


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Duck-Hunter said:


> Get three metal scoops. Rattle can one gold, the other silver and the last one bronze. 1st place gets the Golden Ladle!


Wow! Another great idea! Finding the metal scoop might require some calling around to find them or maybe mail order.


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## Cheye (Dec 9, 2016)

ibthetrout said:


> I like the trophy idea, but I could see the trophy going to someone who then does not show up the next year. How do traveling trophies normally work? Also, a google search for ice fishing trophies came up with almost nothing. What would an ice fishing trophy look like?[/QUOTE.
> 
> 
> Give up the trophy every year if no show.


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## Cheye (Dec 9, 2016)

You could make the trophy anything you want.  Billy the bass plaque, something to hang in your truck or garage, it could even be a plain board and put the names of each years winners


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## Duck-Hunter (Mar 31, 2005)

ibthetrout said:


> Wow! Another great idea! Finding the metal scoop might require some calling around to find them or maybe mail order.


Yes, they are hard to come by nowadays. It's been an idea I've had for years. Lol

We almost did it for the Lake Fenton outing then @deputy865 quit putting it on. I think it was you or another member riding in the back of a utility trailer back from Cranes Cove. I just remembered someone wearing a mad bomber hat and let out A "MICHIGAN SPORTSMAN!" as they went by lol. A can of beans was also left on a grill too long that day. Good times, lol


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Duck-Hunter said:


> Yes, they are hard to come by nowadays. It's been an idea I've had for years. Lol
> 
> We almost did it for the Lake Fenton outing then @deputy865 quit putting it on. I think it was you or another member riding in the back of a utility trailer back from Cranes Cove. I just remembered someone wearing a mad bomber hat and let out A "MICHIGAN SPORTSMAN!" as they went by lol. A can of beans was also left on a grill too long that day. Good times, lol


Good memory! It was Averageguy driving the UTV with the trailer. The mad bomber hat was probably me and Fractureman was the one who tried to cook the beans without opening the can first. There was bean shrapnell all over the place! I still talk about that. The Fenton tourney was never about the fishing. Do you remember the 6 inch blue gill that won $200 that one year? Good times man!


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

ibthetrout said:


> I like the trophy idea, but I could see the trophy going to someone who then does not show up the next year. How do traveling trophies normally work? Also, a google search for ice fishing trophies came up with almost nothing. What would an ice fishing trophy look like?


You can order them on-line or look up a trophy shop in your area, we had one out our way that did all kinds of that stuff.


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## Duck-Hunter (Mar 31, 2005)

ibthetrout said:


> Good memory! It was Averageguy driving the UTV with the trailer. The mad bomber hat was probably me and Fractureman was the one who tried to cook the beans without opening the can first. There was bean shrapnell all over the place! I still talk about that. The Fenton tourney was never about the fishing. Do you remember the 6 inch blue gill that won $200 that one year? Good times man!


Ha, that tourney definitely was not about the fishing. Great times for sure! Who would've thought such a small fish could've been worth so much money. I was trying to remember fractueman's screen name. I miss the good ol meet-n-greets


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## growninmi (Feb 27, 2013)

Gift card to Cabela's or other outfitters..
Propane tanks for lantern and heaters everyone needs those, a 2 pack or 6 pack of them..
Mix pack of tear drops, spools of line, spud..not everyone has a spud but we all should..
Damn, seems like I need to go shopping. Not sure if I was giving ideas or making a shopping list.


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## [email protected] (Mar 13, 2012)

CASH!!! It’s the correct size and color!!! Shrubby


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

A nice fillet knife. 

Top of the line about 60 bucks. Can get some real good one's in the 20 to 30 range though. 

Don't get a little 6" blade though. 7-9" is where it's at.


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Firefighter said:


> A nice fillet knife.
> 
> Top of the line about 60 bucks. Can get some real good one's in the 20 to 30 range though.
> 
> Don't get a little 6" blade though. 7-9" is where it's at.


Ah! Another great suggestion! And who couldn't use an extra? I think I have 3 of them myself and your right the little 6" blade someone gave me is almost useless.


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

Duck-Hunter said:


> Ha, that tourney definitely was not about the fishing. Great times for sure! Who would've thought such a small fish could've been worth so much money. I was trying to remember fractueman's screen name. I miss the good ol meet-n-greets


I haven't talked to Joe (Fractureman) or Brian (Averageguy) in many years. Those guys were a lot of fun to fish with. Never a dull moment and always lots of laughs.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

ibthetrout said:


> I like the trophy idea, but I could see the trophy going to someone who then does not show up the next year. How do traveling trophies normally work? Also, a google search for ice fishing trophies came up with almost nothing. What would an ice fishing trophy look like?


My family has a traveling trophy for turkey hunting. It is a really nice plaque made from pine with a turkey woodburned on it. Then we add brass plates with the name of the winner and their score engraved in them......sort of like the Stanley cup. You get to keep it 1 year. It is really cool for bragging rights and keeping contest history. We have been going 13 or 14 years now.

My uncle made this for a couple bucks. He had a niece that was into wood burning art that did that work for free.


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## jstanley9798 (Dec 14, 2007)

ibthetrout said:


> A Friend of mine is going to have an informal ice fishing contest with just a few friends. In the past when he did this it was just for bragging rights, no money, no prizes. I offered to donate a prize for biggest fish. What are some good prize ideas? I am close to Cabelas so will probably shop there. My ideas so far are a tip up, jig box, and maybe as a runner up prize a Cabelas hat. What are some other ideas? Have you ever won something that you really liked? What was it?











We have an annual tourney amongst buds every year for the past 5 years. This is basically how we do it. Always loom forward to it and a great time to get everyone together!


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## deputy865 (Feb 7, 2004)

ibthetrout said:


> Good memory! It was Averageguy driving the UTV with the trailer. The mad bomber hat was probably me and Fractureman was the one who tried to cook the beans without opening the can first. There was bean shrapnell all over the place! I still talk about that. The Fenton tourney was never about the fishing. Do you remember the 6 inch blue gill that won $200 that one year? Good times man!


Hey guys! I'm still around! Lake Fenton outings were a ton of fun. Can't forget any of them and I loved hosting them. I can't believe how young I was back then hosting either lol... I'm pretty sure it was Fractureman who yelled "Michigan Sportsman", but I'm not sure. He always seemed to pop in Lake Fenton Outing "Memories". Gotta say the Convoy out with the trailer, the Bean incident and the $200 Perch were favorites. As far as I know, Lake Fenton is still a cursed Ice Fishing lake... and that curse seems to follow me on every lake I fish haha

Shane


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## scooter_trasher (Sep 19, 2005)

https://www.zazzle.com/all_i_got_was_this_lousy_t_shirt_personalized-235538706174833671


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## scooter_trasher (Sep 19, 2005)

https://goatstee.com/product/size-matters-fish-t-shirt-funny-fishing-t-shirt-big-fish/#


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## OnHoPr (Jul 21, 2013)

A box of these would work from first place to participation.


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## ibthetrout (Sep 24, 2003)

OnHoPr said:


> A box of these would work from first place to participation.
> 
> View attachment 292548


Too Funny! That would be great for the guy who does not catch anything!


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

Apparently a compass is a good idea for a prize if you've been reading the foggy weather big water threads...


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## 6Speed (Mar 8, 2013)

Back when this site was new we had some cool ice fishing outings. One I remember most had something called bowling with kids. A few youngsters would line up like bowling pins and then a dad would lay his kid on his back and slide him across the ice into the pins seeing how many he could knock down. It was great fun when the bite was slow. I'll have to PM Esox to look at this since I seem to remember he was the champion!

I think there should be a separate award for this event...maybe a bottle of whisky for the winner?


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## OnHoPr (Jul 21, 2013)

ibthetrout said:


> Too Funny! That would be great for the guy who does not catch anything!


Well, I suppose it depends on how many fillets or poundage of fish is caught for win, place, or show.lol

I know I can't catch anything except for a cold or flu or worst. That is why these are preferred for my palate. They are great on Saturday late mornings almost lunch time when you did not make breakfast because you were watching the Outdoor Channel and it is 15 degrees outside with 20 mph winds.


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

Kid Bowling! Yep, those were the days. I think all the kids were Sarahs at Lexington/Sanilac. LOL


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