A pack of nearly 700 stepped foot onto the icy surface at Stagecoach State Park bright and early on Saturday, Jan. 7, in hopes of catching the two longest combined trout while ice fishing. 

It was the 10th annual Ice Fishing Tournament hosted by Steamboat Fishing Adventures and like all the others, was filled with smiling faces and massive trout. 

Traveling to their favorite location on the lake, Steamboat Springs resident Nick Yaw and his buddies hopped on the snowmobile at 8 a.m., rode to their spot and began drilling holes 10 inches in diameter through the ice, which was about a foot thick. 

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The early morning was the busy part of the day. Yaw and his friends caught tons of fish early on, releasing the ones that were small and holding onto the bigger ones. 

A little after 10:40 a.m. Yaw got a bite and hooked a fish that took him for a ride. The fish kept taking line but Yaw remained determined.

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Eventually, he got the fish’s head through the ice hole and onto the surface. It was a 22-inch rainbow trout that was sure to do some damage in the official measurement at the end of the day. 

Despite catching a few more smaller trout before noon, the lake eventually grew calm. The fish stopped feeding and there was a disciplined patience growing throughout the park. 

Yaw has been fishing in Stagecoach for decades and says this has always been the trend in the water there. 

“It’s how Stagecoach is,” Yaw said. “It’s really good in the morning and then it shuts off until 3 or 4.”

The issue was, the competition ended at 3 p.m. and those who had just one large fish found themselves growing impatient and frantically drilling more holes and trying whatever they could to get a fish.

Like Yaw, many competitors knew their setup location had a lot to do with performance and remained in shallow waters because that is where the fish will feed.  

Levi and Nicole Dufford hit the lake with their friend Michael Landgren for the competition. The crew has fished many times in Stagecoach and had an exact plan of attack. 

Levi Dufford explained there is a true science to it and the key is knowing the tendencies of the fish and how they operate. 

“You need an understanding of what the trout are doing, where they are feeding and when,” he said. “Then you’ve got structure you can work off of. I do a lot of fishing in this lake with a kayak, so I know whereabouts they like to sit.”

This was the tournament’s first time back in a few years in light of the pandemic. Steamboat Fishing Adventures owner Brady Wettlaufer said it brought a tear to his eye to see the competition return. 

“Getting all these people here and doing it again, my heart is pounding and my stomach is turning,” Wettlaufer said. “It just breathes community and breathes kids and that is what it is all about right there. It’s amazing to pass it on, we can’t keep this sport going without these kids right here.”