The Derby is held the Third Saturday of January Every Year- Held During the FREE Fishing Weekend
It's that time of year again!! We are gearing up for this year’s Ice Fishing Derby and we couldn't be more excited to see everyone. In this derby, you can fish any body of water, within a 65 mile radius of the shop, within the designated fishing times and "weighed in" by the close of the tournament. The registration fee will be $20 per adult and $5 per kid age 15 and under. All entry fees will be paid back in tournament prizes....so this derby is 100% payout AND the more people that enter.... the bigger the prizes. Adults will participate in 1-2 person teams and Kids (15 and Under) will participate individually. Both the Adults division and the kids division will have the same categories-
"Most" Panfish
(Best stringer of 10- Crappie, Bluegill, Perch measured by weight) 1st, 6th and 12th Place.
Largest Fish of the Day
Largest fish of each species entered
All measured by length- One prize each.
The tournament will start at 6am and run until 1pm.
The "Most" Panfish will be weighed in at Kate's Bait by 1:30PM.
The Largest of each species will be entered by taking a picture of the fish, against a ruler with the team’s tournament number in the picture clearly visible and texted to a designated phone number the day of the event. Pictures MUST be received by 1PM 1/17/26. Anglers can also bring their catch into the weigh in station at Kate's Bait if they choose no later than 1:30PM 1/17/26. The weigh in station will close at 1:30pm, Saturday January 17th. Texting the entries for the Largest species allows contestants that opportunity to submit everything they catch and not obligate them to keep something they will not eat, mount or may not be a legal length.
The weigh in station will be at Kate's Bait & Sporting Goods and will close at 1:30pm sharp! Those not weighed in by 1:30pm will not qualify for fish prizes.
Teams may pre-register for the event, but in-person registration will also open at 5am Saturday January 17th at Kate's Bait. Each Team will receive a tournament number the morning of the event.
Pre-Registered Teams will receive an email just before the start of the event containing their team number and instructions. If a team does not have access to their email, please call the shop for your number anytime Saturday January 17th AFTER 5AM 608-935-0131. Team Numbers will need to be written on an index card or paper and clearly visible in each picture submitted.
We will do a LIVE Facebook feed to announce the derby results and winners around 1:45pm January 17th on the Kate’s Bait Facebook Page. We will also post the results at Kate’s Bait. Prizes will be available for pick up during business hours any day.
Fish prizes will be trophies and cash for the adults, Kids prizes are donated by Mounds View Roasters and Widow Maker Lures.
Derby Drawing- All paid participants are entered in a drawing as well. All paid adults will be entered in a drawing for a MarCum Flasher donated by Kate's Bait. All kid participants will be entered in a drawing for "Free Ice Cream for the Summer" donated by the Dave Busse Family.
No matter if you had a successful day of fishing or not, one lucky derby participant will be drawn for a "Grand" Prize. Stay tuned for more details. Or better yet, get signed up for the tournament so you don't miss out!
Every Ice Fishing season we run a HUGE Ice Raffle. We don't mess around with this one. Winner takes a complete ice fishing package- tent, auger, electronic, sled, chair, other accessories! Tickets for the raffle are separate from the derby registration. You do not need to participate in the Derby to join in on the raffle nor be present to win. Tickets are $10 and are on sale now until the drawing take place (after the fish awards are announced the day of the event- 1/17/2026).
Register for the event using this link: The Derby is held the Third Saturday of January Every Year Held During the FREE Fishing Weekend
Next Event is January 17th, 2026
It's that time of year again!! We are gearing up for this year’s Ice Fishing Derby and we couldn't be more excited to see everyone. In this derby, you can fish any body of water, within the designated fishing times and "weighed in" by the close of the tournament. The registration fee will be $20 per adult and $5 per kid age 15 and under. All entry fees will be paid back in tournament prizes....so this derby is 100% payout AND the more people that enter.... the bigger the prizes. For both adults and kids, participants will be able to run in 1-2 person teams and we will compete in the following categories-
"Most" Panfish
(Best stringer of 10- Crappie, Bluegill, Perch measured by weight) 1st-3rd place awarded,
Largest Crappie, Largest Bluegill, Largest Perch, Largest Bass, Largest Northern and Largest Walleye
All measured by length- One prize each.
The tournament will start at 6am and run until 1pm.
The "Most" Panfish will be weighed in at Kate's Bait by 1:30PM.
The Largest of each species will be entered by taking a picture of the fish, against a ruler with the team’s tournament number in the picture clearly visible and texted to 608-574-0311 or Facebook Messenger. Pictures MUST be received by 1PM, Saturday January 17th. Contestant can bring in their largest catch to Kate’s Bait for official measuring rather than texting/messenger. The weigh in station will close at 1:30pm, Saturday January 17th. Texting or messaging the entries for the Largest species allows contestants that opportunity to submit everything they catch and not obligate them to keep something they will not eat, mount or may not be a legal length.
The weigh in station will be at Kate's Bait & Sporting Goods and will close at 1:30pm sharp! Those not weighed in by 1:30pm will not qualify for fish prizes.
Teams may pre-register for the event, but in-person registration will also open at 5am Saturday January 17th at Kate's Bait. Each Team will receive a tournament number the morning of the event.
Pre-Registered Teams will receive an email just before the start of the event containing their team number and instructions. If a team does not have access to their email, please call the shop for your number anytime Saturday January 17th AFTER 5AM 608-935-0131. Team Numbers will need to be written on an index card or paper and clearly visible in each picture submitted.
We will do a LIVE Facebook feed to announce the derby results and winners around 1:45pm January 17th on the Kate’s Bait Facebook Page. We will also post the results at Kate’s Bait. Prizes will be available for pick up during business hours any day.
Fish prizes will be trophies and cash for both the kids and adult categories.
GRAND PRIZE!! Every paid adult participant in the derby is going to be entered in a drawing for a Grand Prize....an Ion Power Auger! This prize is sponsored by Kate's Bait. Every paid kid participant in the derby is going to be entered in a drawing for a Summer of FREE Ice Cream at the Kate's Bait Summer Ice Cream Parlor sponsored by Dave Busse. Every Kid Participant also will get a goodie bag with fun fishing essentials sponsored by Mounds View Roasters and Widow Maker Lures. No matter if you had a successful day of fishing or not, one lucky derby participant will be drawn for a "Grand" Prize. Stay tuned for more details. Or better yet, get signed up for the tournament so you don't miss out!
Every Ice Fishing season we run a HUGE Ice Raffle. We don't mess around with this one. Winner takes a complete ice fishing package- tent, auger, electronic, sled, chair, other accessories! Tickets for the raffle are separate from the derby registration are on sale now for $10 each. You do not need to participate in the derby or be present to win the Ice Fishing Package. Drawing will take place 1/17/26 after the fish prizes are announced.
Pre-Register for the event by going to my website:
www.katesbaitdodgeville.com
Click on the Annual Kate's Bait Ice Fishing Tab
Click on Register for the Event
Entry fee's can be paid by Venmo, over the phone or in person. All entry fees must be collected before you fish!
Also check out other Sports events in Dodgeville, Arts events in Dodgeville, Fine Arts events in Dodgeville.
