Representatives of the Sixth Annual Walleye Ice Fishing Tournament presented a $1,500 check, as well as $770 from a special raffle raised by Lou Stutzke, to the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation for fish stocking this fall. The Walleye Challenge this year was held on held on January 25 on the Great Sacandaga Lake. Event Coordinators Lou Stutzke (Owner of Fuel-N-Food of Mayfield), Hank “Beaver” Ross and Fulton County Director of Tourism, Gina DaBiere-Gibbs, presented the check to Randy Gardinier of the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation at a recent ceremony at the Fulton County Visitors Center in Vail Mills.
The tournament registered 1750 fishing enthusiasts, a 250 person increase from previous years, with approximately 54% of participants from outside of Fulton County from eleven states and various parts of New York State. The event has sold out in each of the six years it has been held. Besides cash prizes for the heaviest fish caught in each hour (between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM), there were several door prizes awarded throughout the day, and two recreational vehicles and a snowmobile were given away to three of the participants.
The 2015 Walleye Ice Fishing Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2015. Anyone interested in adding their name to the event’s mailing list is asked to call the Fulton County Tourism Department at (518) 725-0641 or to send a request via e-mail at events@fultonmontgomeryny.org.
Click here for photos from the 2014 Walleye Challenge.
