January 19, 2022 |
Three trophy fish that were worth a total of $35,000 dollars over the weekend are still swimming in Saratoga Lake. They’re just not worth as much money now. The 39th annual ice fishing derby is in the books. Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce Director Amanda Knotwell had the tale of the tape on Tuesday.
This was Knotwell’s first year organizing the event. She said the ice was great, and except for a little wind, the weather cooperated both days.
Pictured above: Winner of the 2022 Ice Fishing Derby Trevor Dusza from Carbondale, Colorado, with a rainbow trout. The trout’s length was 23 inches, girth was 13 inches, giving a total of 36 inches to win this year. Courtesy photo.
Anglers came from near and far to compete. The first bounty fish landed Saturday was caught by a woman from Oregon. Trever Dusza from Carbondale, Colorado won the derby with the largest fish caught, a beauty of a rainbow trout, 23 inches long with a girth of 13 inches, for a score of 36 inches.
Knotwell said derby attendance was on par and maybe a little higher than recent years because of the nice weather.
The folks who weighed and measured the catches inside the Chamber tent next to the lake said the competition was strong this year. A lot of big fish were caught. The particular fish they were all chasing — the $20,000 trophy fish — managed to elude the tasty-looking lures and flies dangling beneath the ice. On the surface, the anglers who were hoping to land him had plenty of ideas about how they were going to spend the prize money.
It was a dream as elusive as that wily, trophy trout. All was not lost for the little girl, though. She was in a hot competition with a boy for the most suckers caught, where there was prize money at stake, too.
Win, lose or draw, a good time was had by all. In her role as Chamber Director, Knotwell noted that the real winner was the Town of Saratoga.
With this year’s event in books, planning for the 40th Saratoga Ice Fishing Derby has already begun.
