Chad Staley
Sunday Big Fish winner Chad Staley receives his
$1,000.00 cash prize,
sponsored by Teletractors
and Reed’s Redi Mix, from
Lion Jeff Goltz. Photo
courtesy Pinedale Lions
Club.
|
|
2025 Big Fish Winter Derby results
by Pinedale Lions Club
March 4, 2025
The Pinedale Lions Club held the 2025 Big Fish Winter Derby on Fremont Lake last weekend, Saturday and Sunday, March 1 & 2. A total of 198 adult and 41 youth registrants came from around Wyoming and surrounding states.
The weather could not have been more perfect, and many anglers wished they’d brought more sunscreen! Over $7,000 in cash and prizes were awarded thanks to generous local sponsors. Lakeside Lodge was the perfect place for Derby Headquarters and Lakeside Restaurant opened for lunch especially for tournament participants. Fishing was good, with Saturday having a record number of entries. The Big Fish on Saturday and Sunday were pretty consistent at 11.8 pounds and just about an inch difference in length. Congratulations to Alex Gosar and Chad Staley!
A couple of special prizes were handed out at the beginning of the award ceremony on Sunday afternoon. The Lions of Wyoming Trifishta is a new contest in which participants must enter all three of the Lions’ sponsored ice fishing derbies in the state; the Laramie Plains Lions contest on Lake Hattie in early January; the Kemmerer Lions Club’s derby at Lake Viva Naughton in mid-February; and the Pinedale Lions Club Big Fish Winter Derby the first weekend of March on Fremont Lake. This first year of the Trifishta had only three qualified anglers, and the winner of the drawing for $600 cash was Mark Ristau of Kemmerer. Wind River Cabin Company sponsored Pinedale’s $200 portion of the prize.
Each year the Big Fish Winter Derby asks participants to complete a creel survey (details on how long each angler fished, and how many of each species were caught). These results are given to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department and assist them in managing Fremont Lake’s fishery. All who turn in a survey are entered in a drawing for an ice auger. Design Electric donated a nice StrikeMaster unit which was won by Steve Merritt.
For the second year, Levi Ditton of Specialty Drywall has sponsored a Youth Lifetime Fishing License. Qualified derby participants (ages 10 – 14 and having lived in Wyoming for 10 years) had a chance for this great prize. Lucky winner was Oakley Rogerson, fishing in his first ever tournament!
Following are the results:
Saturday, March 1, 2025 Winners:
Grand Prize $1,000 (sponsored by Tegeler & Associates) Alex Gosar, 11.8lb, 32 ¾" lake trout
Second Place $400 (Bank of Jackson Hole) Logan Wilkes, 10lb, 34" lake trout
Third Place $200 (Rocky Mountain Power Sports) Jason Merritt, 9.8lb, 31 ½" lake trout
Fourth Place $150 (Grand View Painting) Derek Thompson, 8lb, 29 3/4'" lake trout
Brown Trout - $200 (Bank of Jackson Hole) Bryce Stucki, 2.2lb, 19" brown trout
Rainbow Trout - $200 (Wind River Brewing) Dennis Burling, 1.8lb, 18" rainbow trout
Hourly Prizes - $100 – Pat Trujillo, Lacy Jackson, Tate Johnson, Rick Wolfley, Derek Thompson, Logan Wilkes, Jason Merritt, Dennis Burling, Bryce Stucki (Sponsors: VFW Post 4801, First Bank, White Pine Foundation, Performance Tech, Bucky’s Outdoors, Wind River Dental, Elevation Tax & Accounting, Sublette Communications, The Place)
Youth Division
Grand Prize - $100 (Dave’s Last Stand) Eck Robertson, 5.2lb, 26" lake trout
Second Place – $50 (The REAL Center) Gunner Schultz, 4lb, 25" lake trout
Third Place – $25 (Bar Cross Ranch) Ava Clark, 3.2lb, 22 ¾" lake trout
Sunday, March 2, 2025 Winners:
Grand Prize $1,000 (Teletractors/Reeds Redi Mix) Chad Staley, 11.8lb, 35" lake trout
Second Place $400 (Mountain Valley Glass) Logan Wilkes, 9.2lb, 32" lake trout
Third Place $200 (Gannett Sports) David Frey, 5.2lb, 25" lake trout
Fourth Place $150 (First Bank) Tony Ottobre, 4.6lb, 25 ½" lake trout
Brown Trout - $200 (Rio Verde Engineering) Jayson Tate, 4.6lb, 24" Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout - $200 (Performance Tech) Dennis Burling, 3lb, 22 ½" Rainbow Trout
Hourly Prizes - $100 – Sean Pierson, Sean Pierson, Tony Ottobre, Logan Wilkes, David Frey, Steven Sanders, Dan Galloway (Sponsors: White Pine Foundation, Flow Right Plumbing, Painted Pony, Design Electric, Bucky’s Outdoors, Bank of Jackson Hole, Pinedale Lumber)
Youth Division
Grand Prize - $100 (Dave’s Last Stand) Braxton Behling, 2.6lb, 21 ¾" lake trout
Second Place – $50 (The REAL Center) Ava Clark, 2.4lb, 21 ¼" Rainbow Trout
Third Place – $25 (Bar Cross Ranch) Nikki Pinela, 2.4lb, 20 ½" lake trout
Photos of the derby are available on the Pinedale Lions Club Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=pinedale%20lions%20club
The event wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of local businesses who generously sponsored the cash prizes. Additional support was provided by the Town of Pinedale and Sublette County (plowing), VFW Post 4801 (Friday registration), Tri-County Sanitation (donated two portable toilets), and Lakeside Lodge (headquarters and countless other assistance).
The Big Fish Winter Derby is held the first full weekend in March each year – see you on March 7 & 8, 2026!
|
