World Ice Fishing Championship comes to West Michigan

Sports

Jan 30

USAngling will host its 2025 XXI World Ice Fishing Championship (WIFC) February 11 through 16 on Tamarack Lake in Lakeview, 16 miles north of Greenville. This is the first time for Michigan to host this event. USAngling is the national governing body for competitive angling in the United States.

“We are proud to have such a prestigious fishing organization such as USAngling select the Grand Rapids area – and Michigan – for the World Ice Fishing Championship,” said Mike Guswiler, President, West Michigan Sports Commission who bid on and is co-hosting the event with USAngling. “They could have chosen many places in the United States, but they chose our destination, and we look forward to hosting our first international fishing tournament.”

Held annually since 2004 in locations around the world such as Mongolia in 2024, this 21st annual world championship returns to the United States for the first time since 2013. The event attracts the best anglers from 10 countries: Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States. Team USA’s six angler spots were determined earlier this month at the U.S. National Ice Fishing Championship qualifying event on Tamarack Lake, with representation from four states: Michigan (three anglers, representing Sand Lake, Eaton Rapids and Hastings plus Coach Myron Gilbert from Brooklyn), Wisconsin (one angler plus one reserve and one captain) and Minnesota (one angler).

“As hosts, we are honored to welcome the world to our home waters,” said Mike McNett, Freshwater Fishing Director at USAngling. “Hosting the Ice Fishing World Championship is not just about competition; it’s about creating a sense of unity, showcasing our nation’s natural beauty, and fostering connections through the shared love of angling. And some of the best ice anglers in the world are from Michigan, so what better place to have a world championship.”

The WIFC includes three days of pre fishing on Tamarack Lake (Feb. 12-14) followed by two days of tournament competition (Feb. 15-16) for gold, silver, and bronze medals. Each country’s team consists of five anglers and a reserve, with one athlete from each country competing against all countries in one of five zones for the two competition days. The anglers will target two fish species, crappie and bluegill, and will be judged on weight of the catches. For the first time in the event’s history, this will be a catch-and-release fishing event – necessary criteria for the Olympic Committee to consider the sport for the Olympics again. It was last an Olympic sport in 1900.

Tamarack Lake is a 330-acre all-sports lake in Lakeview in Montcalm County with a maximum depth of 18 feet. USAngling chose Tamarack Lake because it is not affected by lake effect snow and because it has a number of fish species such as Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Sunfish, Walleye and Yellow Perch.

The 2025 WIFC is estimated to generate an economic impact of approximately $600,000. Learn more at https://usangling.org/ice-fishing-worldchampionship-2025/.