Annual ice fishing tourney set for January in Big Lake

Competitive ice angling teams will make their annual debut for the state’s largest and most difficult ice fishing tournament, the Still Cold Open on Big Lake. The tournament starts on January 3 for its 11th season and boasts a competitive field of over 40 teams registered so far, making the 2026 competition looking to be the toughest one yet.

Tournament Director Jerrid Hixon said that tournament staff made a big effort this year to get the word out to get more people involved. The competition has space for 100 participants and they’ve nearly reached that mark already for the shotgun start in front of Susinta Brewing Company. More participants makes for more competition and greater prize packages for the winners. It also means more people are getting out on the ice and enjoying the resource.

“We’ve seen growth every year since I’ve taken over. My goal is to hit our 50 teams that we have room for right now. And if we have more, I’ll take them,” Hixon said.

Staff will be testing out a new tournament fishing app called Fish Donkey to determine if they will implement the software in future years. Big ice tournaments in Canada utilize the technology for hosting their events and Hixon said he wanted to work out the pros and cons before committing to it for full tournament use. They will continue with their previous system for this year.

There will be stricter enforcement of rules and policing of teams this year. Hixon said fish handling and mortality is a concern as all of the fish are catch-and-release (besides pike) and Big Lake is known for its trophy arctic char. Staff will also be making sure that photos and measurements are taken correctly and that contestants are staying safe and following the rules of the tournament.

“What we’re really concerned with is fish mortality,” Hixon said. “We really want to emphasize fish safety and preventing fish mortality as one of our top priorities.”

The tournament is broken into teams of two anglers that compete in six bi-weekly tournament events from January to March. Teams target trophy arctic char and rainbow trout to accumulate the longest combined inches for the day and their longest five fish over 12 inches will be scored. Photos of the fish taken against a measuring board are submitted to judges. Teams are given points based on how they ranked in inches caught for the day, with first place receiving 100 points, second place receiving 98 and so on. Northern pike, also found on Big Lake, are a bonus species with extra inches added for each one caught. The team with the highest total points at the end of the six weeks is the winner.

Teams can find a link to sign up on the Still Cold Open Facebook page, their website or by going directly to their eventbrite site By signing up online, Hixon and tournament staff can get an idea on how many teams to plan for on tournament day.

Registration remains open until the second tournament day on January 17. Teams that miss the first day or any other planned tournament day can sign up to fish on the bonus day on February 1 to make up points.

Sponsors for this year’s event include 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle, Hooked on Alaska, Kodiak Custom Tackle, Columbia River Tackle, Bearpaw River Brewing Company, Susinta Brewing Company, Big Dipper Icecream, Alaska Gear Company, Home Depot and local Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops stores.

Last year’s tournament went well, with Caleb and Josh Hughes of team Fish Reflections winning for their fifth time. The race to first place was close and Hixon feels there could be some jostling for the championship spot with a few veteran teams making a reappearance in the competition this time around.

Most importantly, the Still Cold Open fosters a community of like-minded tournament anglers that work together to catch fish, compete against each other and celebrate the resource that Big Lake has to offer.

“We have great people,” Hixon said. “It’s evolved into a big ice fishing family where everybody knows everybody and when new people come in they make new friends.”