Mat-Su Central wins second straight ice fishing state title

For the second year in a row, the team from Mat-Su Central took home the state title at the Alaska State High School Ice Fishing Association (ASHSIFA) Championship on March 5 on a cool day of four below and warming to 20 above on Finger Lake. Top teams from seven Valley high schools to include Mat-Su Central, Wasilla, Houston, Palmer, Colony, Career Tech and Knik Charter competed for the highest combined number of fish inches for the school’s top two teams and a chance to take home the “Golden Auger.”

Mat-Su Central, led by coaches Alyssa Conner and Danny Schmitz, took first place with a combined final score of 173". Their top team, and the first-place individual team overall, Colt Conner and Dale Varney, scored 119”. The team from Colony led by coaches Dan Trotter and Ryan Judd took second place with a combined final score of 141”. The second place individual team Madison Haffstad and Kaden Grieve from Career Tech scored 77” and third place individual team Ethan Spencer and Tyler Shoun from Houston totaled 72”.

Competitive ice fishing not only provides students with a new and unique opportunity to participate in a competitive high school sport, it also teaches young anglers how to deal with challenges and hardships that can’t be found on a basketball court or a football field.

“It teaches them adversity and how to battle, how to stay warm,” ASHSIFA Director and Wasilla coach Colton Conner said. “Stuff you’re not going to learn as quickly as you are when you’re standing out on the ice trying to catch fish.”

Schools started their ice fishing season after Christmas Break in January. To qualify for the championships, teams had to compete at least three times during the season. Some teams hosted four or five competitions and even held “duels” against other schools on the same day on the same lake. The top three teams from each school competed in the championship.

With such a growing popularity of the sport within the Valley, students are starting to become recognized within the community and celebrated as competitive athletes. Colton said that the notoriety students have received and a newfound understanding of this remarkable opportunity has sparked great pride among the teams.

“When these kids are out in the community, they’re starting to get asked how state ice fishing is going, and I think those kids are really starting to take pride in it,” Colton said. “It’s such a unique experience for these kids to be asked about competitive angling. It’s not basketball or football or baseball, which I love, but it’s just such a unique experience for these kids to start getting some community buy in and some credit for being competitive anglers.”

In only two years, the program has grown to include nearly 200 anglers and seven schools across the Valley. The recent creation of the ASHSIFA has sparked interest with some schools in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula as the new opportunity for competitive ice angling emerges.

“It is really neat to see how it’s progressed from 12 kids at Wasilla High just three seasons ago,” Colton said. “And now we have a full association and board members and almost 200 anglers out there.”

As the program expands, Colton wishes to keep the spirit of education and conservation at the root of their “why.”

“This is expanding, and I think it’s important that we continue to keep the focus of Alaska state ice fishing for the high school kids as we're here to get kids to learn how to fish,” Colton said. “The winning is great and the prizes are great, but teaching kids conservation and teaching kids how to use the resource reliably, I think needs to continue to be the focus as it gets more and more popular.”

Contributors and sponsors for the ice fishing competitions include 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle, Susinta Rods, Taylor Fire, Columbia River Tackle and a handful of private donors. Without their generous support, the competition wouldn’t operate at the level it is today.