GRAND RAPIDS, MI – On February 11-16, 2025 USAngling will host the World Ice Fishing Championship (WIFC) in the Grand Rapids area on Lake Tamarack. The city is expecting to host teams from 12 different countries including Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Finland to name a few.
In 2024 the WIFC was held in Mongolia where Team USA won the silver medal with a Day Two comeback win for the first time on foreign ice. Captain Myron Gilbert who previously won a gold medal in 2010 and a bronze in 2013 stated, “I’m excited to be fishing close to home for the first time since 2013. Several of our team anglers are from Michigan, so it’ll be nice to compete on home ice against the best in the world. We are very excited to bring catch and release angling to the ice fishing World Championships. Conservation is important to all sportfisherman.”
Current Team USA members include local Michigan natives, Chad Schaub and Team Director, Steph Sissell from the Grand Rapids area who will be able to fish
near their hometown. “Michigan is a great place to hold the 2025 WIFC since MI has some of the best ice fisherman in the country,” says Steph Sissell. Additionally, coach Myron Gilbert who is from Brooklyn, MI and Keith Kniffen from the Lansing area will be returning to compete in their home state.
The tournament includes three days of pre fishing followed by two days of tournament competition for gold, silver, and bronze medals. The anglers will target two fish species, crappie and bluegill through the winter ice. For the first time in the history of WIFC this will be a ?no kill? fishing event as well. USAngling, in cooperation with USA Ice Team, has developed a system to catch, weigh and release the fish that has been effective in several of the USA trails. Mike McNett, the USAngling Freshwater Fishing Director and former ice angler team member said, “Developing a system to weigh and release the fish with a low mortality rate is
critical if we want the Olympic Committee to consider our sport for the Olympics again.” In the spirit of the recent Olympics, anglers across the globe are striving for fishing as an Olympic sport. In the 1900 Paris Olympic Summer Games over 600 anglers competed.
“We are very proud to have such a prestigious fishing organization such as USAngling select Grand Rapids for the World Ice Fishing Championship,” said Mike Guswiler, President of the West Michigan Sports Commission. “They could have chosen many places within the United States, but they chose our destination and
we’re looking forward to hosting our first international fishing tournament.”
If you’d like to get involved in the event please contact Katy Tigchelaar at ktigchelaar@westmisports.com
About USAngling
USAngling is a 501c3 charitable organization that provides leadership for our U.S.A. National Fishing Teams as they compete worldwide, shares our love of Competitive Angling by engaging America’s youth, supports Conservation actions, and empowers local Community angling groups.
About the West Michigan Sports Commission
The non-profit West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) identifies, secures and hosts youth and amateur sporting events to positively impact the economy and quality of life in the region. Since its inception in 2007, the WMSC has booked 882 events attracting more than 1.4 million athletes and visitors, generating over $410 million in direct visitor spending. Visit westmisports.com, Facebook.com/WestMichiganSportsCommission and @westmisports on Twitter and Instagram for more information.
