Big fish equals $2,000 for Colorado fisherman

Underneath a warm, cloudless sky, the frozen Saratoga Lake was packed with more than 600 contestants from all over the region for the 31st annual Saratoga Fishing Derby.

Stacy Crimmins of the Chamber of Commerce said she was very pleased with the Derby's turn out.

"We had 606 attendees which is more than we have had in the last several years. The number of fish brought in (Saturday) was almost double what we have weighed in previous years. It was very good," Crimmins said.

Many of the contestants were pleased with the warm weather and the great fishing as well.

Larry Warren, of Fort Collins, Colo., said the derby was the first time he has been in Saratoga. While he and his friend John spent the day on the lake, their wives had other plans.

"We were up at Lake John last weekend and heard about this tournament this weekend and came up here. Watching everyone else catching fish is fun though," Warren said.

"The wives are at the spa while were out here fishing."

Fred Oken, of Sheridan, said that this was his first time at the derby. He said he was amazed by what he saw.

"I've been to a few of these, [fishing derbies] but I've never seen anything like this before with all these huts. It's amazing," Oken said.

Dan Gilbert, of Iowa, and Shawn O'Toole, of Saratoga, were thinking warm thoughts as they decked out their hut with a Hawaiian theme.

"It's an annual thing we do it every year," Sean said.

Kyle Kempama and Keith Kempama, of Greeley, said this was the second year they've done this and are impressed again by the derby.

"The city does a great job putting it on. We have a great time during the tournament."

Willy Banks, of Cheyenne, said this has become a yearly event for him and his friends

"I love the fishing part about it. And I like the catching part more," Banks said. He noted that he had not caught a fish at the time he was interviewed.

"I love it all. Being out here and knowing that you have water below you. It's great," Tomas said.

Brian Ginther, of Heeney, Colo., said that the derby is about getting together.

"It's nice to get all of us together and hang out, do a little fishing. It's fun."

David Hilliard, of Rawlins, came down for to Saratoga for the first time for the derby.

"It's a nice day," Hilliard said. It's fun to just get out and do a little fishing."

Ultimately, one fisherman had to reel in the big one. With a length of 25 inches, a girth of 12.75 inches and weighing 6.2 pounds, Daniel Slocum, of Loveland, Colo., pulled in the winning fish. Though he has been a five-year veteran of the Saratoga Ice Fishing Derby, this is the first time he's gotten the "big one".

Daniel said that he and his friends tried several different strategies while fishing Saratoga Lake.

"We tried a little bit of everything, we just tried different stuff," Slocum said. "We tried hardware, every kind of bait, we used some flies. Shoot, we tried everything."

For Slocum, perseverance (literally) paid off. After coming up empty for most of Sunday, he finally pulled in the winning fish in the last hour of the derby.

"(On Sunday), we didn't have anything going on and (the winning fish) was one of the only hits we've had all day. Yesterday we caught fish all day but today, we just caught one big fish."

Slocum said that his grand prize of $2,000 will go right back into the lake. When asked how he will spend that winning money, he said "probably to fishing and hunting."

Slocum's fish was not the biggest caught in Derby history, however, Crimmins was very impressed with the fish.

"It's wasn't a record holder, but it was a pretty dang good fish," Crimmins said.

Three of the bounty fish were caught within the first two hours of the derby. This contrasts from last year where the hunt for the last bounty fish went well into the last day of the derby.

For the Small Fry category, Shane Beckmann, of Saratoga, reeled in a monster rainbow trout weighing 4.96 pounds and was 22 inches long. The winning fish was only the third fish Shane has ever caught.

Other notables in the Small Fry category include 4-year-old Aiyanna Atkinson who won four hourly prizes and Alvin Kelly Jr. who won five.