2021 NYS Winter Classic Results

            The statewide 2021 NYS Winter Classic Fishing Tournament ended this past Sunday and had 602 competing anglers this season, up from 247 in the 2020 event. In all, $11,352 in cash and over $20,000 in prizes were given away in this year’s event. Due to concerns and restrictions from the pandemic, there will not be a formal awards ceremony or sportsman show this year and all cash winnings will be mailed out in early March with physical prizes to be picked up by the winners or shipped. The Top-3 winners of each division in the main event were:

Northern Pike:

1^st: Justin Zeigler (Boonville, NY) – 41.50”

2^nd: Kelsey Alvarez (Hudson, NY) – 41.00”

3^rd: Joe Zugzda (Johnstown, NY) – 41.00”

Trout:

1^st: Frank Kohlbach (Windsor, NY) – 38.50”

2^nd: Chet McCarty (Lacona, NY) – 37.25”

3^rd: Nick Ramsey (Ballston Spa, NY) – 35.00”

Walleye:

1^st: Kyle Blackmer (Ogdensburg, NY) – 30.50”

2^nd: Dakota Steele (Pulaski, NY) – 30.00”

3^rd: Adam Piskorowski (Garfield, NJ) – 30.00”

Pickerel:

1^st: Kameron Diescher (Groton, NY) – 26.50”

2^nd: Joseph Pottenburgh (Red Hook, NY) – 26.00”

3^rd: Alex Melchiorre (New Windsor, NY) – 26.00”

Yellow Perch:

1^st: Joe Klehamer (Naples, NY) – 16.00”

2^nd: Dan White (Penn Yan, NY) – 16.00”

3^rd: Craig Sleeman (Victor, NY) – 15.50”

Crappie:

1^st: Zach Waterman (Port Crane, NY) – 18.50”

2^nd: Jonathan Perry (St. Johnsville, NY) – 16.00”

3^rd: Hunter Baciuska (Afton, NY) – 15.50”

Panfish:

1^st: Jason Stevens (Poultney, VT) – 11.00”

2^nd: Sergi Dominic (Greene, NY) – 10.75”

3^rd: Darrell Horton (Eldred, NY) – 10.50”

1^st Place winners will receive a check for $620, 2^nd Place winners $340, and 3^rd Place winners $225 plus any Weekly Cash Awards if they were the leading angler that week at $47/wk. and monthly prize packages if they were leading at the end of January. Additional award winners included:

Overall Smallest Walleye: Andy Cozzolino Jr. (Gloversville, NY) – 5.50” ($800 Aqua-Vu Package)

Overall Longest Fish by a Youth Angler: Kodee Dillenburg (Delevan, NY) – 37.50” Pike ($200 Cash Omnia Fishing Award)

Overall Longest Youth Panfish: Hunter Baciuska (Afton, NY) – 9.25” ($100 Cash Award)

Overall Longest Fish by a Female Angler: Kelsey Alvarez (Hudson, NY) – 41.00” Pike ($350 Adirondack Fishing Junkies Ice Fishing Package)

Overall Longest Perch: Joe Klehamer (Naples, NY) – 16.00” (Free Skin Mount from Treat Taxidermy)

Plus additional prize packages for the following Youth Division 1^st Place winners:

Crappie: Hunter Baciuska (Afton, NY) – 15.50”

Northern Pike: Kodee Dillenburg (Delevan, NY) – 37.50”

Panfish: Mason Tice (Barryville, NY) – 10.00”

Pickerel: Tony Sergi (Chenango Forks, NY) – 25.00”

Trout: Tannar Duyssen (Ontario, NY) – 31.50”

Walleye: Hunter Smith (Massena, NY) – 27.00”

Yellow Perch: Hunter Baciuska (Afton, NY) – 15.00”

            All winners will be announced during a LIVE show on Wednesday March 3^rd at 7pm EST on the NYS Winter Classic Facebook page. The change from weight at weigh-in stations to length measurements on the Fish Donkey App has produced nothing but positive attributes for the event, including the ability to allow C&R of all fish (angler’s choice), fishing 24/7 with real time updates of the leader boards, and a more secure platform that minimizes foul play opportunities. All anglers need for this style of tournament is a manufactured bump board and a cell phone. Once a fish has been caught anglers use the app to record pictures of the fish at the time and location of the catch and submit them. The leader boards are updated in real time, and if a new leader is entered, all participants are notified via the app. The app not only makes record of the catch, but also logs other information like GPS coordinates to help verify the catch and identify boundary and other rule violations. However, this information is encrypted within the program so that no one has to worry about their hot fishing location being given away. The entry process takes no time at all, and is very easy to do even when fishing alone. As these and other benefits are realized by more and more anglers we expect the number of participating anglers to continue to increase.

All eyes are now on the 2021 NYS Summer Classic Tournament, which will feature two all-in-one tournament events including a Small Species Event (largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, crappie, yellow perch, panfish, and catfish) and Large Species Event (salmon, lake trout, brown trout, steelhead/rainbow trout, walleye, northern pike/tiger musky, and land-locked salmon), each with a $25/angler entry fee. There will also be a Lake Ontario Boat Event (all trout and salmon) with a $125/boat entry, where all fish caught aboard the registered vessel will be eligible for entry regardless of who catches the fish, including clients on registered charter boats. All events will be conducted on the Fish Donkey platform with fish entered at the time of the catch using the phone app. Anglers can register online through the Fish Donkey website or through the app itself. More information regarding the summer events can be found at: www.NYSsummerclassic.com