Michigan to Host 2025 XXI World Ice Fishing Championship

USAngling has announced that the 2025 XXI World Ice Fishing Championship will take place February 11–16 on Tamarack Lake in Lakeview, Michigan — 45 minutes northeast of Grand Rapids.

It will mark the first time for Michigan to host the event, which has been around the world since its inception in 2004.

“We are proud to have such a prestigious fishing organization such as USAngling select the Grand Rapids area — and Michigan — for the World Ice Fishing Championship,” said Mike Guswiler, president of the West Michigan Sports Commission. “They could have chosen many places in the United States, but they chose our destination, and we look forward to hosting our first international fishing tournament.”

The 21st annual world championship returns to the United States for the first time since 2013 and is hosted by USAngling, the national governing body for competitive angling in the United States. Tamarack Lake is a 330-acre all-sports lake in Lakeview in Montcalm County with a maximum depth of 18 feet.

“As hosts, we are honored to welcome the world to our home waters,” said Mike McNett, freshwater fishing director at USAngling. “Hosting the Ice Fishing World Championship is not just about competition; it’s about creating a sense of unity, showcasing our nation’s natural beauty, and fostering connections through the shared love of angling. And some of the best ice anglers in the world are from Michigan, so what better place to have a world championship.”

The WIFC includes three days of pre fishing on Tamarack Lake (February 12–14) followed by two days of tournament competition (February 15–16) for gold, silver and bronze medals. The event attracts the best anglers from 10 countries: Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United States. Each country’s team consists of five anglers and a reserve with one athlete from each country competing against all countries in one of five zones for the two competition days.

The anglers will target two fish species, crappie and bluegill, and will be judged on weight of the catches. For the first time in the event’s history, this will be a catch-and-release fishing event, which is necessary criteria for the International Olympic Committee to consider the sport for the Olympics again. It was last an Olympic sport in 1900.