Valley Veterans ReCreation’s first ice fishing tournament drew 150 competitors and plenty of sunshine over the weekend. The ice fishing tournament was held at Mountain Home Reservoir on Saturday, Jan. 13, and offered prizes and a raffle drawing by American Legion 142.
“We only expected maybe 40 people. To see 150 plus out there was mind blowing,” tournament organizer DJ Salazar said. “All fish weighed were successfully released and we had a low impact in the lake.”
Valley Veterans ReCreation is a new nonprofit organization that helps veterans get outdoors for recreational enjoyment. This recent episode of The Outdoor Citizen, a podcast produced by Alamosa Citizen and sponsored by SLV GO!, featured Salazar on the organization’s efforts to get veterans into the outdoors of the Valley.
“We’d love to thank our sponsors and everyone who took the time to come,” he said of the ice fishing tournament. “We had people from as far north as Fort Collins and as far south as Albuquerque and everywhere in between.”
Colorado State Sen. Cleave Simpson also attended the event, Salazar said.
Prize winners of the fishing tournament:
Veterans Trout: 1st Jerome S; 2nd Ken M.
Pike: 1st Zack J; 2nd Amy B.
Photographs by Dennis Schoenfelder for Alamosa Citizen