Grab your tackle box and get ready to head out to Sawyer Park for the 2025 Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament! A practice day will be held on Wednesday, April 30th and the tournament will take place on Thursday and Friday. Spectators can watch the action unfold in the pavilion where the bass being caught will be featured live on the big screens.

 

Tournament Director Gary Nault says the addition of a practice day is brand new this year and that it will even come with opportunities to hook prizes. The winner of the largest catch on practice day will receive $300, and second and third place will snag gift certificates from Howie’s Tackle. 

 

“This is something new that we have not done before,” said Nault, “you can actually practice in this tournament and if you catch one of the three biggest fish, there’s a nice chunk of cash just for doing that.”

 

On the water for the tournament days, teams will check in for inspection beginning at 5:30am and lines will go in and scales will open at 8am. The tournament will conclude and scales will close at 4pm. The tournament will conclude on Friday with an awards ceremony. 

 

Throughout the tournament, there will be silent auctions in the pavilion and the Pioneer Fire Company will be cooking up their specialty steak sandwiches, brats, and burgers, plus serving Budweiser products. 

 

Alongside the excitement to see who catches the biggest bass, Nault says he is most thrilled about the Weigh on the Water format for this outing. 

 

“We have a Weigh on the Water tournament, we don’t bring fish back, they get released, and we’re extremely proud of that,” said Nault.

 

The practice allows for obtaining an accurate measurement of the catch and minimizes potential stress or injury to the fish. Nault said staff will be on hand to help fishermen with the format and emphasized that fish are out of the water for less than a minute during weighing. 

 

“We’re one of the small tournaments in the country that are using that format which is something we’re more excited about,” he said. 

 

Thanks to the generosity of local sponsors, an additional $10,000 has also been added to this year’s prize money and Nault says kids have a chance to win with the Youth Bonus as well. The Youth Bonus will be given out to the top 3 finishing Youth/Adult teams. 

Currently, there are just over 30 teams signed up. Fishermen interested in participating can still register their team on the FishDonkey app. For more information about practice day and the tournament, visit www.sturgeonbaybasstournament.com.