2026-01-31 · Brainerd Lakes (Gull Lake / Hole-in-the-Day Bay / Crow Wing County)
County Fair on Ice — Gull Lake’s Big January Campfire
There’s a particular kind of Minnesota genius that says: What if we took a county fair, froze the parking lot, and called it fishing?
There’s a particular kind of Minnesota genius that says: What if we took a county fair, froze the parking lot, and called it fishing?
That’s basically the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza — the 36th annual edition landed on Gull Lake’s Hole-in-the-Day Bay on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Three hours on the clock (noon to 3), a cannon for a starting gun, and enough people out there that “10,000 of our best friends” isn’t a metaphor so much as a weather report. (Brainerd Dispatch; Visit Brainerd)
Camp Nisswa’s folks walked the bay with cameras and came back with the good stuff — the human texture. Holes pre-drilled. No wheelhouses cluttering the contest floor (those parked the edges). Anglers carrying what they could haul. Shuttles running from Brainerd International Raceway like a winter airport. Center ice turned into the social organ of the whole thing: food trucks, beer tents, raffles, weigh-in, and — because Minnesota never met a sport it couldn’t invent on frozen water — Busch Light curling. (Camp Nisswa recap)
Event chair Sheena Ziegler put it clean before the big day: you don’t even need a ticket to come hang out. “It’s like a county fair on ice. Come out, have some cheese curds, visit the vendors and enjoy the fishing.” (Brainerd Dispatch)
Camp Nisswa called the vibe a giant tailgate on a frozen lake — brats on mini grills, families bundled like walking sleeping bags, friends trading stories between bites. And when the afternoon needed a hometown ending, local angler Thomas Johnson took the win with a 5.63-pound walleye. (Camp Nisswa)
The punchline that isn’t a joke: it’s volunteer-run, and the money goes out. Confidence Learning Center is the primary beneficiary, with proceeds also supporting more than 50 additional local charities. (Visit Brainerd; Camp Nisswa; icefishing.org)
Next one’s already on the calendar: February 6, 2027. Same lakes-area logic. Cold, crowded, well-run — and somehow still one of the warmest days of the year. (Camp Nisswa)