Winter in Wisconsin has a way of pulling people together. Dates get announced, a group chat wakes up, and plans start forming. There isn’t much discussion. You just know you’re going. Coolers get packed, sleds get loaded, and somehow the same group of folks ends up in the same place year after year.
Party on Poygan has become one of those weekends for us. It’s nothing fancy. It’s simply friends, fishing, a lot of laughing, and embracing winter for what it is. Cold, long days on the ice and stories we end up telling for years.
From Tournament to Tradition
This year marked our third time attending Party on Poygan, and at this point it feels less like a tournament and more like a tradition. The fishing matters, sure. But the friends, the routine, and the shared memories are what keep us coming back.
The format, routine, and the faces are all familiar. We know who’s going to be there and roughly where we’ll meet up and set a loose “home base” on the ice.
That rhythm has shifted slightly year to year. The first year, we stayed mobile, splitting up and covering water across the lake while looping back to a central hub. The second year brought relentless wind, so we stayed put, worked one general area, and leaned into fishing together instead of bouncing around.
What keeps us coming back isn’t chasing a win, even though the possibility is always there. It’s the camaraderie. Everyone buys a ticket, everyone’s in it together, and the day becomes a shared effort. If someone isn’t getting bites, someone else usually is. Fish get shared, laughs come easy, and the pressure stays low. It’s competitive enough to keep things fun, but relaxed enough that the group always comes first.
What Party on Poygan Actually Is
Party on Poygan isn’t built around just one species. The tournament is split into two main categories. One category includes walleyes, white bass, and panfish, with fish measured and submitted using a weight-based format. That sets it apart from many tournaments in northwest Wisconsin that rely on length instead. The second category is a separate pike side tournament, giving anglers targeting bigger fish their own lane to stay competitive throughout the day.
The event runs as a one-day winter tournament, with teams or individuals spread across the lake fishing within set rules and time frames. It’s organized and well-run, but it doesn’t feel stiff or overly technical. You’ll see a mix of serious anglers, friend groups, and families all fishing the same event, each with their own goals for the day.
Once lines are out, everyone funnels back to WoodEye’s in Winneconne for food, prizes, and announcements. There’s usually a hot meal waiting, plenty of fishing talk at the bar, and a lot of familiar faces comparing how the day shook out. They even bring in a live band for the post-tournament party. Most years, we’re pretty wiped after prizes are handed out, but it’s still fun to stick around and soak it in.
Looking Back: The Last Two Years on Poygan
The first year we attended Party on Poygan was a mix of learning, chaos, and figuring out how the day actually flowed. We covered a lot of water, bounced around the lake, and leaned hard into the “divide and conquer” approach. Walleyes were caught across our friend group, but my highlight came in a slightly unexpected form. I caught a big burbot, which ended up being my only fish of the day and, ironically, not a submittable species. It became a running joke pretty quickly, but it also summed up that first year perfectly. Not everything goes to plan, but the stories stick anyway.
By the second year, things felt different. More settled. More familiar. The wind forced us to slow down and fish one general area instead of running all over, and honestly, it brought the group closer together. Walleyes were caught steadily, and everyone stayed engaged throughout the day. One moment, in particular, stands out.
Our friend Taylor Cunningham caught a massive walleye (26 inches long and 6.794lbs) and and it quickly became a group-wide celebration. There was screaming, laughing, and more than a few tears mixed in. What made it even more meaningful was knowing that it would be her last outing before starting cancer treatment and chemotherapy. In that moment, the fish mattered, but the timing and the shared experience mattered more. It felt like a win for all of us. She ended up taking second place in the entire tournament, winning $750!
Both years reinforced the same thing. Party on Poygan isn’t defined by one fish or one result. It’s defined by shared moments, group wins, and memories that carry weight long after the day ends. Those are the things that keep pulling us back.
This Year on Poygan
This year felt familiar, but different. Last year we hunkered down in one spot and rode it out. This year, we had to work for it. The lake filled up fast, pressure was high right out of the gate, and the bite made you earn everything. It was chaotic in the way tournament days can be, but it was still the kind of chaos that makes the day fun.
The weekend really starts the night before, and that’s part of why this tradition sticks. Everyone rolled into town Friday and gathered at our gracious hosts and friends Jimmy and Dori’s place. They went all in this year and brought in a smoked, slow-roasted pig, and it was unreal. Add in Krysten’s eclair cake, Molly’s elote pasta salad, snacks, bagel dip, and a garage full of people catching up, and it set the tone immediately. Friends, food, and a lot of laughs before an early morning.
Saturday came fast. We were on the ice by 6, trying to get ahead of the rush and be ready once lines could go in at 7. We started near where the Sells’ and Hinz’ shacks had been staged the night before, but it became obvious pretty quickly that the entire lake had the same idea. The pressure was intense, and it felt like the fish vanished under it.
Jay and I set up by a pressure crack and put two lines down, expecting that to be our home base for the morning. Once it became clear the fish weren’t there and the group started shifting, that plan changed. From there, the day turned into a lot of moving, checking in, splitting off, and rejoining in short bursts.
Jay and I spent most of the day breaking away, trying to get into no-man’s land and away from the crowds. Early on and far away from people, Jay had a big walleye come unpinned right at the hole, and that moment stuck with us. Not long after moving back to reconvene with the group, Jay iced a small white bass, which at least confirmed fish were around, even though the bite stayed slow and nothing really came together right away.
Photos above courtesy of Northerle Photography by Molly LeBlanc
Mid-Day Turnaround
Midday rolled around, and the grind was still very much on. That’s when the food truck on the ice showed up in our driving path… immediate yes. Brats and burgers out there absolutely hit the spot. It was one of those moments that reminds you how uniquely Wisconsin this whole event is. Smart folks!
Later in the afternoon, we circled back to the area where Jay had lost that fish earlier in the day. Still no crowd. We dropped down, checked Livescope, and immediately saw what we’d been looking for. “Turn it off. They’re here.” Vexilars in. I connected with an aggressive 16-inch walleye shortly after, finally putting me on the board. At that point, I texted the group to let them know we’d found a solid school and it was worth sliding over.
Photos above courtesy of Northerle Photography by Molly LeBlanc
Molly, TT, and TW moved in first and all caught white bass to help fill tickets. As Jimmy and Dori were pulling up in their side-by-side and getting out, I hooked into a second walleye. They watched me land it right there, popping it off at the hole and having to go wrist-deep to get him. By then, we already knew through texts that we had enough fish between us to cover tickets across the group.
We pulled off the ice around 2:30, headed back to Jimmy and Dori’s to regroup, then went into town to weigh in before the 4:00 deadline.
The post-tournament party was held at Critters in Winneconne. Food, raffles, and everyone swapping stories about the day. The prize structure is one of the best parts of this event. You don’t have to be first place to walk away with something cool. When they announced 300th place and called my name, our whole group lost it. Screaming, laughing, the whole deal. I won an Eskimo 2600, which I ended up selling to my brother-in-law’s brother. It turned into “this helps fund the next adventure” money (a fishing trip in Aruba when we go on our cruise), and honestly, that sums up why we love this tournament. Someone in the group wins, and it feels like a win for everyone!
The bite wasn’t it this year. It was a grind. But the weekend still delivered, because it always does. We showed up, put in the work, helped each other fill tickets, and added another set of memories that’ll live on in the group chat all year.
Why It Sticks
Wisconsin winter isn’t for everyone, and I get that. But for the people who love it, weekends like this are the reason it feels manageable.
Fishing is the excuse. The people are the reason. Party on Poygan gives us something to look forward to, something to mark on the calendar, and a reason to all meet in the same place and do what we love together. Seeing how much this event has grown is honestly pretty cool. When there are that many tickets sold and that many people on the ice, it’s a reminder that winter traditions like this are bigger than just one friend group. They’re part of the culture. They pull people together. They turn a cold weekend into a story.
That’s why we keep coming back.
Thanks for reading, friends!
Sarah
Photo above courtesy of Northerle Photography by Molly LeBlanc
Have you read my last blog? Check out everything I use to make ice fishing a breeze:
