2021 Minnesota Made Recap - by Jake Kuchenmeister
Where to begin? Not sure, but I'm writing it and not re-reading it or editing it so I apologize if there are any errors or if I forgot anyone.
2021 was another incredible year for Minnesota Made Outdoors. Not only did we step outside our comfort zone a little bit and try and get better, but we learned a lot while doing so. That should make 2022 even better.
Let's start with our sponsors. What a difference having our awesome sponsors makes - not only for league but for some of the community things we are trying to do as well.
We have had incredible sponsors and built solid relationships with a lot of them.
Our tried and true or our core:
Clam, Thorne Bros., Kenders, Vexilar
They were our first four and we owe a lot to them. For them to put their brand behind our league has only accelerated our growth and made our league that much more enjoyable. We can't say Thank You enough!
Been there, done that:
Amped, Ice Well Live Well
The amped batteries have changed the game. Not only for our Vexilars but for our power boxes and a multitude of other applications. IceWell's have made cleaning fish in the winter so much better - I feel like their slogan should have been the same as Raising Cane's - Always Fresh, Never Frozen.
Freshman:
Della Bay Custom Rods, Razr Ice Augers, Kahtoola, P3 Plastics, IceHole Power
Amazing rods, awesome people. Not only did they sponsor the league - they joined it! If you haven't fished a Della Bay yet - you're missing out. Razr jumped on board and I keep seeing more orange popping up through the ice with a freshly drilled hole every time I look out there. Kahtoola's kept us off our butts and upright which is half the battle some days. P3 gave generously in their first year of partnering with us - even sending all the HHO participants home with a bag of plastics. IceHole Power - all I'm going to say is if you don't have a power box yet and you like being in the outdoors - it'll change every trip you take going forward in a positive way.
On Deck:
RLVNT
Super excited to try these on open water. Not only do they float, but they are light weigh, comfortable, and make colors pop! If you're an avid outdoors person - these should be on your list of things to get.
That's an impressive list of companies that we hand picked. If you want to base your purchases off something - take a look at that list and you should be covered with all your ice fishing needs. And I promise you, not only will you receive solid products at a reasonable price - but they will stand behind their products as well.
As far as the fishing went, well....somehow we broke an overall league weight record. Lots of complaints on the VOTED on lakes that were on this years schedule - so we endearingly named this year DinkFest 2021. Credit to our anglers on figuring out a way to make every lake look like a gem. I promise you, it's not as easy as they make it look.
We had 8 new teams that came into the league and fit right in. We talk a lot about having the "right" teams and not just filling our league. We are family first and competitors second. We believe in doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Somehow, we managed to add 16 more like minded people who were absolutely awesome to get to know.
The people in this league are absolutely incredible and I can't say it enough times. If we run into issues - there's a line waiting to help. If we try and do something cool where we need volunteers it's a quick "Let me know what ya need". People spending hours of their personal time to help make the league better. I could go on and on, but I'll just say - I'm happy we started this league because of the people and relationships I've gained through the years.
Buckle Up!
Because we are just getting started...
We started our YouTube channel with the purpose of not only airing our Live Weigh In's and putting out a new show called "The Weigh In" (which we hope to get WIFI for a truck and be able to make sure that live feed works each event next season), but also to come up with some cool NEW content ideas. More on this in a few weeks.
We purchased a go pro and even kind of know how to operate it now - HA!. "Go Pro take a Photo" ;). We purchased a Yolo Stick for some summer content.
We have some of the best laid back anglers around. Let's entertain some people!
So what do we have in store for the summer and next year. Off the top of my head:
* Cool New YouTube series with help from our loyal followers
* An awesome special announcement that will be a MN Made 1st and hopefully first of many. Kids - especially passionate fishing kids - stay tuned because we have something for you.
* Golf Tournament - this will be annual and will grow into an amazing time. I am way better at running a golf tournament than a fishing league. (The first year, proceeds will go to MN Made to purchase some things to help us grow and to be able to become bigger and better - after that, see the above * and formulate an educated guess of where all the proceeds will go!
* A destination lake on the 2022 schedule. Hint: "Be the Bite"
* A cleaner, cooler weigh in presentation
* Personal pieces, kind of a get to know ya type interview with some of the anglers in MN Made (Did you know we have 6 parent/kid teams in our league?)
If you would have told me 8 years ago that this little idea was going to turn into this - I would have laughed you out of the room. What a ride! Hang on because it's only going to get better. If we are putting in the work to do all of this - we plan on changing people's lives for the better while we're doing it.
So follow along, join up with us, and let's show everyone a little bit of that Minnesota Nice everyone always talks about.
See ya on the open water!
~Kook~