2025 Registration Now Open

  

We're very excited to announce the 2025 Ditch Pickle Classic "Catch-Photo-Release" Fly Fishing Tournament on Lake Champlain!

The 2025 DPC based out of Swanton, Vermont will be held on June 21-22 on beautiful Lake Champlain.  The DPC is open to anglers of all ages and skill levels.

Max Hogg - 36.5" Northern Pike

You don't need a big fancy bass boat to fish the DPC either! Kayaks, canoes and motor boats are all permitted. The DPC is a team event and we make every effort to pair people up with team mates and fill empty seats in boats. 

Each team will have 1-3 anglers and, if you want to be a 1-man team, you will be responsible for the team entry fee of $100. If you are your own 1-man team, you must still have a co-rider to assist with photographic documentation of your catch! We're allowing more than 1 team to fish from a boat as long as it's within reason.

Spectators may ride along or pilot a boat for a team.

Don't be scared off if you don't have a boat! If you have a strong desire to fish in the DPC but have any apprehension what-so-ever, please send us an email to DitchPickleClassic@gmail.com and we'll do whatever we can to make it happen for you! The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can get you set up!

Frequently Asked Questions - CLICK HERE

Official Tournament Rules - CLICK HERE

Register Your Team HERE

Ben Wilcox - 2024 1st Place (Independant Division)

2025 Prize Categories...

- 1st Place Team-

- 2nd Place Team-

- 3rd Place Team-

- 1st Place Individual-

- 2nd Place Individual-

- 3rd Place Individual-

- 1st Place Paddler-

- 2nd Place Paddler-

- 3rd Place Paddler-

- 1st Place Junior Angler (under 18)-

- Jr. Rock Bass Award-

- Largest Northern Pike-

- Best Exotic Fish (Bowfin, Gar, Carp)-

- Dink Award (Smallest Bass)-

- Breakdown Award (it happens every year!)-

*Big Pickle (Largest Bass / Largemouth or  Smallmouth)

* Seperate $ Pool

-----------------------------------------------------

Tournament Weekend... 

Check in...

On Saturday the 21st, we will have our check-in at the Headquarters for the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge on Tabor Road. Click HERE for directions and info about the site.

Checking in at the refuge headquarters (2015)

We will be open for check-in as of 8:30am on the 21st. 

Check-in hours = 8:30 - 10am
Lines in @ 10am!!

We encourage all competitors to arrive early for check-in!

The headquarters has plenty of parking for boats/trailers and is close to Larry Greene Access & Tabor Point Access.

The Larry Greene Access is located on Rte. 78 and directions can be found HERE.

Every angler must check-in and sign a waiver prior to launching!

Awards Venue on Lakewood Road

Awards Ceremony / Pizza Party...

We will hold the post-tournament pizza party/awards ceremony on Sunday 6/22 @ 12:00pm at the Lakewood Farm on Lakewood Road. 

Lakewood Rd. is directly across the street from the Larry Greene Access (see the map below.)  

The official tournament "Weigh-in/Awards Ceremony" will take place during the pizza party, so all entrants and spectators are strongly encouraged to attend regardless of how you did in the tournament!  There is no charge to attend and we'll do our best to make sure you don't leave hungry! BYOB!

-----------------------------------------------------

The Goods... 

This year the DPC is excited to once again team up with Predator Fly Gear to supply our custom 2024 DPC shirts to our competitors!
https://predatorflygear.com

PFG is a Vermont based company featuring the amazing artwork of Nick Mayer on Slick looking high performance fishing shirts.

We're also supplying each team with a captain's bag, filled with an assortment of products from the many other generous sponsors of the Ditch Pickle Classic! 

-----------------------------------------------------

The DPC Experience...

The Pickle has become a highlight of the season for many.  Several years ago, we expanded the event to a 2-day format to make room for more quality fishing and more time hangin' with buddies, soaking in the Lake Champlain vibes.  Take the DPC too seriously and you might miss the point, which is to have fun.  Don't come the the DPC for the win...come for the experience.

-----------------------------------------------------

Here's a list of folks that are down for the 2025 DPC experience... 

Team #1....."Hook, Line & Pickle"

Mike Fernandez

Nick Citro

Team #2....."Champlain Papi's"

Paul MacPherson

Jack Filion

Well, thats it folks! The 2024 DPC has come and gone and another epic year it was! 90 of us set out on a 16 hour tour that that was full of adventures.  Check in went smooth at the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refugee despite some spitting rain & then it was off to the races.  The rain continued off and on throughout the day but nothing heavy and the lake was calm. Pigs were caught, as well as dinks, and many stories were made about the one that got away. As beautiful as day one was, day 2 was the complete opposite with a tornado watch, rain and gusts over 30 mph. I would say half the field didn't fish Sunday but the ones that did stayed safe in sheltered coves and lived to fish another day. In fact, I saw 2 picklers in a canoe in Swanton on Sunday and one was casting up front while the other was spot locking with the paddle in the stern, kudos gentlemen! Lake Champlain is big water that can turn angry instantly and we have all read news of those who succumbed to her wrath. Alas, the picklers all returned and we could not be more happy that everyone used common sense and had fun. So, here is what went down in 2024.

2024 Dpc Indy winner Ben Wilcox

This years top angler is no other than last years top angler, Mr. Ben Wilcox! Ben is no stranger to the podium and with good reason, he has put in his hours on Lake Champlain, which is a puzzle that can take a lifetime to piece together. Ben's 26 pts. just surpassed our 2nd place indy winner, Jeremy Restuci. Jeremy put up 25 pts. with an impressive bag of fishes. Our 3rd place indy went to our founding father Brendan Hare. Brenden put up 24 pts. without the use of spot lock and active target! He also computed all the scores at the barn so, a big thanks to him. Congrats to all our winners!

The top team this year was team "Basscar" with an impressive total of 45 points. Brendan Hare and Dana Evans of team Basscar didn't exactly crush the competition though. Our 2nd place team "Fishizzle" also had 45 points. As per the rules, we always round down to the next biggest fish and Jeremy Restucci and Kyle Matkze of team Fishizzle were total sports and enjoyed the second place team prize. In 3rd we had team Bash Badge Plus, last years champs coming in with 41 points! They have been on a hot streak and next year will be no different.

CV Howe with a 20" worth $950 in cold hard bass

This year in the big pickle division we had a tie. CV Howe and Devon Gulick both had 20" bass. They couldn't have been closer laid out on the pickle stick! So, per our rules we went down to the next biggest fish. Thus, CV Howe took the big pickle award with a cool $950 in cold hard cash.

Eery year we look for someone who helps another pickler out, shows good sportsmanship, or does a nice deed. When Devon learned of the tie, he was not concerned about the cash but, rather happy to split the loot with his fellow pickler. For that, he earned the Jon Zukoski award in memory of our friend Jon Z. The pickle is like family and Jon will not be forgotten.

Finn Barden with the top exotic

On to the exotic award. This year might be the first time we have had a Jr. angler win the exotic! It was taken by young Finn Barden with a 25.5" bowfin. Congrats to Finn on beating the field of old men!

Kyle Forest with the dinkiest of dinks

This year I thought I had a good chance at the dink award (smallest bass). Turns out, my 4.25" bass couldn't compete with that of Kyle Forest who wrangled a monster 3.75' bass. Damn you Kyle! Kyle brought home a sweet extendable boat net for his efforts and sore arms.

Max Hoag with a 36.5 pike

In the Pike category we had a good one. Probably the biggest pike the DPC has seen, caught by Max Hoag, 36.5 inches of predatory madness. Max took home some great gifts from Mountain High Fly shop in N.H. We thank them for their support! 2nd place pike was caught by Ryan Fitzgerald coming in at 29"& in 3rd was Chris Wiley with a nice 24" hammerhead. Nice work gentlemen!

In the paddle division it was Stefan King who pulled off a solid 16pts. A great score for a kayaker and a great showing for his 1st time at the pickle. Our second place paddle was last years winner Mr. Sean Cook with 13pts. Followed by Alex Giroux in 3rd with 11pts. The paddlers put up some big numbers this year!

The youth division was small this year. I'd like to see more youth so, bring your kids! I fish it every year with my son and it is times I'll never forget. Nor will Brendan Barden who's son Finn Barden took down the youth award with 4 pts. Finn and Ethan West (our other Jr. angler) are the future and kids like them will be tying our knots someday when we can no longer see!

This years best team name was a close one but in the end it was Jay Modry and Matt Dickstein of team "Hog Island Strippers" who won the crowd over. For their ingenuity, they won some fly boxes and some maple syrup generously donated from Sterling Ridge Resort.

Team "Popper Dropper' using the bildge

Last but def not least is the breakdown award. It almost went to Dave Underwood and Jon Linedgurgh after they missed the pickle on account of some mice dining on their electronics in their boat but Eli Martell-Crawford and Alex Skowron took the cake when they flipped their canoe in snapping turtle infested waters.  They won the breakdown award. Thanks to the good folks at Whistle pig who donated some bottles of whiskey to ease their pain.

Thanks to Fulling Mill Flies who really stepped up with a generous donation, Sterling Ridge Resort, Stream & Brook Fly Fishing, Whistle Pig Whiskey, Laura & Mounatin High Fly Shop, Ken at the Refugee, Kelly at the Barn, Denis at Pie in the Sky Pizza & anyone I might have missed.

I think that's it! I can't thank everyone enough for coming out. You all rock and we have come so far and made so many memories together. Weather on Lake Champlain will always be unpredictable but our friendship and camaraderie will not. Picklers till the end. See you all in 2025.

Below are this years scores from those who handed in score sheets.

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oth77V3GbKCGM_9baBeBIyvywY0KLsfun3oySliMbkA/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RykZOIem0Rsv9vAdAwwStRtx-Yib310feIGAlEE_wLA/edit?usp=sharing

2024 DPC Registration Open!

  

We're very excited to announce the 2024 Ditch Pickle Classic "Catch-Photo-Release" Fly Fishing Tournament on Lake Champlain!

The 2024 DPC based out of Swanton, Vermont will be held on June 22nd-23rd on beautiful Lake Champlain.  The DPC is open to anglers of all ages and skill levels.

2021 DPC Champs - Bash Badge Plus

You don't need a big fancy bass boat to fish the DPC either! Kayaks, canoes and motor boats are all permitted. The DPC is a team event and we make every effort to pair people up with team mates and fill empty seats in boats. 

Each team will have 1-3 anglers and, if you want to be a 1-man team, you will be responsible for the team entry fee of $100. If you are your own 1-man team, you must still have a co-rider to assist with photographic documentation of your catch! We're allowing more than 1 team to fish from a boat as long as it's within reason.

Spectators may ride along or pilot a boat for a team.

Don't be scared off if you don't have a boat! If you have a strong desire to fish in the DPC but have any apprehension what-so-ever, please send us an email to DitchPickleClassic@gmail.com and we'll do whatever we can to make it happen for you! The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can get you set up!

Frequently Asked Questions - CLICK HERE

Official Tournament Rules - CLICK HERE

Register Your Team HERE

Calvin Kontos - Top Junior Angler of 2021

2024 Prize Categories...

- 1st Place Team-

- 2nd Place Team-

- 3rd Place Team-

- 1st Place Individual-

- 2nd Place Individual-

- 3rd Place Individual-

- 1st Place Paddler-

- 2nd Place Paddler-

- 3rd Place Paddler-

- 1st Place Junior Angler (under 18)-

- Jr. Rock Bass Award-

- Largest Northern Pike-

- Best Exotic Fish (Bowfin, Gar, Carp)-

- Dink Award (Smallest Bass)-

- Breakdown Award (it happens every year!)-

*Big Pickle (Largest Bass / Largemouth or  Smallmouth)

* Seperate $ Pool

-----------------------------------------------------

Tournament Weekend... 

Check in...

On Saturday the 22nd, we will have our check-in at the Headquarters for the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge on Tabor Road. Click HERE for directions and info about the site.

Checking in at the refuge headquarters (2015)

We will be open for check-in as of 8:30am on the 22nd. 

Check-in hours = 8:30 - 10am
Lines in @ 10am!!

We encourage all competitors to arrive early for check-in!

The headquarters has plenty of parking for boats/trailers, and it is very close to our designated launch at the Larry Greene Access.

The Larry Greene Access is located on Rte. 78 and directions can be found HERE.

Every angler must check-in and sign a waiver prior to launching!

Awards Venue on Lakewood Road

Awards Ceremony / Pizza Party...

We will hold the post-tournament pizza party/awards ceremony on Sunday 6/23 at the Lakewood Farm on Lakewood Road. 

Lakewood Rd. is directly across the street from the Larry Greene Access (see the map below.)  

The official tournament "Weigh-in/Awards Ceremony" will take place during the pizza party, so all entrants and spectators are strongly encouraged to attend regardless of how you did in the tournament!  There is no charge to attend and we'll do our best to make sure you don't leave hungry! BYOB!

-----------------------------------------------------

The Goods... 

This year the DPC is excited to once again team up with Predator Fly Gear to supply our custom 2024 DPC shirts to our competitors!
https://predatorflygear.com

PFG is a Vermont based company featuring the amazing artwork of Nick Mayer on Slick looking high performance fishing shirts.

We're also supplying each team with a captain's bag, filled with an assortment of products from the many other generous sponsors of the Ditch Pickle Classic! 

-----------------------------------------------------

The DPC Experience...

The Pickle has become a highlight of the season for many.  Several years ago, we expanded the event to a 2-day format to make room for more quality fishing and more time hangin' with buddies, soaking in the Lake Champlain vibes.  Take the DPC too seriously and you might miss the point, which is to have fun.  Don't come the the DPC for the win...come for the experience.

-----------------------------------------------------

Here's a list of folks that are down for the 2024 DPC experience... 

Team #1.....

"Popper Dropper"

Eli Martell-Crawford

Alex Skowron

Team #2.....

"The Basston Tea Party"

Evan Potter

Sean Sorrell

Team #3.....

"Dink-A-Licious"

Brandon Weaver

John Bond

Team #4.....

"Hog Island Strip Club"

Matt Dickstein

Jay Modry

Team #5.....

"Gyros & Pierogies"

Calvin Kontos

Mike Kontos

Team #6.....

"Castaways"

John Synnott

Brian Zinger

Team #7.....

"Finglorious Basstards"

Kyle Forest

Bennett Chadbourne

Team #8.....

"Fishizzle"

JeremeyRestucci

Kyle Matzke

Team #9.....

"Fat Bass Turds"

Casey Thomas

James Russell

Team #10......

"Bash Badge Plus"

Ben Wilcox

Mike Woulf

Team #11.....

"Basscar"

Brendan Hare

Dana Evans

Team #12.....

"You're Killing Me Smallies"

Dillon Brooker

Dan Russell

Team #13.....

"Bar Flies"

Chris Bernier

Michael Hill

Rick Zacher

Team #14.....

"Keep Fishing Simple"

Luis Ayala

Madre Ayala

Team #15.....

"Shaw's Law"

Jared Shaw

Tim Shaw

Team #16.....

"Team Anger"

Tom Anger

William Deming

Mike Sachs

Team #17.....

"Crappie Pro's"

Jeff Spaulding

Shane West Jr.

Team #18.....

"Basstro Physicists"

Matt Crawford

Henry Rackliff

Team #19.....

"Fly's Down"

Ethan West

Noah Abernathy

Team #20.....

"Dad's Weekend"

MathewRogerson

Nate Scott

Team #21.....

"Weather Permitting"

Dave Underwood

Jon Lindeberg

Team #22.....

"Bass Station Attendants"

Zach Rabideau

Kevin Ramirez

Team #23.....

"Boat Scoot N' Boogie"

Adam Lloyd

Casey Scolaro

Team #24.....

"Fishfull Thinking"

Shawn Ricker

Team #25.....

"Party at the Bass Tower"

Scott Edwards

Tim Birmingham

Team #26.....

"Pike Tyson"

Chalaun Blanchard

Ryan Fitzgerald

Team #27.....

"Go Bass or Go Home"

Steve Stanley 

Jonathan Debono

Team #28.....

"Bassin Barkeaters"

Chris Wiley

Nick Arnold

Team #29.....

"Lay Down Sally"

John Hurley

Erik Hurley

Team #30.....

"Hippo Hammers"

Patrick Sharrow

Rebecca Reynolds

Team #31.....

"Dinks R' Us"

Elton Bonneville

Scott Megan

Todd Megan

Team #32.....

"The Wilted Pickles"

Tom Carton

Jeff Heney

Team #33.....

"Shake n' Bake"

Alex Giroux

Stefan King

Team #34.....

"80 Grit Thumb"

Brendan Barden

Finn Barden

Team #35.....

"Paradise"

Joe White

Corey Barrows

Team #36.....

"Mountain High Fly"

CJ Freeman

Devon Gulick

Team #37.....

"Pond Potatoes"

Dan Kirsch

Kyle Travis

Team #38.....

"Dirk Pickler"

Tony Lewis

Kevin Welsh

Team #39.....

"Gone With the Wind Knots"

CV Howe

Seth Talmon

Team #40.....

"Gherkin Dills"

Robert Auen

Justin Hennard-Ruth

Team #41.....

"Basstards"

Dominic Scaglione

Maddie Mezitt

Sean Cook