Turns out there was no pot of gold at the end of the Golden Rainbow.
The Golden Rainbow Ice Fishing Contest at Forest Lake, for more than 20 years one of the largest winter fishing contests in the nation, has been put on ice for good -- a victim of warm winters that caused the fundraising contest to lose money.
But as the Hopkins Area Jaycees, which sponsored the contest as a fundraiser, killed the Golden Rainbow, two Forest Lake men said they had formed a corporation to launch a replacement, with sponsorship from Forest Lake VFW Post 4210.
In its heyday, the Golden Rainbow attracted 6,000 to 10,000 anglers. But in three of the past five years, poor ice forced its cancellation, leaving a sizeable debt, said Jason Green, Jaycees contest director.
The contest had raised $60,000 to $80,000 a year for charity and, at one point, the Jaycees planned to move this winter's contest to Grand Rapids for a better shot at enough ice.
But "we just couldn't financially make it happen," Green said. "I'm heartbroken."After meeting with several banks, debt consolidation companies and financial advisers, the Hopkins Area Jaycees have found no other way but to no longer operate the Golden Rainbow Ice Fishing Contest," the Jaycees said.
The Jaycees bought the contest in 1995 from founder Bert Momsen of Woodbury, who started it on White Bear Lake in the 1980s. It was canceled for the first time in 2002, then again in 2003 and 2006. The Jaycees lost about $70,000 on last year's cancellation.
The contests offered more than $100,000 in prizes, and its success depended on spending lots of money on advertising to attract anglers, Green said.
Forest Lake anglers Jim Woods and Dan Luger heard the Jaycees were moving the contest to Grand Rapids, talked to the VFW and decided to fill the ice fishing contest vacuum.
"We thought it was important to have a fishing contest for Forest Lake," Woods said Monday. "It's good for the community."
They've dubbed their contest the Fishapalooza Ice Fishing Contest, and it's set for Feb. 16 -- late enough in the winter, they hope, for good ice. Woods said the contest and raffles will offer $130,000 in prizes.
Doug Smith • dsmith@startribune.com
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