Don't miss out on this event!!

Catfish Fest on the Chain 
Richmond, MN
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Catfish Fest on the Chain 
Richmond, MN
  • Home
  • 2026 Sponsors
  • 2026 Tournament
    • 2026 Prizes
    • Tournament Rules
    • Sponsorship Info
    • Tournament Info
    • At The Tent
    • American Legion Raffle
    • 2026 Results
    • Q&A
    • Survey
    • About FD
  • Gallery
  • Contact Us
  • Area Info
    • Area Information

$1000 EARLY BIRD TICKETS PRIZE DRAWING! Ends January 25th 2026 Early Bird Tickets $20 General Admission $30 Fish places for prizes at 100th, 150th, 200th and smallest fish. Fishing ticket is required to fish and must be turned in at weigh in with your fish.

Join Catfish Fest on the Chain Event

Catfish and the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes information

Catfish and the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes information

Catfish and the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes information

  Catfish were stocked into Horseshoe and Cedar Island lakes within the Sauk River chain from 1976 to 1988 to create angling opportunities and to help reduce the number of bullheads. By 1990, channel catfish were becoming abundant and by the mid-1990s they were very abundant in the chain of lakes. Channel catfish were first sampled in Long Lake in 1990 and have since migrated further upstream into North Brown’s, Eden, and Mud lakes

2026 Tournament Dates February 13th and 14th

Catfish and the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes information

Catfish and the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes information

The Catfish Fest on the Chain is a unique multi-day tournament that begins Friday  at 3:00pm and ends Saturday at 3:00PM.


Tournament will take place regardless of weather.


 Registration starts at 12:00 noon on Friday.  You must register before fishing tournament.


Please remember.

Must have 1 valid ticket to fish Tournament Ticket sales close at on Saturday at noon.

tournament times


Tickets Information and Purchases

Catfish and the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes information

Tickets Information and Purchases

Early Bird Tickets $20

Automatically entered to win a $1000 Early Bird prize.


General Admission tickets $30,

 

Tickets will be available for purchase online by clicking THE BUTTON BELOW


Coming in near future to These Places

Brinky's Liqour, Channel Marine, Jack's in Richmond, Shell's in Cold Spring, Jack's in Eden Valley



Must have a minimum of 1 valid ticket to fish the tournament. Must have ticket in hand at time of weigh in. 

Print 2 copies of ticket if can, 1 to hand in at registration, 1 for weigh in.


Onsite tickets at the tournament are sold until noon on Saturday. 


No refunds, returns or exchanges.

TICKETS

2025 Tournament Details & Information

Where

The tournament must be fished on the Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes. The tournament area is on the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes (Sauk River Chain of Lakes). The following Lakes are included- Horseshoe Lake, Krons Bay, East Lake, Mud Lake, Cedar Island Lake, Long Lake, Becker Lake, Koetter Lake, Knaus Lake, Bolfing Lake, Krays Lake, Park Lake, Northern Lake, Zumwalles Lake, North Browns, and the Sauk River between the lakes.

Tournament Map

Tournament & Weighing Date & Times

Tournament Times and Days:

Start: February 13th, 2026, 3:00PM thru

 February 14th 2026, 3:00PM

Onsite and online tickets for the tournament are sold until Saturday 12:00PM 


Weighing In is ONLY available during these times

 Friday 3:00pm till 9:00pm

 Saturday 9:00am till 3:00pm

Fishing Tournament Guidelines


  • Tournament ticket required to fish tournament, minimum of 1 ticket required throughout tournament.
  • Channel Catfish ONLY
  • Fish houses are allowed - all types & brands welcome.
  • No ticket refunds.
  • Most importantly HAVE FUN!
  • Please respect the 3:00pm start time, no early start.
  • May fish part of the multi day tournament or all of it.
  • Please be fair. It is expected each participant will respect the honor system.
  • Sportsmanship conduct, respect fellow participants and follow all fishing rules and regulations and respect the lakes.
  • NEW  2025, Registration starts on Friday 12:00 noon. 
  • NEW   Must register before fishing the tournament.
  • Please be kind and pick-up and cleanup your fishing area when done.
  • Note- DNR regulation for littering, garbage, etc of any kind.


Please Note: Starting time is 3:00pm please respect it, there will be no whistle, siren or gun noise at 3:00pm on Friday. Being the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes is too large of a area for this. 

Weighing Requirements


  •  Weighed in fish will become fish of Richmond Firefighters Relief Association, to be cleaned and cooked or disposed of.  Option to have your caught fish released.
  • Tournament ticket required for each weigh in
  • Weigh in will occur on Friday 3:00pm-9:00pm, and Saturday 9:00am-3:00pm
  • To qualify for weigh-in participants are required to be in the weigh in line BEFORE 3:00PM Saturday
  • Cutoff for weighing in fish is 3:00PM sharp, on Saturday.
  • Weigh-In Tent is located on Cedar Island (or East Lake it is sometimes called)

Tournament Rules & Requirements

  • Start time 3:00pm Friday (No Early Starts)
  • End time 3:00pm Saturday (Sharply)
  • MUST REGISTER before fishing. 
  • Registration starts at 12:00 noon on Friday at the weigh in tent.  
  • Weigh in times Friday 3:00pm till 9:00pm, Saturday 9:00am till 3:00pm
  • Fishing Ticket sales end at noon on Saturday.
  • Early Bird Tickets MUST be purchased two weeks prior to tournament, to enter the $1000 Early Bird Prize.
  • Must have at least 1 valid ticket to fish during the Tournament. 
  • One fish per weigh in per ticket (1 ticket = 1 fish, 3 tickets = 3 fish).
  • No more than 5 fish weighed /registered per person.
  • Only 1 fish registered per person within the slot, per day, (over 24 inches)  
  • Lake Regulations need to be followed and will be enforced.
  • You are responsible for following lake regulations, DNR rules, Minnesota Fishing Regulations and any consequences for not.
  • Must have valid (unused) ticket to present to weigh in fish at tent.
  • Channel Catfish is the only species accepted.
  • Live Fish ONLY (frozen fish not accepted).
  • No speared catfish allowed in this tournament. (Live fish only)
  • Follow all Minnesota Fishing Regulations, it is YOUR RESPONSEBILTY
  • No transporting of fish in live well or in water on a road (example- no water in a pail or live well with a fish can be transported on a road, or across a road)
  • No refunds, returns or exchanges.
  • The tournament will proceed regardless of weather.
  • Fish houses (any kind/brand) may be used if chosen to. 
  • Required to show valid (unused) tournament ticket if asked at any time by any tournament staff or local and state officials.
  • Regulations for litter, garbage, etc. - rubbish can not be on the ice and needs to be in container.
  • Weighed in fish will become fish of Richmond Firefighters Relief Association, to be cleaned and cooked or disposed of.  Option to have your fish released.


Accommodations

Bathrooms are available by the weigh in tent

Prize Information

Fishing Tournament Prizes


  • NEW- Prizes for 100th, 150th and 200th places along with the smallest fish weighed in.
  • Fishing Tournament prize places are based on the heaviest fish that are weighed in. 
  • Prizes and their value are scattered throughout all the places. 
  • Fishing tournament prizes are based on fish that are weighed in.  
  • Even a small fish can win a big prize!
  • Need not be present for fishing prizes.
  •  Prize list is for each turned in weighing ticket (based on weight). 
  • Tickets not turned in are ineligible for prize drawing. 


Note: there may be more prizes for fish weighed in up to including the day of the tournament. Check the website for newest information on fishing tournament prizes,


Prize Info

Tickets

  • Early Bird Ticket Prize drawing of $1000, for all tickets purchased by January 25th 2026.  Get your tickets, Its the last day for early bird
  • Early Bird Tickets $20
  • General Tickets are $30 after early bird close date
  • Must have a valid ticket to fish tournament
  • You may be asked to show ticket at any time your fishing.
  • Ticket sales end at 12:00PM Saturday
  • Must have ticket in hand at time of weigh in 
  • No refunds, returns or exchanges


Tickets not available at this time for 2026 event

Important Link

Minnesota DNR Fishing Regulations


Sauk River Chain of Lakes Association


Where to buy a license

Richmond Horseshoe (Sauk River) Chain of Lakes

Chain of Lakes Map

Tournament Grounds

2025 Tournament drone view

About Catfish Fest on the Chain

NEW! Friday Night Band

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

NEW! Friday Night Band

Fine by Friday will be playing Friday night.  A local band that plays a variety of genres and has delighted crowds with performances for years.


Friday Night: 8:00pm till 11:00pm


Playing at the weigh in tent.

NEW! Food Service

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

NEW! Friday Night Band

    The Olde Coliseum will be onsite serving food.


Breakfast Menu: Scrambled eggs, cheesy hash browns, sausage links and biscuit.

Saturday 8am - 10:30


Dinner menu- Pulled pork sandwich, or  Plantenbergs hotdogs, chips and chili

Friday 5pm to 10pm

Saturday - 12pm to 3pm

NEW! Onsite Bar

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

The Red Goat Bar & Grill (located in Watkins, MN) will be at the tournament tent Friday and Saturday with onsite bar.

hours;  

2:00pm to 11:00pm Friday

8:00am to 4:00pm Saturday


The Red Goat is bringing their famous Bloody Mary's to you on the ice, Saturday morning!

    They are known locally for their Sunday Bloody Mary bar.

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

ONSITE Catfish Cleaning

Channel Marine will be show how to clean Catfish  Friday and Saturday  



 Will be making 

Catfish samples to taste! 

Saturday 11:00am to 1:00pm

Thank You for a great year!

Thank you to our sponsors

 Huge thank you to our sponsors That help so much to make this a huge success!! 


Thanks to Channel Marine for showing how to clean and cook catfish!!

Thank you volunteers

    Thanks to all the volunteers that help with the event for their time, talent and skills to make this event enjoyable for all the participants. 

    Also thanks to the DNR and Sheriff Department for helping keep everything safe!!

Thank you to the tournament participants

  Hope everyone enjoyed themselves and had a good time at our event. 

Thank You for Participating!

   A huge thank you for keeping the lakes clean, and using the large dumpster donated by West Central Sanatation. 

Thank you to the band and food & drink businesses

Thank you to the band (Fine by Friday), The Red Goat and The Olde Coliseum we appreciate you joining us this year and serving the tournament participants.  


Copyright © 2025 Catfish Fest on the Chain - All Rights Reserved.

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