Seventh Annual Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament to benefit Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

The Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament is in its seventh year, and this year the proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. The tournament will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2025, and there is still time to register. The tournament is held at Boom Lake in Rhinelander, with take off and weigh in being at the Hodag Park boat landing.

Rod Gaskill, husband of this article’s author, Beckie Gaskill, was a lifelong bass angler. He was a founding member of the Hodag Bassmasters and served for years as tournament director of the Boom Lake Open. In 2018, he lost his two-and-a-half-year battle with pancreatic cancer. The Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament is held in his honor, with proceeds always benefiting a nonprofit dedicated to getting kids out fishing

This is a team event, with two anglers allowed per boat. Boats must have working live wells and working kill switched. They must be at least 16 feet long and have at least a 40 hp outboard. No stick drives or air boats are allowed. Boaters must also show proof of $300,000 in liability insurance before fishing.

Registration opens at 5 a.m. on Saturday with a pre-tournament meeting at 6:30 a.m. All teams wishing to fish must be registered and signed in before that meeting.

Teams will work together throughout the day to boat their heaviest five fish and bring them to the scales. All teams must be present and have their marker back by 3 p.m. or they will be disqualified.

There will be three Dash for Cash hours throughout the tournament. During each of these hours, if a team believes they have the heaviest smallmouth or largemouth that will be weighed in that hour, they come back to Hodag Park and weigh that fish in. A fin is clipped on that fish, and the fish then must be kept as part of the team’s final bag of the day. The winner of each hour will receive $100 for their efforts.

The payout for the event is dependent on the number of boats that register. Organizers pay out one place for every five boats. For instance, if there are 30 boats, six spots will be paid. For 35 boats, seven spots will be paid.

The public is welcome

District 2 members of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation will serve up brats, hot dogs and beverages starting at 11 a.m. There will also be bucket raffles, which will be drawn after weigh in and before the awards ceremony.

The public is welcome to get in on all of the fun at Hodag Park. Organizers said anglers’ families and many members of the public attend the weigh in and awards each year. The event is family friendly and all are welcome to attend. 

The public can not only come out and have fun, but also support a great cause: the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation was formed in 1949 by sportsmen and women. The Federation has been a strong leader in conservation through their work with sporting clubs and volunteers throughout the state. There are many local affiliates in the Northwoods, including the Hodag Sports Club.

The Federation has a strong voice with policy makers as well. They work in an advisory capacity to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on all types of hunting, fishing and trapping matters as well as matters related to shooting sports. While they are dedicated to these outdoor pursuits, they also understand that the health and well being of fish and wildlife species depend on clean water, clean air as well as healthy forests and grasslands.

One of the biggest initiatives the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation has undertaken recently was to take on a large solar developer whose project would have greatly negatively affected threatened prairie chicken habitat in Wisconsin. While the Federation supports renewable energy, the placement of those structures is a great concern, especially where impacts to habitat could mean the extirpation of an entire species. Former executive director George Meyer said renewable energy may be one of the biggest conservation issues in the coming years, and the Federation is laying the groundwork now, not only to have renewable energy on the landscape, but to ensure its placement is such that native species are allowed to still flourish in the state’s grasslands, forests and waters.

For more information about the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, see their website www.wiwf.com.

Wisconsin Bass Team Trail

The Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament is run by the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail. This tournament is one of two open tournaments the WBTT runs. They also have a series with four qualifier tournaments throughout the summer that culminates with a 100 percent payback two-day championship in the fall. This year that championship is on the Minocqua Chain in early October. More information about the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail and the Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament can be found on the website wisconsinbassteamtrail.com.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].