The tournament brought in nearly 150 anglers from as far away as Canada a large portion of the anglers camped in the Winter Island Park where the off the water time was split between BBQ’s, hanging around campfires, and now and then even a little rest. It was great to see that many people from many different walks of life all come together and have a good time. In addition to fishing and having a good time the tournament raised over $7000 for the charities; they were Heroes on the Water, Casting for Recovery, Sofia’s Fund, Greater Salem Boys & Girls Club and the Floating Hospital for Children. And as always I have to give thanks to all the sponsors that donated lots of great prizes for the raffles, including kayaks from Hobie and Cobra. There was also a special raffle from Hook 1 for The Ultimate Fishing Crate that was stuffed with tackle and gear.
Advanced Elements Al’s Bait & Tackle Aquapac Aqua Skins
Backwater Paddle Company Bending Branches Butchie Built Tubes
C-Tug Cobra Kayaks Fin & Feather First Light Anglers Fished Impressions
Guy Harvey Hobie Hogy Hook 1 Immersion Research
Kayak Anglers Pro Shop Kayalu Klip-n-Go Kayak Straps Kotatat
Lateral Line Mad Frog Gear Maui Jim MTI Mysterioso
Navionics New England Small Craft On The Water Magazine
Pelagic Point Jude Lures Ram Mounts RonZ Skwoosh
Surf to Summit The Fish Grip Wave Spin Reels Yak Attack Yak GearAfter the photos were submitted at the weigh in the results were tallied and the winners were announced at the final BBQ and the raffle prizes were passed out. And the winners are:
Open Division:
1st Mark “MarkN” Nelson 46”
2nd Matt “Calm-Seas-Big-Fish” St. Pierre 45”
3rd Jamie “Fish Fever” Eicher 44”
Ocean Kayak Pro-Staffer Mark Nelson with his winning 46” Striped Bass
Artificial Division
1st Billy “BillyBass” Eicher 44”
2nd Eric “ Slappy” Harrison 42.5”
3rd Rick “DiveBuss” Buss 41”
Billy Eicher and his first mate Brady and their class winning 44” Striped Bass
And there were no fish landed in the fly division this year.
