The tournament started at 5pm Friday, and you had until noon Sunday to submit your catches. The weather was pretty good for the weekend after a front blew through Friday night. This tournament is just as much about getting together and having fun with friends as it is about fishing, and there was plenty of fun to go around.

Thanks to all the hard work by the tournament organizers, there were anglers from as far away as Canada. As always, a large portion of the anglers camped in the Winter Island Park, where 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 money for some worthy charities: Heroes on the Water (HOW), Casting for Recovery (CFR), Greater Salem Boys & Girls Club, the Friends of Winter Island, and Sofia’s Fund, which supports children and their families that are battling cancer at the Floating Hospital for Children. We have to give thanks to all the great sponsors and individuals that donated lots of great prizes for the raffles, including kayaks from Hobie and Wilderness Systems. There was also a special raffle for HOW for a large tackle bag filled with gear donated by manufacturers, shops, and individuals. After winning a kayak in the raffle, Eric Harrison put it up for a live auction and raised another $700 for HOW.

Tournament Sponsors

Hobie – Wilderness Systems – Alden of Sunapee – On The Water Magazine – Al’s Bait and Tackle – YakAttack – ThermaCELL – Butchie Built – Skwoosh – Scotty – Surf to Summit – RonZ – Pelagic – Navionics – Okuma – Hogy – Guy Harvey – GreenFish – Backwater Paddle Company – AquaSkinz – Advanced Elements

Of course between all the fun, a lot of fishing was done and some big fish were caught. The winners were:

Val Omond fighting a striper with her fly rod

Youth Division Total