Paddle-Fishing Challenge Series
2012 – 2013 Season
The new season is upon us and we have a new name – Paddle-Fishing.com Challenge Series. This series has always been about challenging anglers, taking them out of their comfort zone and trying to level the playing field. The new name fits that better. We really want the “I don’t fish tournaments” folks to understand that this is a challenge, not a tournament. There really is a difference.2012 – 2013 Season
First, though, let me tell you a bit about the decision process for this season. For a while it was doubtful we would be doing one this year. Several factors - starting a new business, an aggressive and packed high level cheerleading schedule for Todd’s very talented daughter and other personal issues for the guys who run this thing – really pointed to not doing a series this year.
Putting on a tournament series like this requires a lot of time and work. Someone has to run around town begging prizes from sponsors and then has to run around the week before each event picking up those prizes. Someone has to do all of the web work creating sponsor pages, sending thank you notes and reporting the results to the various media outlets. Several have to show up before everyone else very early in the morning and stay until everyone has gone off fishing. Several end up doing the work at the Pic n’ Sips instead of having fun eating, drinking and chatting with fellow anglers. Plus, if I’m going to be honest here, we expected larger participation. Sure, when we handed out $50 worth of free lures from Culprit/Riptide we got a full list of anglers but the next one that required spending $10 on your own lures the field was cut in half.
Now don’t get me wrong here. We all enjoyed doing it but this year, with the increased demand on our personal time, we were viewing this much more as work instead of fun. I think we’ve done a good job over the years of making this a ‘show up, pay your $10, go fish and have fun’ event for the anglers involved and that, in itself, is rewarding. So, instead of not doing it this year, we’re making some changes.
This year we are going to emphasize the ‘show up, pay your $10, go fish and have fun’ concept as it applies to the anglers AND the guys who run this series. The entry fee for each event will be $5 and, I can’t stress this enough, will be exact change only at the sign in. We will encourage public (forum announced) side bets. The only sponsors we’ll have are those that came to us and brought the prizes with them - we’re not going begging nor are we driving all over town picking up prizes. If you guys want sponsor prizes you are welcome to go get them. Better still, get the sponsor to come fish the event and bring the prizes with them.
There will not be a one-time fee for Paddle-Fishing.com. We’ll have a donation jar at the Pic n’ Sip. If you want to make a donation to help pay for the costs of the series and the site, we’ll appreciate it. If not, so be it. That seemed to be a bone of contention for some so it is gone.
There also will not be a season long pot or Angler of the Year competition. You are encouraged to make forum announced side bets for the season long pot but we won’t be managing the money.
We’ll also be making changes in the event formats. They won’t all be slam tournaments. One might be most spots on the redfish you catch, one might be most inches of trout, one might be the “Trash into Cash” event where only ladyfish, catfish and jacks count. We’re still working on that but the thought is to put all of the options in a hat and pull the choice for the day at the end of the morning sign in.
Lure choice may be different also. One event will probably be “use whatever lure you want but it must be purple” (or green, or black, or whatever color we decide on). We’re working on one event that is sponsored by one or two lure companies. If you can help with that, let us know.
We’re also pondering a 1 inch deduction for every logo you have on your clothes. We really think you should come to fish, have fun and meet folks, not be a walking billboard. On the flip side, if your clothes have a Paddle-Fishing.com logo, you’ll get 2 bonus inches. I lobbied for 10 inches but got over ruled by the executive committee. We’re thinking about bonus inches for an angler who has never been to one of our events in the past and bonus inches to the person who brought them.
We’re also looking for folks who would like to step up and be the boss of an event. You’ll make the lure choice, find the location for the Pic n’ Sip, collect money at the sign in and be made famous as you announce the winners. You’ll also be the last one to leave the sign in. It does get lonely standing there all by yourself as everyone else has gone off to launch but that is the price of fame.
Specifically for Paul from Masthead Marine and Walt from MetalFab – you are two sponsors that participate. We love you guys! If you’d like to continue this year, we’ll let you decide what wins your prize. You can pick anything from the funniest hat to the longest (or shortest) fish caught. Your prize to hand out, you make the choice.
So there you have it. The dates and locations are listed below. If I messed up and put one of those dates on a holiday or over lapped another event or gave a date as Saturday when it is really Wednesday, please let me know. The first date is solid, the rest can be changed over the next couple weeks if needed.
Sept 29, 2012 - Perico area
Oct 27, 2012 - Weedon area
Nov 17, 2012 - South Shore
Jan 19, 2013 - Fort Desoto
March 16, 2013 - North Tampa Bay
Oct 27, 2012 - Weedon area
Nov 17, 2012 - South Shore
Jan 19, 2013 - Fort Desoto
March 16, 2013 - North Tampa Bay
