2011 MCFF/CCA “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge” Results

Thirty-six fly anglers in 2 divisions competed in the 7th annual MCFF/CCA “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge” on Saturday, Oct. 29. Despite rainy and windy conditions, action was good. The tournament, put on jointly by the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers and the Sarasota chapter of Coastal Conservation Association was held out of the Ken Clark Auditorium at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds. Anglers could fish any water on the west coast of Florida with flies only in a catch, photo, release format fishing tournament for reds, trout, snook and more. Winners were awarded handsome plaques, gift certificates and Orvis fly reels. Sponsors of the event were Orvis, CB?s Saltwa-ter Outfitters, Economy Tackle, Flying Fish Outfitters, Temple Fork Outfitters, Simms, Discount Tackle Outlet, New Pass Grill & Bait Shop and Andy Thornal Company. Tournament participants were treated to homemade BBQ meal donated and prepared by Leslie Whitehead and Capt. John Hand.

Open Division
Based on total inches (guides, anglers fishing with guides and any other angler wishing to compete)

Slam (largest snook, redfish and trout)
Brent Wilson, Sarasota, FL 61.25”

Trout
Steve Gibson, Sarasota, FL 155.75”

Redfish
Bryon Chamberlin, Land O’Lakes, FL 84”

Snook
Jeff Brue, Sarasota, FL 86.75”

Fly Angler Division
Based on a point per inch format for redfish, snook, trout and multiple other species (no guides allowed)

1st place: Doug Fisher, Sarasota, FL
255 points

2nd place: Walt Plasson, Sarasota, FL
217 points

3rd place: Evan Jones, Sarasota, FL
214 points

Thanks again to organizers Rick Grassett and Brian Gorski.

July 9: Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club Tarpon Tournament
Guide and MCFF member Rick Grassett won the fly fishing division with a 35 1/2" girth (120 lbs) tarpon caught and released on a black deceiver. Well done, Rick!

May 14: The Crosthwait Fishing Tournament
The Crosthwait Fishing Tournament - one of the oldest and largest fishing tournaments in W Florida - added a fly division this year due to popular demand. Prizes were awarded not only for individual catches but also to the local fly-fishing club whose members caught the most inches on a cumulative basis.

More information is available here.

May 6-7: 16th Annual CCA Sarasota “Photo All -Release Challenge“
The Sarasota chapter of Coastal Conservation Association hosted its 16th annual “Photo All –Release Challenge” fishing tournament on May 6th & 7th, 2011. The tournament featured a catch-photo-release format for snook, redfish and trout with anglers using identical boxes of lures or flies that were provided.

Congratulations to Justin Hamblet, who brought the CCA Tournament fly division club championship trophy home to MCFF. Way to go, Justin.

2010 MCFF/CCA “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge” Results
The 2010 Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers/Coastal Conservation Association “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge”, headquartered at the Sarasota Outboard Club, was held on Saturday, November 6, 2010. A total of 28 fly anglers in 2 divisions participated in the catch, photo and release event targeting multiple species in a points per inch format. The event is a fun, friendly competition designed to promote the sport of fly fishing and benefit conservation efforts of both organizations.

Sponsors of the event were Orvis, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, Economy Tackle, Tampa Angler, Cook’s Sportland, Fisherman’s Edge, Discount Tackle Outlet, New Pass Grill and Bait Shop, Andy Thornal Co. and Flying Fish Outfitters.

PHOTO: Fly Angler division Grand Champion, Robert Fischer from Tampa, FL with tournament co-director, Capt. Rick Grassett.

Fly Angler Division-open to all anglers except guides and licensed captains

Grand Champion-Highest point total - Robert Fischer, Tampa, FL, 405.75 points

2nd Place - Tom Cawthon, Seminole, FL, 248.75 points

3rd Place - Walt Plasson, Sarasota, FL, 197.25 points

PHOTO: Open division Grand Champion, Dusty Sprague from North Port, FL, with tournament co-director, Capt. Rick Grassett.

Open Division - Guides, licensed captains, their fishing partners and any other angler who wishes to participate

Grand Champion-Largest redfish, snook and trout - Dusty Sprague, North Port, FL, 43.75"

Redfish-Total inches - Capt. Scott Dalton, Bradenton, FL, 116.75"

Snook-Total inches - Steve Gibson, Sarasota, FL, 115.25"

Trout-Total inches- Jeff Lemieux, North Port, FL, 48.5"

Call Rick Grassett at 923-7799 or e-mail snookfin@aol.com for more info.

Tournament News...
Aledia demonstrates her fishing skills again.
Long time Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers sponsor and supporter, CBs Aledia Hunt Tush tied for 6th place in the Inshore World Championship tournament Light Tackle Division in Islamorada. 78 fish were caught by 23 anglers during the tournament.

Aledia caught and released 3 bonefish topped at 9 pounds and a 70 pound tarpon. When trying to release one of the bonefish she kind of slid into the water ending up wading after it. Two other bonefish she caught were too small to register and another tarpon was lost. Great showing, Aledia!


Press Release: Winners Announced in Historic Tarpon Tournament!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sarasota, FL - July 13, 2010: The Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club announces the winners of the 80th Annual Sarasota All-Release Tarpon Tournament! Saturday July 10 was the big Fish-Off. Five weekly-winning anglers left the Sarasota Hyatt at 6:00 a.m. and fished until noon. Two fish were caught & released, and it was an exciting day of fishing!

First Place angler was Bryan Wright of Olive Branch Mississippi, catching a 31” girth fish. Bryan has family in the area and has been Tarpon fishing here for 25 years so it was not his first rodeo!

Photo: (L-R) Tom Goshorn, Rob Wright, Nicole Coudal (Tarpon Queen & Ladies Division Winner), Bryan Wright, Bruce Burkhart, Clark Nash

In Second Place was local Captain Bruce Burkhart who landed a fish with a 24" girth

The three remaining anglers fished hard but were unable to coax fish into taking a bait. Tarpon can certainly test an angler's patience. . . The final three placings are based on fish that qualified each angler into the Fish-Off:

Third Place: Clark Nash of Sarasota, with a 40.5" girth fish caught in Week 2 of the competition

Fourth Place: Robert Wright of Sarasota who qualified for the finals with his 40” girth fish caught in Week 4

Fifth Place: Tom Goshorn of Sarasota who nabbed a 39” girth tarpon in Week 5 of the tournament

Special Division Winners: Ladies: Nicole Coudal of Nokomis with a 36" girth fish; Junior: Cameron Gorski of Sarasota with a 30" girth fish.

The event also marked the first time in over 40 years that the Tournament's "Tarpon Queen" made an appearance. Wearing her tiara and sash, "Tarpon Queen" Nicole Coudal greeted the anglers at the Fish-Off and helped to celebrate their victories! Congratulations to everyone who participated and special thanks to all of our sponsors, including Sarasota Hyatt for hosting the Fish-Off and providing facilities for Tournament events. For more information go to here...

2010 CCA Sarasota All-Release Challenge
Tournament Results

Congratulations to all the winners of the recent Sarasota CCA "All Release" Challenge fishing tournament held on April 23 & 24, 2010. Here are the results...

Angler Division
Grand Champion (Slam) - Will Osborne (Bradenton) – 75.50” (Photo at left)
30.75” Snook, 25.50” Redfish, 19.25” Trout

Runner Up - Chuck Cress (Sarasota) – 66.00”
25.25” Snook, 21.00” Redfish, 19.75” Trout

PHOTO: Grand Champion (Slam) winner Will Osborne, from Bradenton, FL, with tournament director Bruce Burkhart and treasurer, Lowe Morrison.

Largest Trout
Keith Pratt (Bradenton) – 23.50”

Largest Redfish
Steve Johnson (Bradenton) – 30.25”

Largest Snook – Jeff Brue (Sarasota) – 24.75”

Trout High Point Total
1st Place – Bruce Burkhart (Sarasota) – 190.25”
2nd Place – Tim Bazell (Sarasota) – 190.25”

Redfish High Point Total
1st Place – Shane Montgomery (Bradenton) – 89.75”
2nd Place – Tony Katsarelas (Sarasota) – 67.00”

Snook High Point Total
1st Place – Chuck Cress (Sarasota) – 25.25”

Fly Division
Champion (high point total of largest red, snook and trout)
Rick Grassett (Sarasota)-30” (24.5” snook and 15.5” trout)

PHOTO: Fly Division Champion Rick Grassett, from Sarasota, FL, with tournament director Bruce Burkhart and treasurer, Lowe Morrison.

Trout High Point Total
Jim Knowles (Bradenton) – Jim Knowles - 160.25”

Ladies Division
Largest Trout
1st Place – Stacy Tarricone (North Port) – 22.00”
2nd Place – Vicki Reed (Land-O-Lakes) – 20.50”

Youth Division
Ben Hoffner (Palmetto) – 46.50” Total Inches Trout
Jordan Miller (Sarasota) – 62.00” Total Inches Trout

Congratulations to all the winnners!!

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Tournament Results from the 2009 Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers/Coastal Conservation Association “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge”

The 5th annual MCFF/CCA “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge” was held in Sarasota on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. A total of 31 fly anglers competed in 2 divisions in the catch-photo-release format tournament. The event, which promotes the sport of fly fishing and benefits MCFF”s scholarship fund and CCA’s conservation efforts, was sponsored by Orvis, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, Economy Tackle, Discount Tackle Outlet, Cook’s Sportland, Fisherman’s Edge, New Pass Grill and Bait Shop, Tampa Angler and Simms.


PHOTO: 2009 MCFF/CCA "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge" winners, Brent Wilson (left), from Sarasota, FL (Fly Angler Division), Tournmant Director, Capt. Rick Grassett (center) and Capt. Nick Angelo (right), from Land O'Lakes, FL (Open Division). Jeff Lemieux photo.

Fly Angler Division (no guides or licensed captains-based on points per inch of snook, reds, trout, pompano, permit, snapper, flounder, ladyfish, jacks and bluefish)

Grand Champion
Brent Wilson - Sarasota, FL - 277.5 points
Rick Smith - Bradenton, FL - 258.5 points
Justin Hamblet - Sarasota, FL - 157.5 points

Open Division (for guides, licensed captains and any other angler wishing to participate-based on total inches of snook, reds and trout)

PHOTO: 2009 MCFF/CCA "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge" Open Division (trout) winner, Capt. Pete Greenan, from Sarasota, FL. Jeff Lemieux photo.

Grand Champion (Grand Slam consisting of the largest red, snook and trout)
Capt. Nick Angelo Land O’Lakes, FL 56.5”

Snook (total inches)
Doug Forde - Sarasota, FL - 18.25”

Trout (total inches)
Capt. Pete Greenan - Sarasota, FL - 147.5”

Redfish
Capt. Dave Powell - Lakeland, FL - 23.5”

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Tournament Results

For Immediate Release: The Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club Announces The Winners of the 79th Annual “All Release” Tarpon Tournament benefitting Big Brothers Big Sister of the Sun Coast
Sarasota, FL- July 15, 2009 –The Sarasota Sportsfishing Anglers Club concluded their 2009 Tarpon Tournament this past Saturday at 12:00 pm with Aledia Hunt Tush winning the Fish Off. The Five weekly winners began their day at 5:45 from the Hyatt Regency Marina competing for the title of overall winner. Of the five anglers fishing, there were ten tarpon jumped with three of those being released. Aledia Hunt Tush measured the largest fish with a 32” girth and Jeremiah Acevedo took 2nd place with a 28” girth fish. Proceeds from the Tournament benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast.


The final standings are as follows:

First Place: Aledia Hunt Tush
Second Place: Jeremiah Acevedo
Third Place: Mike McDonald
Fourth Place: Marty Benson
Fifth Place: Tom Goshorn
These are the top five out of a field of 90 anglers.

In the Ladies Division, the standings are as follows:
First Place: Aledia Hunt Tush
Second Place: Lindsey Smith
Third Place: Lori Ann Carey

In the Fly Division
First Place: Hal Lutz

Please visit tournament website for more information:
http://www.sarasotatarpontournament.info/

During the five weeks of the tournament, there were a total of forty-two fish measured by thirty-one different anglers. Each angler that released a Tarpon and attends the awards banquet will receive a prize. The Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday July 25th, 6:30 at Marina Jack.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, founded in 1968, provides one-to-one mentoring services to children throughout the Gulf Coast of Florida in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Florida Ridge, and parts of West Charlotte counties. The organization provides mentoring services to an average of 1600 children each year. The mission is “to help children reach their potential through professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships”. For more information please visit www.bbbssun.org.
Stephanie Glaser - Events Coordiantor
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast
101 West Venice Avenue Suite # 34 - Venice, FL. 34285
Phone: (941) 488-4009 Fax: (941) 485-0604
sglaser@bbbssun.org www.bbbssun.org

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