05-31-2009, 11:19 AM
STURGEON BAY, WISCONSIN - A full field of 200 teams with 400 anglers from 11 states, three Canadian provinces and the Virgin Islands will be trying to crack the top 40 and get in on more than $100,000 in cash and prizes available in the 19th annual Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament May 15-17.
Top prize is a $33,000 Ranger 188VX Comanche boat (www.rangerboats.com) and Mercury 175 Pro XS Optimax (www.mercurymarine.com) motor combo, plus $10,000 cash.
The weekend event begins a day early for many with a bulked-up Pro-Am tournament that has added more cash, prizes and hours on the water.
While the pros will be fishing for cash on Pro-Am day, including $1,000 for the biggest bass, the amateurs who weigh the heaviest fish will receive top-quality fishing rods courtesy of St. Croix Rods (www.stcroixrods.com) of Park Falls.
The Pro-Am offers a great opportunity for media to interview anglers and get photos, footage or sound bytes on the water.
Both sponsor representatives and media are invited to fish. Call Denise at (920) 493-8741 to reserve a spot.
The Friday Pro-Am starts out with coffee and donuts at 6:30 a.m. in the pavilion at Sturgeon Bay's Sawyer Park. The mandatory meeting begins at 7 a.m. Pros and amateurs will be paired afterward, with participants due back for weigh-ins no later than 3 p.m. Special arrangements can be made for media that can't fish the whole day.
The "reel" deal, with the full 200-boat field, begins Saturday at Sawyer Park with check-in and boat inspections beginning at 5 a.m. and the first flight leaving to fish at 6:30 a.m. The second flight leaves at 7 a.m. The first flight is due back at 3 p.m., the second flight at 4 p.m. The same thing happens Sunday morning, but the fishing time is cut back an hour for both flights and the weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. The awards ceremony will follow, sometime after 4 p.m.
You don't even have to be interested in fishing to support the Open. Saturday afternoon's BayLake Bank-sponsored "Dock Dance" features the music of Centerline from 2-6 p.m., and on Sunday, Charter Communications is bringing SpongeBob's sidekick - Patrick the Starfish. He'll be there to greet the kids from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
There will be food, beverages and special clothing available all weekend long. In addition, two public raffles will be held to raise funds. The first includes a Mercury 40hp motor and two sterling silver trophy smallmouth bass rings designed by Sturgeon Bay jeweler Paul Spanbauer (www.wisconsincharm.com). Those are $10 each or 6 for $50. The other is an "arm stretch" raffle, all the tickets you can reach for $20 and a chance to win a MotorGuide trolling motor, St. Croix rods and many other prizes.
The Open provides a financial boost to many Door County businesses. A 2007 economic impact survey filled out by all tournament anglers found they combined to spend more than $233,000 the week of the event, most of it on fuel, lodging, food, fishing equipment and souvenirs.
The event also offers a great opportunity for less-experienced anglers to pick up a few tips and check out some of the monster-size smallmouth bass Door County is famous for.
Last spring, former Canadian fishing rivals Bill Godin and Mike Salvador of Ontario teamed up to set opening day and two-day records. Their six-fish tournament limit Saturday weighed 29.02 pounds, part of their winning total of 56.77 pounds - an Open-record 4.73 pounds per bass. A single-day mark fell on day two, with Michigan's Tad Hepler and Indiana angler Dave Eggers netting 29.99 pounds, missing a five-pound average by less than one-hundredth of a pound!
DNR fisheries technician Tim Kroeff said some of the big fish were likely old-timers from a record year-class of bass in the mid-1990s. They've been able to pack on the pounds with an all-you-can-eat buffet of round gobies, an exotic invader that has been one of the primary forage fish in recent years.
SHORT CASTS
"¢ The 100 percent cash back event has a phenomenal record of returning fish alive back to Door County waters. Most years, less than one fish out of 100 can't be returned. As always, the public is invited and encouraged to attend the weigh-ins.
"¢ The SBOBT has two events each year. The spring tournament is always the weekend after Mother's Day while the fall tournament is the weekend after Labor Day. Twelve committee members, all of them volunteers, help put the tourneys together.
"¢ $10 of each team's entry fee goes into a Conservation Fund. Through the years, the committee has donated money to the Department of Natural Resources for fisheries projects, to the City of Sturgeon Bay for the Sawyer Park Boat Launch, to county high schools for conservation scholarships and to many other local programs and projects. The pavilion, which replaced tents that were used in the early years of the event, was made possible in part by money from the fund.
"¢ Committee President Jon Baur predicts that within the next two years, a seven-pound bass will be brought to the scales. Last spring, the heaviest was a 6.49-pounder. Last fall, a 6.6-pound smallmouth was landed. In many recent spring events, close to 2,000 fish averaging more than three pounds each are caught, weighed and released back into the waters of Green Bay.
"¢ How has the fishery grown? Last year's average of all fish brought to the scales, 3.64 pounds per bass, topped the winning weights from the early years. The average winning weight has gone from less than three pounds per fish to the previous record of 4.39 pounds in 1997. It stayed under four pounds the next five years, missing by one-hundredth of a pound in 2002, before climbing to 4.16 in 2003. From 2004 to 2006, it hovered around four pounds - once just under, twice just over - before a 4.3-pound per bass average two years ago.
"¢ The spring tournament began in 1991 with 24 boats and $1,900 in prize money given away. Thirty-eight teams participated the second year, 71 the third and 150 the fourth year before surpassing 190 teams in years five and six, then reaching 217 in 1997. From 1997 to 2005, the number of entrants exceeded 200, peaking at 243 in 2001. It has been capped at a more manageable 200 since 2006. The fall tournament is limited to 100 two-person teams. The 2009 fall event has been cut back to one day instead of the previous two-day format.
Media Contact<br />
John Baur, SBOBT President: (920) 743-8183<br />
Wendy Heim, SBOBT Vice President: (920) 366-4939
PRO-AM FISHING DAY CONTACT:<br />
Denise Plassmeyer, SBOBT Coordinator: (920) 493-8741
Top prize is a $33,000 Ranger 188VX Comanche boat (www.rangerboats.com) and Mercury 175 Pro XS Optimax (www.mercurymarine.com) motor combo, plus $10,000 cash.
The weekend event begins a day early for many with a bulked-up Pro-Am tournament that has added more cash, prizes and hours on the water.
While the pros will be fishing for cash on Pro-Am day, including $1,000 for the biggest bass, the amateurs who weigh the heaviest fish will receive top-quality fishing rods courtesy of St. Croix Rods (www.stcroixrods.com) of Park Falls.
The Pro-Am offers a great opportunity for media to interview anglers and get photos, footage or sound bytes on the water.
Both sponsor representatives and media are invited to fish. Call Denise at (920) 493-8741 to reserve a spot.
The Friday Pro-Am starts out with coffee and donuts at 6:30 a.m. in the pavilion at Sturgeon Bay's Sawyer Park. The mandatory meeting begins at 7 a.m. Pros and amateurs will be paired afterward, with participants due back for weigh-ins no later than 3 p.m. Special arrangements can be made for media that can't fish the whole day.
The "reel" deal, with the full 200-boat field, begins Saturday at Sawyer Park with check-in and boat inspections beginning at 5 a.m. and the first flight leaving to fish at 6:30 a.m. The second flight leaves at 7 a.m. The first flight is due back at 3 p.m., the second flight at 4 p.m. The same thing happens Sunday morning, but the fishing time is cut back an hour for both flights and the weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. The awards ceremony will follow, sometime after 4 p.m.
You don't even have to be interested in fishing to support the Open. Saturday afternoon's BayLake Bank-sponsored "Dock Dance" features the music of Centerline from 2-6 p.m., and on Sunday, Charter Communications is bringing SpongeBob's sidekick - Patrick the Starfish. He'll be there to greet the kids from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
There will be food, beverages and special clothing available all weekend long. In addition, two public raffles will be held to raise funds. The first includes a Mercury 40hp motor and two sterling silver trophy smallmouth bass rings designed by Sturgeon Bay jeweler Paul Spanbauer (www.wisconsincharm.com). Those are $10 each or 6 for $50. The other is an "arm stretch" raffle, all the tickets you can reach for $20 and a chance to win a MotorGuide trolling motor, St. Croix rods and many other prizes.
The Open provides a financial boost to many Door County businesses. A 2007 economic impact survey filled out by all tournament anglers found they combined to spend more than $233,000 the week of the event, most of it on fuel, lodging, food, fishing equipment and souvenirs.
The event also offers a great opportunity for less-experienced anglers to pick up a few tips and check out some of the monster-size smallmouth bass Door County is famous for.
Last spring, former Canadian fishing rivals Bill Godin and Mike Salvador of Ontario teamed up to set opening day and two-day records. Their six-fish tournament limit Saturday weighed 29.02 pounds, part of their winning total of 56.77 pounds - an Open-record 4.73 pounds per bass. A single-day mark fell on day two, with Michigan's Tad Hepler and Indiana angler Dave Eggers netting 29.99 pounds, missing a five-pound average by less than one-hundredth of a pound!
DNR fisheries technician Tim Kroeff said some of the big fish were likely old-timers from a record year-class of bass in the mid-1990s. They've been able to pack on the pounds with an all-you-can-eat buffet of round gobies, an exotic invader that has been one of the primary forage fish in recent years.
SHORT CASTS
"¢ The 100 percent cash back event has a phenomenal record of returning fish alive back to Door County waters. Most years, less than one fish out of 100 can't be returned. As always, the public is invited and encouraged to attend the weigh-ins.
"¢ The SBOBT has two events each year. The spring tournament is always the weekend after Mother's Day while the fall tournament is the weekend after Labor Day. Twelve committee members, all of them volunteers, help put the tourneys together.
"¢ $10 of each team's entry fee goes into a Conservation Fund. Through the years, the committee has donated money to the Department of Natural Resources for fisheries projects, to the City of Sturgeon Bay for the Sawyer Park Boat Launch, to county high schools for conservation scholarships and to many other local programs and projects. The pavilion, which replaced tents that were used in the early years of the event, was made possible in part by money from the fund.
"¢ Committee President Jon Baur predicts that within the next two years, a seven-pound bass will be brought to the scales. Last spring, the heaviest was a 6.49-pounder. Last fall, a 6.6-pound smallmouth was landed. In many recent spring events, close to 2,000 fish averaging more than three pounds each are caught, weighed and released back into the waters of Green Bay.
"¢ How has the fishery grown? Last year's average of all fish brought to the scales, 3.64 pounds per bass, topped the winning weights from the early years. The average winning weight has gone from less than three pounds per fish to the previous record of 4.39 pounds in 1997. It stayed under four pounds the next five years, missing by one-hundredth of a pound in 2002, before climbing to 4.16 in 2003. From 2004 to 2006, it hovered around four pounds - once just under, twice just over - before a 4.3-pound per bass average two years ago.
"¢ The spring tournament began in 1991 with 24 boats and $1,900 in prize money given away. Thirty-eight teams participated the second year, 71 the third and 150 the fourth year before surpassing 190 teams in years five and six, then reaching 217 in 1997. From 1997 to 2005, the number of entrants exceeded 200, peaking at 243 in 2001. It has been capped at a more manageable 200 since 2006. The fall tournament is limited to 100 two-person teams. The 2009 fall event has been cut back to one day instead of the previous two-day format.
Media Contact<br />
John Baur, SBOBT President: (920) 743-8183<br />
Wendy Heim, SBOBT Vice President: (920) 366-4939
PRO-AM FISHING DAY CONTACT:<br />
Denise Plassmeyer, SBOBT Coordinator: (920) 493-8741