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Tag: Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament

Reel Time: Waterman tournament challenging

Reel Time: Waterman tournament challenging

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

The fourth annual Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament was held this past weekend. The two-day, fly-only redfish tournament with a snook calcutta was a sellout with a total of 145 anglers registered. The fishing boundaries were wide-ranging, including the west coast of Florida from Crystal River to the southernmost tip of Sanibel Island. The photo submission format and the iAngler Tournament app made it possible for fishermen in this entire range to participate. The tournament culminated in an awards banquet and prize-rich raffle at the Bradenton Yacht Club on Saturday evening that was made possible by many generous sponsors. All proceeds from the fly fishing tournament benefited Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the protection, preservation and improvement of the Tampa Bay watershed.

The two-angler teams received a collared long-sleeve tournament shirt, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper hats, dinner for two at the awards ceremony and one raffle ticket for each angler. The target species were redfish and snook. Scoring was done by the highest combination of the two longest redfish caught over the two days. If a tie had occurred in any of the three top places, it would have been decided by a casting competition based on distance and accuracy.

Dr. Jennifer Rehage was the guest speaker at this year’s banquet. Rehage is a coastal ecologist and professor at the Institute of the Environment at Florida International University in Miami. In her presentation, she explained how water management decisions, water quality and climate affect fish and the quality of recreational fisheries throughout Florida. Her work involves tapping into angler’s local ecological knowledge and knowledge co-production with fishing guides. Her recent work has focused on the presence of pharmaceuticals in our fisheries and the implications for wastewater management, the health of Floridians and Florida’s valuable estuaries.

This year’s anglers faced tough competition from the weather including cloud cover that made sight fishing challenging. To give an idea of the degree of difficulty between the fish and the weather, only 17 teams out of 76 caught at least two redfish to fill their card. Only 34 teams out of 76 caught at least one redfish. The winner of the tournament was Team Juice consisting of Capt. Greg Peterson and Christopher Dierlam with a total of 68.75 inches. Second place was awarded to Trip Saunders and Sean Kersting of Team TBS Beverage with a total of 63.5 inches. In third place was Tim Metcalf and Marlin Marshall, Team The Other Line with 59.6 inches.

I spoke with Team Juice member Peterson after the tournament awards and he offered this commentary.

“The weather was pretty tough for sight fishing and we never got good visibility once in two days,” Peterson said. “We had a ton of tailing fish pre-fishing on Thursday before the tournament, but they were gone Friday morning probably due to higher water and a south wind pattern. We found one small group of really big fish that were in a couple of potholes and we just had to go super slow. You’re never going to get two of these big, wary fish in a day, but we got one of them each morning. We only caught three fish in two days, but two were the right ones. We were in second after Friday but got our second big fish at 7:05 a.m. Saturday.”

Contact AMI Outfitters locally to book Peterson and many other excellent local guides.

Sponsors were pivotal to this event and the fishing community stepped up to support Tampa Bay Waterkeeper’s mission.

Organizations like Tampa Bay Waterkeeper are on the front line of the defense of our coastal environment and deserve the support of anglers and all those who appreciate the threatened coastal environment. As last year’s guest speaker, Bill Horn, mentioned in his closing statement, “If we don’t do this, we might be the last generation of anglers to have this opportunity.”

Please support these men, women and companies that step up to protect our local waters:

Antonio Castellvi and family

Northeast Marine

Bonefish Tarpon Trust

Ocean Conservancy

MRIC Spatial

Skinny Water Culture

Captains for Clean Water

Costa Del Mar

Carbon Marine

Taylor Freezer

Terracon

Varner Wakefield Equity Partners

East Cape Skiffs

Cayo Boatworks

Borrell Electric

Hells Bay Boatworks

Beavertail Skiff

Floyd Skiff

Chittum Skiffs

Compete in the Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament

Reel Time: Compete in the Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

No one has more vested interest in water quality and the protection of our local marine habitat than anglers. That fact is clearly evident for those that make a living from the bays and estuaries that define the Suncoast, making it one of the country’s most desirable locations to visit and live. It’s easy to understand that fishing guides, waterfront restaurants, marinas and resort accommodations like hotels, motels and marinas, benefit from a robust and sustainable environment. What’s less well appreciated by the public at large is the impact of a healthy environment on the economy at large.

Fortunately, local anglers, through advocacy groups like Suncoast Waterkeeper and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, are getting that message to a wider audience through the media, legal actions and events like this week’s Third Annual Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament. The event, a sellout this year, is a two-day, fly fishing-only, catch-and-release redfish tournament with an optional Snook Calcutta that awards the winner a 50/50 cash payout. The event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5. The tournament has a full field of 50 teams with 100 anglers.

All proceeds from the photo submission, all release formats including entry fees, 50% of the Snook Calcutta and raffle ticket purchases directly benefit Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. The fishing boundaries are the west coast of Florida from the southern tip of Sanibel Island to the southern edge of the Crystal River Power Plant main channel. The target species are snook and redfish. The Waterman tournament culminates on Feb. 5 with an awards banquet at the Bradenton Yacht Club and features a raffle made possible by our generous sponsors. A limited amount of guest tickets to the awards banquet are available for purchase for $50.

Locally, we are blessed to receive the benefit of two Waterkeeper groups. Suncoast Waterkeeper concentrates its efforts on the waters of Manatee County and Sarasota County, primarily Sarasota Bay. Tampa Bay Waterkeeper focuses its efforts on the waters of Tampa Bay and its surrounding estuaries. Local anglers know that there are no distinct boundaries between these areas and both organizations work together on broader issues, like Piney Point and the proposed fish farm off New Pass. While the tournament is sold out this year, I’ll report back on the results and would encourage everyone to support these groups’ advocacy efforts through donations, advocacy and volunteerism. Their work supports everything we value locally.

Reel Time: The Waterman

Reel Time: The Waterman

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, Reel Time.

The second annual Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament was held last weekend. The two-day, fly-only redfish tournament and snook Calcutta had 114 two-member teams and three single-angler teams.

The fishing boundaries were wide, including the west coast of Florida from Crystal River to the southernmost tip of Sanibel Island. The photo submission format and the IAnglertournament App made it possible for fishermen in this entire range to participate. The tournament culminated in an awards banquet and prize-rich raffle at the Bradenton Yacht Club on Sunday evening that was made possible by a large number of generous sponsors. All proceeds from the Fly Fishing Tournament benefited Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the protection, preservation and improvement of the Tampa Bay watershed.

Two-angler teams received two, long-sleeved microfiber tournament shirts, two Tampa Bay Waterkeeper hats, dinner for two anglers at the awards ceremony and one raffle ticket for each angler. Target species were redfish and snook. Scoring was done by the highest combination of the two longest redfish caught between Day 1 and Day 2. If a tie had occurred in any of the three top places, it would have been decided by a casting competition based on fly casting distance and accuracy.

Sponsors were pivotal to this event and the fishing community stepped up to support TBWK’s mission. Some of these included a $5,000 donation from Tampa-based primary care physician Antonio Castellvi MD and his wife, Christine, a Helios 3D Fly Rod 8wt. four-piece rod donated by Orvis, a Pro Dry jacket and pants donated by Simms Fishing Products, fishing trips by Capt. Derek Rust, Rusty Fly Charters, Capt. Greg Peterson, Head Shot Charters, Capt. Dustin Pack, Fly Tide Charters, Capt. Brian Jill, Lost Coast Anglers and Capt. Bucky Goldman.

Others included Two License Plate Fish Art pieces compliments of Cody’s Fish, fly lines by Cortland Line Company, gift cards from the Compound Board Shop, Sarasota’s go-to fly shop, a $250 gift card from Tampa Fishing Outfitters, a Tailing Redfish original acrylic on watercolor paper by internationally-recognized Florida Keys artist Tim Borski and an NRX + T2s 11wt. fly rod courtesy of G. Loomis. See the full list of sponsors at Tampa Bay Waterkeeper’s website.

Participants were greeted upon entering the yacht club with fresh oysters from Lost Coast Oyster Company, which aims to revitalize the lost industry along Florida’s Gulf Coast and become a leader in sustainable aquaculture practices.

Of the 117 teams that competed (only three of which were single-angler teams), some large redfish were landed during a close two-day event. In the end, the winners were Sean Kersting and Trip Saunders with two fish totaling 67.25 inches. My fishing partner, Benny Parrish, and I came in second with 64.75 inches. The team of Mike Rogel and Jeff Harrell won third place.

Anglers were pleased with the numbers of redfish that were spotted and landed but concerned with the condition of the bay. That sentiment was shared by tournament organizer and TBWK board member Adam Fernandez in his introduction at the evening’s awards ceremony and raffle. Other speakers included Maya Burke from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Justin Bloom, founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper. Kudos to all the sponsors, anglers and TBWK board members that made this event such a big success.

Reel Time: Join the Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, Reel Time.

The Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament is a two-day, redfish-on-fly tournament with the proceeds directly benefiting Tampa Bay Waterkeeper. Proceeds raised during the event will be used to promote the organization’s mission. Organizers have assembled an amazing raffle lineup with a number of high-end fly products to award at the awards ceremony and dinner.

The Waterman Tournament will raise awareness as well as money to support our fisheries.

The tournament is a two-day, fly-fishing-only, catch-and-release redfish tournament with an optional Snook Calcutta with a 50/50 cash payout. The proceeds from entry fees, 50% of the Snook Calcutta and raffle ticket purchases directly benefit Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. There is no in-person captain’s meeting and the weigh-in will be conducted by photo and email. The tournament is limited to 50 teams or 100 anglers total. There will be prizes, an award ceremony, dinner (sponsored by Hells Bay Boatworks) and the raffle. The schedule is as follows.

Friday, March 12

8 p.m. Mandatory virtual captains meeting via Google Meet. Only one member of each team must attend. Format and rules will be discussed and questions answered. The link to the Google Meet will be provided by email.

Saturday, March 13 – Tournament day #1

7 a.m. Lines in!

4 p.m. Lines out!

4:15 p.m. Deadline to email weigh-in photos

Sunday, March 14 – Tournament day #2

8 a.m. Lines in!

3 p.m. Lines out!

3:15 p.m. Deadline to email weigh-in photos

6 p.m. Awards ceremony, dinner and raffle at the Bradenton Yacht Club, 4307 13th St. W., Palmetto, Florida.

6:30 p.m. Deadline to check-in at the awards ceremony to be eligible for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.

NOTE: Daylight Savings Time takes effect at 2 a.m. on March 14. The later “lines in” time is intended to exclude dock light fishing. The earlier “lines out” time is intended to accommodate travel time to the awards ceremony. Anglers must check in by 6:30 p.m. to be eligible for awards.

Two-angler team – $250 (per team)
Includes two, long-sleeve microfiber tournament shirts, two Tampa Bay Waterkeeper hats, dinner for two anglers at the awards ceremony, and one raffle ticket for each angler.

Solo-angler team – $125
Includes one long-sleeve microfiber tournament shirt, one Tampa Bay Waterkeeper hat, dinner for one angler at the awards ceremony, one raffle ticket.

Raffle tickets

  • Additional raffle tickets may be purchased at the awards ceremony by cash or card.
  • Raffle tickets may only be purchased by tournament anglers.
  • Raffle tickets will be $20 each or six tickets for $100.

Note: Tournament fees and raffle ticket purchases are direct contributions to Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The tournament covers Florida’s west coast from the southern tip of Sanibel Island to the southern edge of the Crystal River Power Plant main channel. Anglers may launch at any ramp but must fish within the stated boundaries.

Redfish photos (with measuring tape, tournament placard, team number and daily code word visible) and Calcutta Snook photos (with tournament placard, team number and daily code word visible) must be sent by email to thewaterman@tampawaterkeeper.org within 15 minutes of lines out on each tournament day (4:15 p.m. on Day 1 and 3:15 p.m. on Day 2).

The weigh-in email should have a subject line as follows:

“Waterman weigh-in – team name and team number – Day 1.”

Emails received after 4:15 p.m. on Day 1 will be disqualified.

Emails received after 3:15 p.m. on Day 2 will be disqualified.

Each team will receive a response email indicating that their weigh-in was received on time, with the length of each fish weighed in as determined by tournament officials.

Please do not send more than two redfish photos and one snook photo per day.

Anglers are required to have their weigh-in photos available for inspection at the awards ceremony/dinner, if necessary.

After sending the weigh-in email, we ask that each team post their weigh-in photos and individual photos of the angler holding the fish on their social media accounts with hashtags #tampabaywaterkeeper and #thewaterman prior to the awards banquet.

I’m looking forward to participating in this tournament because the money will be used to help protect our fisheries in the Tampa Bay region. I hope I’ll see you there. For more information visit the Tampa Bay Waterkeepers website and be a part of the solution!