First ever fishing tournament
August 27, 2015
Being a member of Club APRIL Marine (formerly the RPQ) comes with all sorts of benefits, including access to an active community of fishing enthusiasts. This year, we decided to hold a tournament to help our members get to know one another and have some fun. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did!
Given that it was our first time ever hosting a tournament, we called on the sport fishing association, Econ-o-Bass, for help.
Econ-O-Bass
Econ-O-Bass is a non-profit sport fishing club that organizes tournaments that are accessible to all bass fishing fans in Quebec – a unifying approach that’s near and dear to our hearts. On this very sunny day, the club’s seasoned volunteers gave participants a chance to learn more about bass fishing techniques, all while competing in a real – but friendly – tournament.
On Sunday, August 23, 2015, our competitors arrived ready to go for the planned 7:30 a.m. launch time. The rules were explained and the starting signal was given at 8 a.m. sharp.
Participants competed from their own boats, angling for two species: pike and bass. They were asked to weigh their catches in the Econ-O-Bass “tank scale” and then release them back into the water. This type of scale keeps fish alive by letting them be weighed gently in water – a must-have for competitions when participants aren’t equipped with fish tanks that are automatically replenished with water.
At 3 p.m., the competitors were given last call for weighing their catches and everyone was invited to attend the final rankings.
The Bass category had 6 rankings; the Pike category, only one! All entry fees went toward paying the prizes. Our partner, APRIL Marine Insurance, generously pitched in an additional $210 to our prize pool.
Final rankings and prizes:
Bass
1st place: 4.75 lb
Prize: Free pass to the 2016 Econ-O-Bass circuit
2nd place: 4.66 lb
Prize: $350
3rd place: 3.97 lb
Prize: $250
4th place: 3.95 lb
Prize: $100
5th place: 3.90 lb
Prize: $70
6th place: 3.67 lb
Prize: $50
Bass
1st place: 3.30 lb
Prize: $150
The tournament ended with a visit from Saint-Zotique’s mayor and a local town councillor, who came to applaud our initiative and thank us for choosing the Saint-Zotique beach for the tournament.
Our thanks to:
Pierre and Michel Brouillette from Econ-O-Bass
Town of Saint-Zotique
APRIL Marine
And, of course, our 36 enthusiastic competitors!
