Tournament season -my version

[pinkrules19]

A LITTLE LONG ..BUT READ ON
So the 2011 Vermont Sportsman Hardwater Tournaments have come to an end. To that I say boohoo, sob, and boohoo! How to sum up the season is easy. But the road to the Successful end was a long one. Why? One easy answer...MOTHER NATURE! I know there were many people involved in making the season such a success but top honors go to Scott and Jamie for all their hard work. So stay with me for a bit while I’ll take you down MY recap of the season...
1st Tournament- Dillenbech – January 22, 2011
Nearly 25 people brave the brutal cold and winds. Hats off to all for making the commitment. It was our first tournament and was so impressed. Scott and Jamie did things as quickly as possible. There was help to get everyone to shore so weigh-ins could get started and finished in what I call record time. There were door prizes for everyone who fished. Not your run of the mill prizes but NICE prizes that any ice angler was happy to go home with.
2nd Tournament –Larabee’s – February 26, 2011
Over 30 people arrive after one week of suffering yet again the wrath of MOTHER NATURE. Snow storms made for horrible road conditions and every concern that any of us had about parking or getting down to the ice were not just addressed but taken care of. Jamie and Scott made sure there was a clear path out to fish...and oh yes, and TINA a big THANK-YOU for shoveling the doorway to the porta potty...lol...the weather was nice for the most part in the beginning why we even saw the sun for a bit and I even fished with just my sweatshirt on for a bit. Just before it was time to head in the winds picked up and so did some snow. It was going to be a tough walk in but not to worry for once again help was there to help get those of us without ATV’s off the ice in a timely manner. My personal thanks to Les who I now refer to as the best ICE LIMO driver anyone could ask for. This was also the day that the Ice fishing Clinic for the kids was done. You’ve all heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” well if you look at the pics of those kids you can tell they had a great time. Hats off to all who gave up their time to see that a child got to enjoy a very special day! When we did get back to weigh in the one word I could think was “WOW” the concession stand was awesome and the “staging” area displaying sponsor banners was beyond awesome. Your sponsors would and should be proud to know that you do such an outstanding job with these tournaments. I for one will be sure to support the sponsors that support us. Again the “door prizes” were awesome. I mean come on where else can someone win a nice Hand Auger (donated by Norm’s Bait and Tackle) for the smallest weight.
3rd (last tournament) –Dillenbech- March 5, 2011
How to sum this one up ..(according to me of course) NIGHTMARE!! Yet again nearly 30 anglers brave the weather..I have now decided to NOT blame Mother Nature. But OLD MAN WINTER lol..Only a man would take such pleasure in playing this cruel joke on anyone for so long...to all who braved the 20 mph winds with the gust well over 40 you are my heroes. And to those who had to help others like ME... (THANK-YOU SCOTT) when I literally blew away in a gust of wind. I will admit the “old lady” got a little beat up yesterday and today will spend her time writing where I can sit quietly lol (picture that will you)Again the weigh- in when fast and efficiently and everyone got some great prizes again
To sum it up the ONLY bad thing about the season was the weather! DAMM that OLD MAN WINTER! The people we have met and the friends we have made helped to put a rainbow in the sky with all the wonderful anglers, tournament organizers, sponsors, helpers, and FRIENDS being the POT of GOLD at the end of it! I would urge anyone reading this to come join us at any time these wonderful people put on a tournament and bring a friend! You will NOT be disappointed.

as always
have fun
stay safe
PINK

[wey]

Very well put Pink AKA (Fish Whisperer ) You and your Family are wonderful people , It is great that Jamie and Scott and there families let them put there time in this , I'm going to try to promote this more and get other peoples comments on why there is not more people that want to fish it cause I know there is alot more of us out there that like to target those Species. I have to say I fished the Larabees derby and the last Dillenbeck derby and I enjoyed it except for not able again to get the Size or Quanity of fish ... Not sure why but oh well I guess it is not meant to be . Have to really thank the Rainville crowd for bringing so much people down , Would take a really hard hit to make #s if it was not for these guys Thank you to all of you for taking the time and money to fish the Event . Maybe Next year we could get a few more events in the Schedule at different places and make the Enrty fee down a little may help too . all of your input would be good also that is why it would be nice if all the people fished this were on the forum for input . But I enjoyed it very much and so did my Daughter Kayla really enjoyed it very much . The season is just starting to get good for some people LOL .. Thanks again for all the new friends it is a great Crowd and I got to thinking last Night I should have thanked you all for being part of the Forum it is really starting to pick up so please stay here and involved thanks again to all

[scott blair]

Thank you Cindy & Wey for the kind words. Jamie & I do the tournaments because we enjoy it and we want everyone to enjoy them as much as we do.I think they will only get better in the years to come.