Food Bank Trip

[Strafford]

A saltwater fishing forum that I am a member of www.fisharkadventures.proboards.com/index.cgi does an annual food bank fishing trip. The purpose of this trip is to catch as much pollock as possible and at the end of the trip all fish is donated to the local food bank, so with that in mind I figured why couldn't a group of us do the same on Champlain this winter. I know that we cant just drop off a ton a gils and seeds so we would have to sell them and then donate the money and let the food bank use it as they see necessary.

Here is a list of rules and ideas that I have been thinking of and I would appreciate any feedback or ways to improve the day.

One day of fishing on Champlain where all fish are sold and all profit goes to a food bank.

The trip will be limited to a maximum number of anglers. (I do not want to have a ton of people show up and have us clean out an area. As great as it would be to have a ton of fish to donate I don't want to get locals that fish for a living upset that we destroyed a spot.)

All anglers involved will donate $15 dollars to the food bank out of pocket.

The trip will be planned around the hardwater series and any other events to keep from overfishing an area.

If there is an interest in fishing for perch we could possibly do two groups in separate locations to better the amount of the donation.

The way I look at it we all love fishing and we all can go more or less when we want so why not do what we love and give back at the same time. I also know that there would need to be some considerable planning and I am more than willing to get the ball rolling and start working out the details. Please let me know what you think and we can try and get this to be a reality.

[barrebobber]

sounds like a noble idea man

[dody727]

i think it is a great idea and if someone approached a super market you could most likely buy food for cost i would also help out fishermen feeding the hungry

[scott blair]

Sounds good

[gofish]

You might want to line up a Fish Buyer ahead of time, might be awkward if a crew showed up with 400lbs of sunnies without prior warning.

I'd join, happy to help out a local food bank . The $15 up-front donation is a good idea...then I wouldn't feel too bad if I didn't catch very many.

gofish

[dylan8351]

You could count me in

[scott blair]

I can talk to rays seafood and set something up

[Strafford]

Yeah I was planning on giving rays a call once we figure out the details. I also was wondering if all of us that catch fish would have to be present to sell the catch back or if just a few could do it. I think this is a question to fish and wildlife but again we have some time to figure out the details. But from what I can see there is enough interest so I think it should be something we try to accomplish this year.

[dody727]

i think we should do it the same day as a tournament you will already have people out there i know a few media connections that might give some air time for this this could also promote the tounament series

[scott blair]

Dody might be on to something.I will have a transportation permit that would cover it .I do know you cant give your fish to another person to sell .

[gofish]

Sept 9, 2011 7:58:55 GMT -4 dody727 said:

i think we should do it the same day as a tournament you will already have people out there i know a few media connections that might give some air time for this this could also promote the tounament series

I don't think the two go together , in a Tourney you're trying to catch the biggest fish , in the fundraiser you're trying to catch as many fish as possible. In a fundraiser, I expect people would be more eager to share a good bite than in a tourney where you don't want the competition near you.

And you'd have to pay Tourney Entry fee and Fundraising fee for the same event.

just my 2 cents

gofish

[scott blair]

I guess you have a good point

[Strafford]

I also think that it should be two different events, but whats to say we don't get more people to keep their fish during the event. It just as easy to drop a fish in a bucket as it is back down the hole, but that would be up to each angler. We can just try and get that point across at the start of the tournament and if need be we could collect fish from people during the day so they are not holding on to a ton of fish. And if that's what needs to be done I will take time out of fishing to do so. (We all know i cant catch anything on tournament day any way)

As for just having the food bank trip as a group event I think by having it just be a group of good friends it will be more relaxed and more enjoyable. There are a lot of people I have never got to fish with and fishing a tournament is kinda of a hard time to get to know people. The biggest thing that i have noticed from the saltwater forum is that the trip, while a great thing for the community, its also about having fun and fishing with friends in a relaxed environment. But as long as we do it and help I don't really care the format of the day.

[scott blair]

The only problem is transporting the fish to the buyer they cant just give you the fish . It makes it hard to do something good.

[Strafford]

yeah that's what i was worried about. Maybe I can talk to fish and wildlife and see if we could find a way around the regulations or have a game warden on site at the end of the day or something to make it legal. I can try and do some research into it this week.