05/10/2021
The 2021 revival of the Striper derby went very well this past weekend. A to Z landscaping asked if we would host a tournament and within a week and a half we had hammered out the details. Wilde Construction offered to sponsor as well, and we were off and running by Friday night. Registration went smoothly, everyone was in the books by Friday evening, and most were out fishing by nightfall.
All except for two teams..
The best part of the weekend was Team Joker keeping Team Unreal at the bar on Friday night until some members may, or may not, have been passed out napping under a table at 2 AM. It was almost a script right out of a reality TV show. But, when Steven and I set up at 5 AM for Saturday registration, up comes Robbie Bigness from the boat for a cup of coffee, and he had lines in the water by 0530. He caught the winning fish from our docks, only a few hours later, probably still feeling pretty woozy from the night before.
Some teams had three generations aboard, grandfather, son and young grandson, fishing for the biggest catch and making memories. Some teams fought mechanical issues with their boats, having to pull the engine for a few hours saturday to fix a freeze plug, only to land a monster out of the river after the tournament closed Sunday and it couldn't be counted.
We had not heard of a catch and release photo finish tournament here when it was pitched to us, so we researched and gathered the posted rules of other tournaments across the northeast and tailored it fit our schedule and budget. We discussed the plan with DEC, and gave it a shot.
Next year we hope to refine our techniques, advertise more, and offer pre-registration, among other changes. A catch and release, photo finish tournament is a challenge to design on a dime, and we are looking forward to 2022, now that we have seen it can work.
Thank you everyone who participated, and big congratulations to Robbie Bigness who pulled the biggest fish of the tournament out of the water.
