Free Free Free All You Have To Do Is Catch And Smile

SGF hosts more free virtual tournaments

WRITTEN BY BRETT FITZGERALD | 28 MAY 2014

Registration is free, and you can win prizes just by participating. In an effort to bring more anglers into the data collection fold, the Snook & Gamefish Foundation is hosting a series of free 'virtual’ tournaments. Anglers across the country – and globe – are able to participate and potentially earn prizes just for participating.

YOU can participate in the next FREE events, which are scheduled for July 4-6. There will be both a fresh water tournament and an inshore tournament.

Designed to manage current tournaments as well as host new events that can focus on specific research needs, iAngler-Tournament has already successfully managed a tournament from the legendary Redbone series in the Florida Keys, and SGF hosted their own events throughout the month of June.

Once registered for a tournament, logging a fish is simple. Just open the app and select "Log a Catch," then fill in the required data fields.The 4th of July fishing tournaments feature fishing categories for inshore and fresh water anglers. You will receive points for all fish logged in the system, but the big points came from a handful of featured species in both tournaments. “The idea here is to get anglers used to the system, and to get used to the idea that every fish they catch has value in the world of fishery science, regardless of the species,” said Holly Andreotta, SGF Board Member. “SGF will continue to reach out to anglers, to engage them and find ways to include them in the process of building a better fishing future. iAngler-Tournament is a great way for anglers to get involved, whether it is a SGF event or an already established tournament. The data is very important.”

When using iAngler-Tournament, anglers are required to use their mobile smart device to record their catches and submit them to the tournament committee. This allows for ‘real-time’ updates of the leaderboard, which is appealing to most anglers. But the simplicity of use is what draws the most praise.

Overall winner Eric Shaheen said he and his girlfriend Tina Porada enjoyed the experience of fishing in the first tournament, Stars & Stripes. “We fish together all the time and can get competitive with each other in a fun way, but we’ve never really been tournament anglers. This was a first for us.” Like the other anglers in the tournament, Eric felt that the fishing was a bit slow due to all of the holiday boat traffic and fishing pressure. Still, he caught enough to win first place overall, and Tina took the award for most trout. They will both receive some SGF goodies as well as a DOA B.O.B. kit. “We fish strictly artificial, so the DOA lures will not collect any dust on our boat!” Eric also said he is looking forward to future events, as well as logging his regular trips in iAngler.

What:  Two FREE online tournaments.  Inshore Weekend Series: Round 2, and  Freshwater Weekend Series: Round 2

Who: You! And your friends. Anyone who is able to fish and has a license (if required).

When: Friday July 4 through Sunday July 6, 2014. Lines in at midnight, Lines out at 11PM Sunday. Fish must be logged by midnight on the day of the catch.

Where: Any freswater or inshore spot you want to fish!

Why: Take a chance at winning some prizes, and do some good for fishery science. Get involved - go fishing and log your catch!

How: Sign up for iAngler Tournament (create a username and password). Then register for the tournament of your choice!

Did you know? The Angler Action Program has already logged over 33,000 fish. Anglers are making a difference, and you can too by simply logging your catches.Bill Clutter, one of the anglers who won the DOA lure kit from a random drawing among anglers, agreed with the other anglers. “It’s not about the prizes here, it’s about collecting data. This system accomplishes that in such an easy way, you might forget that you are helping scientists learn about our fish.”

Anglers from around the country checked in to see the live leader board for Stars & Stripes last weekend. You can bet the next events will be much bigger!SGF Chairman Capt. Jim Bandy thinks this new form of data collection will fit nicely within the AAP family. “Previously, just about all of the critical data from fishing tournaments either evaporated as soon as the party ended, or was only collected in gross measurements. Now, researchers will get real-time data points of what species are caught, where, and when. This is especially important for catch and release species, because the data on them is almost non-existent.” Bandy points out that because the tournament data is collected in a different format than traditional measures, it won’t be used to make direct comparisons with current fishery models. But he assures that the nature of the data will surely enhance the overall process of fishery assessment, including habitat mapping. “This is a whole new sandbox for scientists to play in. We aren’t competing with scientists, we are helping them. We aren’t fighting current stock assessment models, we are enhancing them. Since our data is protected, it is a win-win for everybody.”

Any angler who is able to fish, meaning they have a license if required, can participate in the upcoming fishing tournament,Carmen Perez-Padron logged a variety of species in the Stars & Stripes, including this nice Florida Keys redfish.and it’s absolutely free. By participating, you will be helping SGF develop the technology as well as contribute to data collection.

“Angler involvement is going to be the most important factor in protecting our fisheries for generations to come. The AAP family of programs plugs anglers directly into the process. As more and more anglers participate, we’ll become increasingly powerful as a driving force for conservation.”

Sign up today, and take a few minutes to log a fish in the iAngler Practice Tournament. That way you will be completely ready to hit the water on June 7-8 and start logging data.

SGF note: iAngler-Tournament was created thanks to a very generous contribution from the Fleming Foundation. Also, many thanks to DOA Lures and Reel Swag for their support after a very last minute request! There are some really good peeps out there who care about our fisheries, and SGF appreciates every one of 'em.