Our first-ever Gulf Coast Sweetwater Classic fly fishing tournament and festival went on as planned this past weekend. It should be noted this event took place prior to COVID-19 social distancing regulations imposed on Monday. Even so, concerns about the virus had a negative impact on attendance, as about a dozen folks cancelled out just prior to the event.
Even so, we had 44 attendees from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Several folks tied flies during the event. We also had an exhibit from Casting For Recovery (thanks Diane & Susan), who on Saturday gave a presentation to the group about their program. Larry Offner sold some popper bodies from his old fly shop. We also on display the Crescent LiteTackle kayak which we are continuing to rafflee through April.
GCC Assistant Education Director Roger Breedlove conducted a Casting Skills Challenge for participants. This FFI program has been extremely popular nationwide, and was so at the Classic. We’ll post a report later from Roger on results from the event.
We also had two fly tying contests. GCC Fly Tying Director conducted a “One Feather Challenge” on Friday evening, and an “Iron Fly Tying Contest” on Saturday. A.J. Rosenbohm won the One Feather, while Mike Carlin was winner of the Iron Fly.
We also held a silent auction and a Gamblers Draw on Saturday to raise money to help pay for the event (attendance was free). It was a huge success. Not only did we pay all expenses, but we were able to add a few hundred dollars for our conservation and education initiatives. This in addition to the money raised from the tournament.
Speaking of tournament, the fishing was the main event at the Classic. While the bream run mostly small on Lake Tangipahoa, the bass get big! The slot limit requires all anglers to release bass between 15-22 inches. Four participants caught bass between 16 and 18 inches on Saturday, and a couple other big fish were lost. Albert Wood hung one on his Coyote Fly he claims was close to 10 pounds! A few of us saw bass in the 5+ pound range but they wouldn’t eat.
Onto the tournament results…
Friday afternoon we held a Big Bream Contest with 14 participants. It was a $5 cash entry, winner take all event. LOTS of small bream 5 and 6 inches were caught, but a few folks managed to find a big redear or bluegill to get to the top of the board. Popping bugs and spider patterns caught a lot, while microjigs, fluff butts, and woolybuggers caught fewer but bigger ones.
Big Bream Contest
1st – Gene Dufrene – 8.63
2nd – Rex White – 8.25
3rd – Glen Cormier – 8.00
4th – Fred Hannie – 7.75
5th – Larry Strohm – 7.00
Saturday was the Classic tournament. This was a CPR (catch-photo-release) event using the technology of the internet, with an app designed for smartphones and smart cameras known as iAngler Tournament app.
We had a glitch with the app tournament day, but Micheal Christopher of iAngler was proactive! He called me just before the tournament started at 7:00am and told me about the problem. With Mike’s help, we were able to resolve all problems – except one. Eventually I was able to resolve that issue after the tournament was over. But it did delay reporting the results and awarding of the prizes by one hour.
Still, I can’t begin to thank Mike enough for his assistance in setting up the tournament – and great customer service! I highly recommend the iAngler Tournament app to anyone considering a CPR event.
We had 6 participants in the BANK Division which was a slam contest. That is, cumulative inches of longest bass + longest crappie + longest bream. While no crappie were caught, there were two very nice bass taken. Bream were nearly absent after being quite active the afternoon before. First place was awarded a cash prize, while 2nd and 3rd places were awarded with Signature Series polarized fishing sunglasses.
Bank Division (3 species slam):
1st – Barry Mason – 23.00
2nd – Jimmy Hyatt – 17.00
3rd – Fred Hannie – 7.75
Notable catches – Barry Mason with a 17.5 inch bass, Jimmy Hyatt with a 17.0 inch bass.
We had 13 participants in the BOAT Divisions (Bass, Crappie). Longest bass and longest crappie were awarded cash prizes, while 2nd and 3rd places in each division were awarded with Signature Series polarized fishing sunglasses.
Boat- Crappie Division (longest fish):
1st – Glen Davis – 13.25
2nd – Albert Wood – 8.50
Boat – Bass Division (longest fish):
1st – Glen Davis – 17.25
2nd – Hayden Burton – 16.00
Bei
ng our first Classic, we saw room for improvement. For example, our banner was missing. Another was lack of a Saturday lunch at the facility. We will be appointing someone next year specifically for arranging that. Also, Mike with iAngler told me later that there’s a practice tournament we can use to test out. This should make things run more smoothly.
We plan to poll the attendees, as well as the fly fishing community in the GCC region, to determine how to make the Sweetwater Classic better. There’s also been requests for a “Saltwater Classic” which we may include as a separate poll.
Back in March at the first-ever Gulf Coast Sweetwater Classic at Percy Quin State Park, one of the major non-fishing activities was the “Casting Skills Challenge” setup by our Education Director, Roger Breedlove. The CSC is an FFI program designed for all casters, from beginner to advanced, to be a fun way to study, practice and challenge oneself in a progressive fashion at one’s own pace.
