Concord Rod and Gun Club offers <b>fishing</b> series

The Concord Rod and Gun Club will offer a winter-long series of six seminars focused on local and vacation fishing experiences, techniques, and equipment.

Local anglers will gather at the outdoor sporting club for presentations by expert fishing enthusiasts. Seminars will include information about local saltwater and freshwater fishing opportunities, fresh and saltwater fly fishing techniques, fishing for beginners, various fishing methods, equipment examples, recommended informational resources and planning a fishing vacation.

 The first seminar is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. and will cover world-class saltwater fishing opportunities within two hours of Boston.  Attendees will be encouraged to share their recent fishing experiences and techniques which they have found successful for various species.

 Local saltwater fishing expert and club member Capt. Steve Kirk will lead the discussion. Kirk is the program coordinator for Project Healing Waters at the VA Hospital in Bedford, founder of Captain Kirk Enterprises, and an avid fisherman. “This is a great opportunity for beginners to fishing or advanced anglers to learn about where, when, and how to catch the predominant game fish in areas around Massachusetts, and to engage in discussion with other fishing enthusiasts about techniques and tips,” he said.

The full seminar schedule is:

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7-9 p.m. - World-class Saltwater Fishing Opportunities Within Two Hours of Boston

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 7-9 p.m. - An Overview of Fresh and Saltwater Fly Fishing – Techniques, Tackle, Locations, Sources of Educational Information and Training

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 7-9 p.m. – Best-in-Class Freshwater Fishing Opportunities  within Two Hours of Boston

Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7-9 p.m. - Getting Started Fishing for Beginners age eight to 80 & Places to Fish in Concord, Carlisle, and Surrounding Communities

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 7-9 p.m. - Planning a Fishing Vacation: Travel, Lodging, Guides & Fishing in Montana, Florida, Alaska, Canada, Bahamas, & Central America

 Seminars are open to the public and free of charge. To register or for more information, please visit: www.concordrodandgun.com and click on "upcoming events" or email fishing@concordrodandgun.com

The Concord Rod and Gun Club will offer a winter-long series of six seminars focused on local and vacation fishing experiences, techniques, and equipment.

Local anglers will gather at the outdoor sporting club for presentations by expert fishing enthusiasts. Seminars will include information about local saltwater and freshwater fishing opportunities, fresh and saltwater fly fishing techniques, fishing for beginners, various fishing methods, equipment examples, recommended informational resources and planning a fishing vacation.

 The first seminar is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. and will cover world-class saltwater fishing opportunities within two hours of Boston.  Attendees will be encouraged to share their recent fishing experiences and techniques which they have found successful for various species.

 Local saltwater fishing expert and club member Capt. Steve Kirk will lead the discussion. Kirk is the program coordinator for Project Healing Waters at the VA Hospital in Bedford, founder of Captain Kirk Enterprises, and an avid fisherman. “This is a great opportunity for beginners to fishing or advanced anglers to learn about where, when, and how to catch the predominant game fish in areas around Massachusetts, and to engage in discussion with other fishing enthusiasts about techniques and tips,” he said.

The full seminar schedule is:

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7-9 p.m. - World-class Saltwater Fishing Opportunities Within Two Hours of Boston

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 7-9 p.m. - An Overview of Fresh and Saltwater Fly Fishing – Techniques, Tackle, Locations, Sources of Educational Information and Training

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 7-9 p.m. – Best-in-Class Freshwater Fishing Opportunities  within Two Hours of Boston

Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7-9 p.m. - Getting Started Fishing for Beginners age eight to 80 & Places to Fish in Concord, Carlisle, and Surrounding Communities

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 7-9 p.m. - Planning a Fishing Vacation: Travel, Lodging, Guides & Fishing in Montana, Florida, Alaska, Canada, Bahamas, & Central America

 Seminars are open to the public and free of charge. To register or for more information, please visit: www.concordrodandgun.com and click on "upcoming events" or email fishing@concordrodandgun.com

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EverStart Series Central Division Headed To Table Rock Lake

EverStart Series Central Division Headed To Table Rock Lake
KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. - The EverStart Series is headed to Table Rock Lake March 1-3 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the first of four stops in the Central Division.

"It has been unseasonably dry and warm in Southeastern Missouri," said Pickens Plan pro Randy Blaukat of Joplin, Mo. "The fish never stopped biting; it has been like a pre-spawn all year. It is going to fish more like the first week of April rather than the first week of March.

"Anglers should be able to find fish just about any place they go on the lake and do well," Blaukat continued. "I think I would concentrate on the lower third. The water tends to be a little more clear and the fish seem to be a little more active down there.

"There are a lot of crawdads that the bass are feeding on now - I would try using crawdad crankbaits. Jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs will work as well."

According to Blaukat, the mild winter has kept the bass shallow. He believes that anglers will be surprised at how shallow they will be able to catch fish. Normally the bass would be suspended out deep this time of year, however, right now the bass are bank-oriented and he thinks anglers will be successful fishing in 5-foot depths.

Anglers will take off from Port of Kimberling Marina located at 72 Marina Way in Kimberling City, Mo., at 7 a.m. daily. Weigh-in on Thursday and Friday will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's final weigh-in will move to Walmart located at 18401 State Highway 13 in Branson and begin at 4 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Pros will fish for a top award of $35,000 plus a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger 177TR with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

The EverStart Series consists of five divisions - Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Nov. 1-4.

The EverStart Series tournament on Table Rock Lake is being hosted by the Port of Kimberling Marina.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the EverStart Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

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2011 California Billfish Series Wraps Up

While the 2011 California striped marlin season will go down as another tough one for the West Coast, the teams that participated in the California Billfish Series presented by Typhoon Polarized Optics made the most of it and still had plenty of fun. With three individual fishing tournaments, including the Zane Grey Invitational, Catalina Classic and Avalon Billfish Classic, the California Billfish Series attracts the top marlin crews in the western U.S. to compete for some big money.

The Zane Grey Invitational was the first tournament in the series, held September 11-13. Tournament director Ali Hussainy made the decision to move the tournament to Dana Point to take advantage of a body of striped marlin located right off the beach. It was a popular decision and the crew on Shark's Parlour, a 47 Riviera, scored a big win, taking home a paycheck of $79,213 for the Day One and Day Two dailies as well as the overall jackpot.

The team on Shark's Parlour, including Jim Sloan, Tom Sloan, Eric Hermann, Bryce Hermann, Rick Triguiero and Jesse Henry took the lead on Day One and held the position the entire event. The team hooked a marlin well south of Dana Point on a live bait at 10:55 a.m. on Day One. Jesse Henry landed the fish just 20 minutes later, and the team decided to release it and take the 100 points. Henry's fish was the only one caught on the day.

At 8:19 a.m. on Day Two, the team on Ruckus, a 40 Riviera, radioed tournament control to report a hookup on a live bait. Angler Johnny Jensen came tight to a striped marlin and it sounded like the fleet had found the fish. Unfortunately, Jensen's fish came unbuttoned just a few minutes later and the 10-boat fleet did not report any more hookups on the day. Shark's Parlour release on Day One stood as the only qualifying catch and swept all of the dailies and overall jackpot.

The next two events in the series, the Catalina Classic and Avalon Billfish Classic were held on historic Catalina Island from September 18-20. These tournaments are fished simultaneously as the Catalina Classic is a big-fish event and the Avalon Billfish Classic is an all-release tournament. The majority of the participating boats fish in both tournaments at the same time.

The 21 participating teams enjoyed blue skies and perfect temperatures as they checked in at Descanso Beach and tried their luck at the Phenix Rods casting contest, and battled it out from the Pompanette fighting chair. The prize money up for grabs totaled $138,167 with 10 boats going all-in across the board in the Catalina Classic and two more went for the big payday in the Avalon Billfish Classic as well. When you add in all of the great prizes from the tournament's sponsors, including Fraser-Volpe gyros, custom bronze trophies, Phenix marlin casters with Accurate reels, Hot Liquid Lures, Dana Landing gift cards and much more, the fleet is fishing for more than $160,000 in cash and prizes.

Each angler had a chance to win a brand-new Phenix marlin caster with an Accurate 665 reel in the casting contest. It was a tight competition with several guys hitting the target but in the end Billy Miyagawa and Barry Brightenburg won out and each went home with a rod-and-reel combo worth upwards of $1,000.

There was also a cranking contest from a Pompanette fighting chair and the Berkley knot-tying competition. Teams mingled back and forth chatting with sponsors and going through their swag bags which were packed to the gills with goodies from the event's sponsors. The Typhoon girls made everyone's day a little brighter as they took photos with competitors.

The opening day festivities were a big hit, but these teams came to catch striped marlin. On Day One, the 21-boat fleet lined up outside of Avalon Harbor in a misty grey light for the Shotgun Start. At the sound of the opening horn most of the fleet motored southeast hoping to find striped marlin. There were a few bodies of fish scattered around the Mackerel Bank and off the east side of Clemente. At 11:13 a.m. the crew on Chaser came tight to a swordfish, which unfortunately don't count in the California Billfish Series. The angler cranked down the drag and broke the fish off after just a few minutes. It was the only reported action of the day.

Conditions were tough going into Day Two, but the fleet wasn't about to give up. After consulting with the teams, tournament director Ali Hussainy made the decision to expand fishing hours to 5 p.m. if no qualifying marlin were caught or released to give teams more time to find a fish.

"We want to see someone win the prize money, so we decided to expand the fishing hours," Hussainy said.

Just before 4 p.m. Capt. Mike "the Beak" Hurt and his team on Chiqelin found what they were looking for. Working the area way south in the tournament grid, the crew cast out a live mackerel on a feeding marlin. They came tight to the fish, which was worth upwards of $140,000 in prize money, but unfortunately it spit the hook just a few minutes after taking the bait.

With no fish caught in the event, Hussainy decided to roll the prize money over to the 2012 events and give back all of the optional jackpot cash minus the tournament's operational cut. It was either that or fish for one more day. It was a popular decision with the participants who applauded the move at the banquet.

Later that night all of the teams assembled in the historic Catalina Casino at Avalon for the banquet dinner and though fishing may have been slow, you wouldn't know it based on the laughs and good times everyone had. Teams dined on prime rib, licked their wounds and walked off with a long list of raffle items such as custom casters from Fisherman's Landing Tackle Shop, Montauk Tackle clothing, artwork, Tournament Cable dredges, subscriptions to Pacific Coast Sportfishing, a trip to Rancho Leonaro, a Pompanette fighting chair and the biggest prize of the night, a $5,000 pair of Fraser-Volpe gyro binoculars.

In the end, it was a fun three days on Catalina and all of the teams agreed that the new owners did a great job with the tournament. The teams loved the new live scoring feature on the tournament website, www.catalinaclassic.com and thanks to the tournament's sponsors, no one went home empty handed.

Media Contact
Ali Hussainy, ali@catalinaclassic.com; 619.277.1978

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