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jd1983

GSMNP fishing tournament

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I'm trying to get an idea if there is any interest in a two-fly tournament in Great Smoky Mountain NP. There would be teams of two people that would draw morning and evening fishing locations. Each person would be allowed two of the same fly pattern for the day. Once the flies are gone, they cannot score any more points. Points would be assigned for each fish caught and for the biggest fish a person catches. Team with the most points wins.

 

The proceeds from this would be going directly to brook trout conservation and reintroduction, split 75/25 between the region in general and the park itself. We are currently trying to decide what a good cost per team is and I'd like to price it at $750.

 

So, let me know what you think. Are there people out there that would participate at that price knowing it is really about conservation funding? Thanks for the help.

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Just as a reference point - The "pro" competitions are usually around $200 per 2 man team.

 

Understand this is more of a fund raiser event ..but at that price you will be appealing to a small select group of people.

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David, thank you for the reference point. I did not know what those types of events cost. I was basing the price on a single fly event on the Green River in Utah and looking at where the Jackson Hole One Fly is at in pricing. Might have to rethink the price point a little or figure out how to connect with that small group.

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Plus the travel from Florida to the "competition", I'd be out over a thousand bucks ... and I am only allowed to fish two flies?

 

"The proceeds from this would be going directly to brook trout conservation and reintroduction, split 75/25 between the region in general and the park itself."

 

And there's NO prize money to be won ???

 

What the heck is my incentive ??? To save fish in a creek I'll never fish again ... and that you only let me use to flies to try for the one time I AM there ???

 

Okay, now that the rant is over ... I do have one legitimate question. If you really aren't giving any prize money back to the "winner" ... why limit them to a certain number of flies? There's no reason to limit the type, or number of flies if there's nothing to "win" anyway.

Let them fish any flies they want to, for the duration of the tournament, without limits.

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Because that is the style of tournament it is. It provides a unique challenge to the contestants and makes you think hard about your fly selection. So, no, they don't get as many of whatever fly they want to fish. That isn't a two fly tournament.

 

If you think this sounds crazy you should check out the Jackson Hole One Fly. You get a single fly for the whole day. Two days. Teams of 4. No monetary prizes but they give out some nice gear to the winners. $7,200 for a normal team and $12,000 for a sponsor team this year.

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Wow that's a lot. Not for me regardless of where the money goes. I run a fishing tournament every year for the last 12 years for charity. It's 50 bucks a person. For the 50 bucks they get a tee shirt, free beer and barbecue afterwards and there is prize money. if I were so inclined to help out the Brook trout conservation in the smokie mountains I would just donate 750.00 before entering some contest where my only incentive is bragging rights about winning some event with only two flies. I have found that event sponsorships is how you raise lots of money not through crazy high participant fees. The more participants the more sponsors you will get. If you run a successful event the sponsorships will come and grow every year.

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Thanks for the replies so far. PD - how much do you end up raising in that format? How many teams are allowed to compete? We will be lucky to have spots for 15 teams in the park and we will never grow past that point. It just isn't logistically possible.

 

I probably should have included a few more details so it doesn't sound likes participants get nothing. They'll be getting breakfast, lunch, and a banquet dinner. Probably a free t-shirt. The big concern is that if we give prizes to winners they may lose the ability to deduct the fee from their taxes. Maybe that isn't as big of a deal to people though.

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Just a thought - do you need permission from the park authorities to hold a competition on public waters ?

 

If people can afford $750, I doubt deducting from their taxes is a major concern ....or they have an accountant that can find a way through the system.

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Yes, you have to acquire a special use permit and meet a number of stipulations to host this type of event in the park.

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I imagine that winning prizes in a competition to benefit a non profit won't keep it from being tax deductible as long as the prizes fall under a certain price bracket, also you could make the trophies something personalized for the placement say a pair of custom rods by Steve with the tournament name year and place on them for first.

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Up to 50 boats two anglers per boat. We like to keep it around 40 boats just to keep it manageable with the weigh in and venue for the after party. We generally need about 25 boats to break even with the food and stuff but we get a lot of that donated. Generally we come in between 15 and 20 grand that is mostly from sponsorships.

 

I'll add that it is not a fly fishing event and it does not involve trout.

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That is incredible. Like I said, we can't even get close to your break even number of teams. We will see. It might not be worth pursuing.

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The only big money tournaments I've ever participated in were the Wolfson's Children's Hospital Open. I tried it twice. There were more than 500 boats each time. $10,000 and a truck/boat combo to the winner.

$100 per boat, $10 per person "Big fish" prize. Like your event, Poopdeck, most of the prize loot was provided by sponsors.

The ONLY reason I was there each time was to fill a boat for a friend in the tournament.

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