Experience Canadian Heritage Rivers Photo Contest WINNERS!!!

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PALMER RAPIDS, ON, March 2012 – Parks Canada and the Canadian Heritage Rivers System partnered withCanoeroots magazine to present the 1st annual Experience Canadian Heritage Rivers Photo Contest. The contest received 280 eligible entries in four categories showcasing the 41 Heritage Rivers. The winning photographers received $6,000 in prizes provided by Parks Canada, the Canadian Heritage Rivers System, Black Feather, Teva, Salus, and Rapid Media.

And the winners are…

Parks Canada’s Canadian Heritage Rivers 1st Athabasca River – Yu Sheng 2nd Ottawa Locks – Rick Matthews 3rd South Nahanni River – Jason Kuruc	Canadian Heritage Rivers and You 1st Missinaibi River – Doug Hamilton 2nd Butcher’s Knife Rapid – Nick Troutman 3rd Bloodvein River – Rick Matthews
Canadian Heritage Rivers and Culture 1st Rideau River – Ryan Marko 2nd Missinaibi River – Doug Hamilton 3rd The Three Rivers – Dale Dewar	Canadian Heritage Rivers and Nature 1st Grand River – Justin Fabian 2nd Fraser River – Claudia Shwab 3rd Ottawa River – Lee Gilbert

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Sportfishing Industry Mourns Passing of Angling Legend Jose Wejebe

ASA extends its condolences to the family of fishing legend Jose Wejebe who died last Friday, April 6, in Florida. Jose “The Spanish Fly” Wejebe was an angler extraordinaire, TV host, conservation advocate and friend to the association and the entire sportfishing community. Jose also served as a spokesperson for KeepAmericaFishing™, sharing his commitment to marine conservation and sustainable fishing with anglers nationwide. He was loved by millions of anglers the world over for his passion for fishing and his unique ability to share that passion whether through his popular TV show or personally through the many appearances he made at shows and events across the U.S. He will be greatly missed.  More...

http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com/o/6394/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=99183

ROPE • RIDE • RIBBIT

                                            

                                 

May 2012 55th Annual Mother Lode Round Up & Parade

on May 12-13 (www.motherloderoundup.com) California’s

2nd longest parade kicks off in historic downtown Sonora

on Saturday May 12 with one of California’s best rodeos

running through the weekend. Kick back and enjoy an

old-fashioned small-town parade and the old west flavor of

Sonora and other nearby Gold Rush towns.

The Amgen Tour Of California

on May 16 (www.amgentourofcalifornia.com) America’s

premier cycling race will kick off Stage 4 in Sonora on

Wednesday morning. Meet world class cyclists and be part

of history in what has become one of the largest bicycle

races in the world! Sonora is very proud of being chosen as

a start city giving riders a chance to experience the beauty of

California’s Mother Lode.

The Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee

runs from May 17-20

(www.frogtown.org) in nearby Angels Camp. Mark Twain’s

famous short story comes to life every year at this very

unique event. Come watch the fun or enter your own frog

and see how you do in this exciting and historic competition!

 Be our friend on www.Facebook.com/atocsonora  and see details at Sonora Amgen Tour of California www.atocsonora.com or the Tuolumne County visitors Bureau Website at www.YosemiteGoldCountry.com .

 

Sandy Gordon

FREE National Park Week!

Northern California Getaway of the Week	April 17, 2012
FREE National Park Week! If you’re wondering where all your tax dollars are going today, here’s a chance to at least recoup a little of your hard-earned money. From April 21st through the 29th the entrance fees to all the national parks in the U.S. will be waived, including Pinnacles, Yosemite, Lassen, and Muir Woods. And because this coincides with Earth Day, several parks are offering free family-oriented programs such as “Junior Ranger Day”, ranger-led hikes, and volunteer projects. Think of it as an affordable opportunity for you to be a rock-star parent, aunt, or uncle while enjoying America’s Best Idea—our national parks. Read More » Visit About LocalGetaways for more information.

Practical advice and simple solutions for nailing springtime walleyes near shore

Tom Neustrom isn’t encouraging anyone to run their boat on the rocks or smash into mooring pontoons to find fish. But there tends to be a general distrust amongst the angling masses about fishing tight to shore for walleyes, and that keeps folks out deep. Neustrom, as a guide and angling educator, has inked more career walleyes in less than 10-feet than out across the great blue yonder. In this story, he offers up practical advice and simple solutions for nailing springtime walleyes near shore.  

Shallow Personalities

Breaking the typecast that walleyes are exclusively deepwater, low-light feedersShallowWalleyes_TomNeustrom_image2 Think about the crankbaits in your box like minnows volunteering for service. Author and guide Tom Neustrom hears them calling, especially Rapala Husky Jerks when he’s contending with shallow water walleyes. Photo courtesy of Rapala

By Tom Neustrom 

Walleyes are flexible, their lives spent adapting to ever evolving surroundings. This opposed to the fact that many walleye anglers are inflexible, set in their ways. Such was the case fishing alongside friends and relatives as a punk kid who should be happy just to have a seat in the boat.

Those formative years were banked on Lake Geneva in Southern Wisconsin fishing with my Dad. We fished for bass, northern pike, muskies, and panfish during the day – walleyes always reserved for sundown and the wee morning hours. My Dad insisted that you couldn’t catch walleyes during the day. Locals supported this stubborn stance claiming that walleyes only bit at night or under lowlight conditions, and held a strict diet of baitfish.

I was infinitely frustrated by the thought of only being able to catch ‘eyes under so-called ‘ideal conditions,’ when sunlight was limited and minnows in masse. Instead of succumbing to the area gospel, though, it motivated me to disprove the diehards.

So began a lifelong mission to understand the territorial preferences of walleyes throughout the day, the season, even imagining where they’d be feeding when I was stuck back home doing chores. And I held this gut instinct that walleyes not only fed by day, but also much shallower than believed, and ate pretty much anything the lake served.

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The oldest current standing record for blue catfish is being challenged!

Catfish fans, take note: a 32 year old record, and the oldest current standing record for blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus), is being challenged! Two young female anglers are also making waves with potential records this month, along with catches from Argentina, Colombia, Mauritius, and the Florida Keys, North Carolina, and Tennessee in the United States. 

r

Kelsey Johnson

Development/PR Coordinator

International Game Fish Association

300 Gulf Stream Way

Dania Beach, FL 33004

954-924-4360

www.igfa.org

Read on for updates on the hottest record applications we have received at IGFA headquarters this month:IGFA

Representative Peter F. Binaski of Costa Mesa, California, USA, landed a beautiful 7.7 kg (17 lb) dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) to qualify for the potential 4 kg (8 lb) tippet class record. Binaski, who currently holds this tippet-class record as well as the 3 kg (6 lb) and 6 kg (12 lb) records for the species, was fishing with local guide Elbio Bordon in Concordia, Argentina on Jan. 6, 2012 when his fish ate a well-presented deceiver fly. After a tense 17 minute fight, Binaski landed the fish and quickly released it after completing the necessary documentation. Binaski’s current IGFA record stands at 6.58 kg (14 lb 8 oz). 

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FISHING FOR DOLLARS

Contact: Dan McKernan

Email:   dmckernan@bigbear.com

Website: www.bigbear.com

 Cash prizes for May Trout Classic Include $8,000 for Top Nine Largest Trout Plus a Tagged Trout Worth $10,000

 BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif./ April 9, 2012 – Organizers of the 30^th Annual Jim Hall Memorial May Trout Classic (May Trout Classic) are pulling out all the stops for anglers to win big money. The top nine largest trout caught at the May Trout Classic share or split $8,000 in prize money (based on 500 entrants), and new this year is an opportunity to catch a tagged trout worth $10,000.

“The May Trout Classic is known as ‘The Grand Daddy of Them All’ because we stock the lake with enormous trophy-sized trout,” said May Trout Classic Tournament Director Jason Hall. “This year, one lucky angler could catch a trophy-size beauty with a tag on its dorsal fin worth $10,000.”

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FREE BASS PRO SHOPS KIDS’ CHALLENGE WEEKEND

Springfield, MO– April 10, 2012---Bass Pro Shops Kids’ Challenge Weekend Event will include free activities, prizes and giveaways at 54 Bass Pro Shops locations.

Kids are invited to join the fun at the Bass Pro Shops Kids’ Challenge on Saturday, April 21st, and Sunday, April 22nd from Noon to 4pm.  The event offers exciting challenges, such as bucket fishing, archery, life jacket races, knot-tying and a sleeping bag rolling competition.  See store for details.

Younger children will have a chance to get in on the action with their very own free activities like braided snake and arrow head crafts, plus a chance to win fun prizes, both days from 1pm to 4pm - while supplies last.

Please visit www.basspro.com for a complete list of locations participating in the Bass Pro Shops Kids’ Challenge Weekend Event.

MEDIA CONTACT:
BASS PRO SHOPS * Katie Mitchell *417.873.5618 * kamitchell@basspro.com

About Bass Pro Shops:
Bass Pro Shops® operates 58 retail stores in 26 states and Canada visited by over 112 million people annually.  The original store in Springfield, MO, at over 400,000 square feet and growing, is the world’s largest outdoor store.  Bass Pro Shops® also conducts an international catalog and internet retailing operation, American Rod & Gun® wholesale division sells to over 7,000 independently owned retail stores worldwide.  Outdoor World® Incentives also sells Bass Pro Shops® gift cards through over 132,000 retail outlets across America.  The Bass Pro Shops® restaurant division with 28 locations.  The company’s Tracker Marine Group® (www.trackerboats.com) manufactures and sells Tracker®, Nitro®, SunTracker®, Tahoe®, Grizzly® and Mako® boats through Bass Pro Shops® retail stores and over 400 dealers worldwide.  The Resort Group (www.bigcedar.com) includes Big Cedar Lodge® and other resort properties including restaurants and golf courses. For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops® store locations, products or special events, please visit www.basspro.com.  To request a free catalog, call 1-800-BASS PRO.  Follow us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/bassproshops.