Fish Huron Ohio Walleye Challenge Combines with the Walleye Central Get Together

[Golden]

SAVE THE DATE - SATURDAY OCTOBER 5, 2013 for the Fish Huron Ohio Walleye Challenge open tournament.

We are combining with the annual Walleye Central Get Together and Charity Raffle to hopefully deliver a FUN weekend.

Look for more details within the next month but I wanted to get the date out there now.

Registration for for Fish Huron Walleye Challenge will be online only via the Fish Huron site in late August like we have done the past few years.

The WC Dinner and Raffle will be on Friday Oct 4. We will have a new twist to the raffle that will allow the opportunity for the crowd to do more socializing with more than just the 6 or 8 people at your table.

We are working out the details on how to handle logistics for a combined weigh-in for the Walleye Challenge and the WC Braggin' Rights. There will be options to participate in BOTH events as well as the option to participate in EITHER event INDIVIDUALLY.

We will have a bigger COMBINED AWARDS PARTY on Saturday night.

I'm already getting pressured to increase the Fish Huron Walleye Challenge from 80 teams. If I do it will be a maximum of 100 teams. Undecided at this point.

Steve Carlson

[Juls]

Steve Carlson posted this on FB earlier today....This should give all the details needed to enter and answer any questions.

REGISTRATION OPENS WED SEPT 4 AT 10AM via www.fishhuronohio.com

Fish Huron Ohio Walleye Challenge presented by South Shore Marine, Pursuit & Grady White Boats.

Saturday October 5, 2013 - Blow Date Sunday Oct 6.

HURON BOAT BASIN 419 433-4848 http://www.cityofhuron.org/huron/par...on-marina.html dockage is available for the tournament. Call for details.

PAYING OVER $22,000 IN CASH! All payouts based on weight.
100 Team Maximum Field with 90 teams considered a full field for payout purposes.
Teams can have 2 to 6 members. Max of 6 rods in use. 2 man teams limited to 4 rods. ONE LURE PER ROD – THIS MEANS NO “SLIDER” OR “3-WAY” tandem / triple lures. Boat numbers & starting positions determined by the order of registration.
Entry Fee = $300 per team plus $5 online processing fee and INCLUDES Big Fish entry. Registration is non refundable but transferable to another party with Tournament Director approval.

REGISTRATION ONLINE VIA PAYPAL / CREDIT CARD WED SEPT 4 at 10AM on www.FishHuronOhio.com NOTE when you go on the website clear out your web browser’s “cache” – or REFRESH your browser screen to see the link that will be added for Tournament Registration

1st Place = $5,000
2nd Place = $3,500
3rd Place = $2,500
4th Place = $2,000
5th Place = $1,500
6th Place = $1,200
7th Place = $1,000
8th Place = $900
9th Place = $800
10th Place = $700
11th Place = $600
12th Place = $500
13th Place = $400
14th Place = $350
15th Place = $300

Big Walleye Payouts 1st = $600 2nd = $300 3rd = $100 – Sponsored by Marine Max Catawba Island

We will again offer the OPTIONAL “SIDE BET” that added another $4,000+ to the 2011 & 2012 tournament payouts. $100 per team – PAYABLE IN CASH AT THE REGISTRATION MEETING between 5:30 – 7 PM Friday Oct 4. Payout for this will be 100% and will pay 2 places. 75% to the best weight of the teams in the side bet and 25% to the next best weight in the side bet.

FRIDAY OCT 4 RULES MEETING & DINNER & WALLEYE CENTRAL CHARITY RAFFLE AT MESENBUG HALL. 545 Cleveland Road West Huron, OH 44839. Located ½ mile West of the Boat Basin. Short Rules / Procedure meeting will start at 7PM SHARP with dinner immediately following. At least one member per team must attend and check in PRIOR TO 7PM.

We are teaming up with the WALLEYE CENTRAL GET TOGETHER & CHARITY RAFFLE for 2013. Signup for the “BRAGGING RIGHTS” Walleye Central Big Fish contest will take place Friday night at Mesenburg Hall and it will be for a single big walleye per team this year. Weigh in will run with the Walleye Challenge weigh-in. You can enter both the FISH HURON Walleye Challenge, and the Walleye Central Bragging Rights event, or each one separately. Full details for the Walleye Central Bragging Rights will be announced on Friday night at Mesenburg Hall. We will have a donation jar to help cover costs of the meal and other expenses and have raffle tickets for sale from 5:30 to 7PM. The raffle will be a different format this year – rather than giving out “a lot of little prizes” and the raffle taking a lot of time, we plan to pre-package raffle prizes in groups so that each winning ticket will win a more valuable prize package. You will have the opportunity to select which prize packages you would like to enter your raffle tickets in. Along with winning better prize packages this should help make the event more of a “social event” giving the opportunity to talk to more people than the group at your table while looking at raffle tickets. The raffle portion should be wrapped up in 30 minutes.

Boat Inspections will take place starting at 6:45AM at the Huron Boat Basin / WEST river wall and at the boat ramp prior to launching. If you are docked at the Boat Basin we will inspect at your dock. Teams can pull boats up along the Boat Basin river wall for inspections – OR AN EMPTY DOCK in the Basin. Once your boat has been inspected you will receive a “token” that you will take up to get your boat number card. Boat # Cards will be handed out at the Boat Basin at a table set up on the South side of the office / restroom building. Once you have your boat card you can either remain tied up along the wall or at your dock or stage out in the river. HAVE YOUR VHF RADIO ON CH 17.

TAKE-OFF AND CHECK-IN LOCATION will be from the observation deck on the WEST WALL of the Huron River and will be clearly marked with flags and a photographer. Boats should line up in order prior to takeoff allowing enough time to be at the takeoff point at the designated time. Boats 1–50 will take-off beginning at 8:00 and must check-in by 3:30PM. Boats 51+ will take off at 8:30 and must check-in by 4:00. You may take off once your number has been called on VHF channel 17 and you pass to the NORTH of. Any boat not clearly SOUTH of the check-in location at 3:30 for flight one (boats 1-50) and 4:00 for flight two (boats 51+) will be late and will NOT weigh fish. You must pass close enough for the check-in volunteers to see and confirm your boat number.

SCALES WILL OPEN at 3:15PM. FISH MUST COME TO THE SCALES AT THE DESIGNATED DROP OFF LOCATION ALONG THE RIVER WALL ONLY. If you are docked in the Boat Basin you must drop your fish BEFORE going to your dock. After you have weighed fish, IMMEDIATELY move your boat away from the drop off location. There will be some open docks in the Boat Basin. DO NOT OCCUPY ANY DOCKS THAT HAVE LINES ON THEM. You can also tie up along the river wall or put your boat on the trailer after weighing in. You MUST bring your fish to the scales in one of the baskets/bags provided by Fish Huron Ohio.
Each team MUST weigh ONE walleye for big fish. Present this fish at the scale FIRST. It is up to you to decide which fish you wish to weigh prior to getting to the scale. Big Fish be used as a tie-breaker for overall weight.

IF YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR THE WALLEYE CENTRAL BRAGGING RIGHTS BIG FISH CONTEST INDICATE THAT WHEN YOU PRESENT YOUR BIG FISH TO THE SCALE. After the weight of the heaviest fish is recorded, add your next 4 fish to the weigh basket. It is up to the teams to PRE-SELECT the 5 fish they want to weigh. DO NOT BRING MORE THAN 5 FISH TO THE SCALES. If there is a tie for Big Fish weight, overall weight will be the tie-breaker for Big Fish awards. TURN IN YOUR BOAT NUMBER CARD AT THE SCALES. IF YOU ARE NOT WEIGHING FISH RETURN THE CARD.

Teams have the option of keeping your fish after weighing them, or Fish Huron Ohio will accept donations and will have the fish cleaned and then will donate the fillets to local charities in the Huron, OH area.

AWARDS / FOOD @ BRASS PELICAN UPSTAIRS BANQUET ROOM - 132 Main Street. Food will be supplied by Fish Huron and ready beginning at 4:45PM - CASH BAR. The awards presentation will take place at 6:00PM. This will give teams the time to return to their docks or put boats on trailers if desired.

Tournament Rules
Interpretation of the rules will be at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director and not subject to protest.

Fishing is limited to the Ohio waters of Lake Erie. No trailering during tournament hours. OPEN COMMUNICATION IS PERMITTED.

2 person teams limited to 4 rods in use per Ohio Fishing Regulations. 3 to 6 person teams limited to a maximum of 6 rods in use. ONE LURE PER ROD – THIS MEANS NO “SLIDER” OR “3-WAY” tandem / triple lures. No dead fish penalty but fish will be examined if there is any question of the fish being caught during tournament hours.

The tournament hours may be modified, rescheduled or cancelled at the discretion of the tournament director for safety reasons. Teams are responsible for the safety of their boat and team members. You must have all required USCG Safety gear and a working VHF radio.

Bait and tackle may not be passed between boats after the take-off. Only registered contestants are allowed to be on the boat during tournament hours. Competitors must not come in physical contact with any other boats during tournament hours. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BOAT OWNER TO MAINTAIN THE BOAT IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. IF THERE IS A MECHANICAL / SAFETY ISSUE AND YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE TO MAKE IT TO THE CHECK-IN ON TIME THE ASSISTANCE MUST COME FROM A COMMERCIAL TOWING SERVICE. IF YOU MAKE IT TO THE CHECK-IN ON TIME UNDER TOW FROM A COMMERCIAL TOWING SERVICE YOUR FISH WILL BE WEIGHED. Any disabled boat must notify the tournament director by phone 330-283-2155. Fish must not be combined between teams or accepted from someone not in the tournament.

The tournament committee or any contestant has the right to protest another team or contestant. The protest must be made to the tournament director prior to the Awards Presentation & accompanied by a $300 cash fee. If protest is upheld, the fee will be returned. If it is not, no refund will be given.

Fish Huron Ohio Tournament Director has right of entry refusal or expulsion from the tournament for any reason.

NOTE: If the weather does not allow fishing on Saturday Oct 5 or the blow day Sunday Oct 6, the prize money will be awarded via a random draw of the team numbers. This drawing and prize award will take place on Sunday Oct 6 if necessary at The Huron Boat Basin at 10:00AM with the first ticket drawn getting the payout for 3rd big fish, next 2nd big fish, next 1st big fish, then 15th place and the last ticket drawn getting the payout for 1st place. A separate drawing will take place for the teams in the side bet. 1st ticket gets 25% of the pot and 2nd ticket will get 75% of side bet pot. Once a ticket has been drawn it does NOT go back in the pot. The schedule at the Boat Basin and the unpaid volunteers that run the event do not allow for the tournament to be run on another weekend.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR THE SUPPORT FROM THE SPONSORS AND ANGLERS.
Tournament Director Steve Carlson 330-283-2155 steve@southshoremarine.com

[GR]

IMHO: Combining the WC Get-Together and the Fish Huron tournament will be one Funtastic weekend of fishing and comraderie.

Each event singularly has been organized and synchronized for us - the participants to enjoy. The behind the scenes work to insure everything runs smoothly is exceptional. OK, enough organizer head swelling compliments : ) This EVENT is destined for Greatness.

The Huron community rolls out the Red Carpet .
The fishing off Huron W-I-L-L be excellent, and you can expect Big Fish and Heavy Bags !!

Tomorrow, Wednesday Sept 4th, opens the Fish Huron registration . Don't hesitate, as the field will fill quickly !!

See ya there.

GR

[FreeByrd]

We sold out with 100 teams at approximately 11:30 AM - an hour and a half!!! To answer a few questions I've received today:
1) Registration and Payment for the SIDE BET ($100 cash per team) will happen at the Rules / Registration / Walleye Central Charity Raffle at Mesenburg Hall on Friday night Oct 4. Same with registration and payment for WC Braggin' Rights big fish entry.

2) We will be meeting with some of the local hotels in the next couple days to see what they can offer as far as room discounts.

3) We will get a roster posted sometime today - after we check it over tomake sure all is accurate. For now our all volunteer group needs to spend a few hours working on our jobs that pay the bills.

4) Any changes to team names, partners, boats, etc. will be taken care of at the registration / check-in on Friday night Oct 4 at Mesenburg Hall. DO NOT CALL, TEXT, EMAIL,ETC. ME ABOUT THIS in the meantime...

5) I will NOT be maintaining a "wait list" for any dropouts. There are no refunds but if someone has an emergency come up and they can find someone to fill their spot that is permitted with advance notice and approval by me. It will be up to anyone dropping out to find their replacement. If this happens just let me know about this in advance of Check-In / Registration on Friday Oct 4 and we can make corrections to roster then.

Anyone interested in sponsorship opportunities please contact me. CASH sponsors help us pay for the extra events like the pre-tournament dinner, the awards party, etc. and keep the entry fee low and payouts the best for any open tournament on Lake Erie. Product donations / sponsorships will go towards the combined Walleye Central Charity Raffle.

Thank you for the support!
Steve Carlson

[Juls]

Way to go Steve! It's a testament to your hard work in running a great event.

See you there!

[FreeByrd]

I had some questions on the Roster Order...

Here is the scoop and how the roster order was determined. Our registration database received two different "time stamps" for each registered team. The first "time stamp" is the time when the "SUBMIT" button was hit on the Fish Huron Website. The second "time stamp" our database shows is when the Paypal Payment was actually processed which in every case has some time delay from when the "SUBMIT" button was hit on the Fish Huron website. I believe the amount of time delay varied based on payment method and also likely the overall amount of activity going on PayPal. This is how it was explained to me by the person that runs the database / Fish Huron website. I obviously had to make a decision on which time stamp to use and the logical choice was in order that the "SUBMIT" button was hit on the Fish Huron Website

Here are some AMAZING statistics. By 10:02AM there were 57 teams that had hit "SUBMIT" on the Fish Huron Website. By 10:06AM there were 70 teams that had hit "SUBMIT" on the Fish Huron Website. By 10:12AM there were 83 teams that had hit "SUBMIT" Team 101 (we ended up with one extra) hit submit at 11:22.

Hopefully this clears things up. One thing we have always strived to do is be VERY CONSISTENT and not make exceptions in our registration, procedures, rules, etc. showing no favortism - everyone is treated the same no matter if this is your first ever tournament or you are the current or past MWC World Walleye Champion or PWT Angler of the year which we have in the tournament

[Juls]

http://www.fishhuronohio.com/pds/tou...allenge-teams/

[FreeByrd]

INFO FOR FISH HURON WALLEYE CHALLENGE AND WALLEYE CENTRAL CHARITY RAFFLE WEEKEND in OCT.
Info on Lodging options... When you call to reserve a room please let them know that you are booking for the Fish Huron Walleye Tournament and the Walleye Central Get Together Charity Raffle. These are all independant businesses and set their own rates based on supply and demand. Providing the contact info as a convenience.

Motel 6 @ Rye Beach Road will have the most economical rates with rooms starting aound $40 depending on room type. 419-433-7829

Comfort Inn @ Cleveland Road / Rye Beach Road rooms starting around $80 depending on room type. 419-433-5359...

Comfort Inn RIVERS EDGE (hotel rooms were all renovated in the offseason and rates are higher here) I understand the hotel is close to being full. Rates start around $100 depending on room type. 419-433-8000

Gull Motel 419-433-4855 - Fish Cleaning available on site

Plantation 419-433-4790 - Fish Cleaning available on site

[Juls]

Unfortunately, Scotty called me last night and told me he can't make it in October this year due to a work conflict. My boat will be gone by that weekend, so we won't be fishing it this year.

[K Gonefishin]

That's a bummer, maybe you can jump on with someone else.