fair haven - Hundreds of people came out to participate in the fifth-annual Fair Haven Fishing Challenge Saturday.
This year's competition had 75 boats, said Rick Shambo, chairman of the event. Last year there were 60 boats and the event gets bigger every year, he said.
“People come out because of their love of fishing and they love to tell fishing stories,” Shambo said.
There are at least eight states represented in the tournament, he said. They include Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Chris Kegg, 13, came to the tournament from Hilltown, Pa. He and his father caught a 26.5 lb. fish this year. When asked why he came to the competition, Kegg replied “‘cause I love fishing.”
During the weigh-in, which started at 3 p.m., people gathered around the pavilion to see who caught what.
Chad Nansteel, who came from Mount Bethel, Pa., was in the running for the biggest fish, he said. Nansteel, who has participated in the Fair Haven Fishing Challenge for the past three years and placed 17th in last year's competition, caught a 27 pound, 7 ounce fish Saturday. He comes every year because he loves fishing and because he owns a summer house in Fair Haven, he said. Nancy Roloson, of Sodus, came because her daughter and her friends were in the competition. The team's name is Fishful Thinking.
“We had a good time,” said Roloson's daughter Melissa. “It's a reasonable entry fee for a good day on the water.”
First prize winners, the team who had the biggest overall catch with all the fish combined, took home $1,665. Second place winners received $925, third place got $555, fourth place received $370 and fifth place, $185. There was also a lunker pool for the biggest weighing fish, with a prize of $750.
Proceeds from a 50-50 raffle and donations will go to a pen rearing project, Shambo said. The Department of Conservation has a commitment to get all of the fingerling fish from the fish hatchery so that they don't get eaten by birds or other fish, he said. Normally, when they release them, they get eaten by birds but this year, there were pens built out of metal and the fish will be put there and fed until they are big enough to be released, he said.
“This is a huge thing for Fair Haven,” he said. “We will have a steady flow of fish every year.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
“People come out because of their love of fishing and they love to tell fishing stories,” Shambo said.
There are at least eight states represented in the tournament, he said. They include Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Chris Kegg, 13, came to the tournament from Hilltown, Pa. He and his father caught a 26.5 lb. fish this year. When asked why he came to the competition, Kegg replied “‘cause I love fishing.”
During the weigh-in, which started at 3 p.m., people gathered around the pavilion to see who caught what.
Chad Nansteel, who came from Mount Bethel, Pa., was in the running for the biggest fish, he said. Nansteel, who has participated in the Fair Haven Fishing Challenge for the past three years and placed 17th in last year's competition, caught a 27 pound, 7 ounce fish Saturday. He comes every year because he loves fishing and because he owns a summer house in Fair Haven, he said. Nancy Roloson, of Sodus, came because her daughter and her friends were in the competition. The team's name is Fishful Thinking.
“We had a good time,” said Roloson's daughter Melissa. “It's a reasonable entry fee for a good day on the water.”
First prize winners, the team who had the biggest overall catch with all the fish combined, took home $1,665. Second place winners received $925, third place got $555, fourth place received $370 and fifth place, $185. There was also a lunker pool for the biggest weighing fish, with a prize of $750.
Proceeds from a 50-50 raffle and donations will go to a pen rearing project, Shambo said. The Department of Conservation has a commitment to get all of the fingerling fish from the fish hatchery so that they don't get eaten by birds or other fish, he said. Normally, when they release them, they get eaten by birds but this year, there were pens built out of metal and the fish will be put there and fed until they are big enough to be released, he said.
“This is a huge thing for Fair Haven,” he said. “We will have a steady flow of fish every year.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
