Charity Fishing Tournament - Fishing for Hospice

[centrahospice]

Hello Everyone! 

I know it is the time of year where everyone is marking their calendars for fishing tournament weekends. I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the "Fishing for Hospice" tournament that will be taking place on June 11th and 12th 2021. It will be based out of SML State Park, but you can fish anywhere on the lake. It is a very unique tournament in several ways. We have 4 different species categories (Largemouth bass, Striped bass, Catfish, and Panfish (Bluegill, Crappie, Perch)). It is a "Catch, Photo, Release" style tournament. This is the 3rd year of the tournament. 
The way the tournament is set up, it is competitive for all ages and experience levels. It is a lot of fun! 

The tournament benefits the Bedford Hospice House. This house is for hospice patients that are unable to receive the care they need in their own home. It is a very nice facility and has provided end of life support to countless patients and their families. No one is denied access to this house due to their inability to pay, and because of this, much of the funding for the house is through charity. 

You can find additional information for the tournament at our online registration page - centrahospice.regfox.com/fishing-for-hospice-2021

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [e-mail] or at 434-665-6293. 

Thank you and tight lines! 

Ben Osterkamp

[Chasinshad]

This sounds like a great event. My only concern is the survival rate of the striper that will be released in such warm water.

[centrahospice]

Yes. We all want to make sure that fish survival rates are as high as possible. That is one of the reasons why this is a "Catch, Photo, Release" style tournament. We want to encourage fish release back into the water as quickly as possible, and water temperature does play a big role in survival rates.
I do think that some additional information to our anglers about good catch and release practices would be a good idea. I will post a link on our registration page about good striper handling.

[catchinglimits]

Does it have to be catch and release??? I’m not one to release many fish...

[centrahospice]

No. If you choose to keep your fish, that is completely up to you. As long as you measure the fish while it is alive and send the picture of the measurement to us, that is all we need. If you caught it, it is YOUR fish. If you choose to keep it, go for it!