Fishing tournaments are a lot of fun and the prizes and trophies alone are worth it. Competing in a fishing tournament can be relaxing while accomplishing something uniquely special to boot. There are hundreds if not thousands of fishing tournaments which are both international and local. The dilemma of choosing a fishing tournament and how to compete in one can be confusing for many anglers new to this activity.
How to find a fishing tournament
To find a fishing tournament, begin by checking out your local home waters fishing outfitter. The outfitter should have information on all of the local fishing tournaments as well as brochures and books. Fishing outfitters are always interesting people to chat with and will answer as many of your questions as they can.
Regardless of what your favorite type of fishing may be, you should be able to find what you are looking for online. Look for sites such as Sport Fishing Magazine and of course, try networking on BigFishTackle.Com抯 Tournament fishing forum.
Read the Rules
It抯 important to read competition rules. The vast majority of fishing tournaments focus on one kind of fish, such as bass in a defined water area during a certain date on the calendar. Prizes such as money, trophies and even boats are awarded for weight, species and occasionally for strength of the fishing line. Strength of fishing line is when anglers get extra points for using lighter weight fishing lines.
The rules for fly-fishing, brackish and freshwater fishing will often be different from deep sea fishing. Do you want to fish alone or be part of a team? Deep sea game fishing will involve teams working from boats, while fresh water, fly fishing and coastal often pit individual fishermen against one another.
Some fishing tournaments fall in sub categories such as kayak fishing tournaments or kid fishing tournaments.
Catch and Release Competitions
Catch and release tournaments have their own special rules for completion... These earth friendly tournaments give you permission to catch a fish, weigh it, tag it with a special coded tracker and then return it to the water. The prizes will be given to verified weights of the fish.
The Paperwork
After deciding which competition you want to enter, complete the entry forms, pay the entry fees and get your gear in order. Then get set to have the time of your life while competing against the fish as well as other anglers.
