2020 Catfish Contest

[Tin-Can]

  Hey,  wiperhunter2 FINALLY figured out why I couldn't get back into my original profile. 

THANKS FOR ALL Y OUR EFFORT CURT   

Tin-Can IS BACK

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Due to the site irregularities we elected to start the catfish contest on March 15th, the same day the Ice Challenge ends for the season... I know it's late for you cataholics and too early for you ice hounds... me included there...  But they say beware the ides of March... Well at least be ready... I'll get the rules posted soon and if you want reply and we'll add you to the sign up sheet for this years contest... Rules will be mostly the same again this year... May tweak a few but nothing too serious... Free to enter and goal is to have fun and do your best...  I'm going to miss this Ice Challenge, I've had so much fun this year chasing different species and trying new locations, it's been a hoot for sure... But I'll have to settle down to the torquey fun of hauling in monster cats.... at least in my dreams... More later... Jeff

Hey, Tin-Can is back !!   

[Boatloadakids]

Seems like more and more of the old users are finding their way back. GOOD!
Hey, check it out:

Got my new logo printed up and laminated, all I need is a fish.

[SkunkedAgain]

Sorry everyone was off fishing and busy at work so I’m not very up to date on all comments, but I’ve tried to PM everyone answers. If I missed you let me know. I’m not liking how I’m not being notified of replies to my posts so sorry I’m not seeing all of them very well. Anyway next week at this time the contest will be on. Looks like a fun crew ready to chase the kitties again. Remember to signup before you catch the fish and it’s free to join in the fun. Only thing you need is the card and be able to take good pictures. One note I need to make is if you use a bump board we need to approve it by having a photo with a commercial tape measure along side so we can verify it measures accurately. Thanks Jeff 

[Tin-Can]

Sorry everyone was off fishing and busy at work so I’m not very up to date on all comments, but I’ve tried to PM everyone answers. If I missed you let me know. I’m not liking how I’m not being notified of replies to my posts so sorry I’m not seeing all of them very well. Anyway next week at this time the contest will be on. Looks like a fun crew ready to chase the kitties again. Remember to signup before you catch the fish and it’s free to join in the fun. Only thing you need is the card and be able to take good pictures. One note I need to make is if you use a bump board we need to approve it by having a photo with a commercial tape measure along side so we can verify it measures accurately. Thanks Jeff 

 Hey Jeff,  when you select the "Reply" at the bottom of a post, look all the way down to Post Options: on the left margin. Then below that to Thread subscription: pick one of thos options. I use this one " Subscribe and receive email notification of new replies. 
Now  that my old profile is back up and working, I'm getting notifications again. 

OK, here are my 2 Cat measuring devices. Both used last year, 1 bump board for the river, one steel rule on the boat. And as a last resort, I have standard tape measure in all my tackle bags and boxes   Both of these will be used for mine and TinCansMate contest fish.
River Board

Boat Steel Rule 48 inch

And here is my 2020 Placard 



And here is wife's

[2knots]

. I’m not liking how I’m not being notified of replies to my posts so sorry I’m not seeing all of them very well. 

Jeff when you post there are buttons at the bottom where you can select notifications, either email or PM, default is no notifications

[FishguyBri]

Jeff can you sign me up for team north! Thank you!

[2knots]

sign me up for Team north Jeff, thanks

[Jig-fisher]

I have to say this waiting until the 15th is killing me. This nice weather had me down on the lower Bear yesterday casting fligs in hoping to get a walleye. Ended up hooking into a big cat that put me through the paces until eventually separating the flig from my line. Note to self, leave the light poles/lines at home when fishing the lower Bear. You never know what you are going to hook into.

Lets get this thing started!

[SkunkedAgain]

I'm not sure what happened between me copying the rules and posting them, but they didn't show up as they were on my edited copy.  Therefore, I am trying to repost the rules for this years catfish contest... My reason for clarification is a number of questions I've been asked that I knew were in the rules, but I was proven wrong... So just to let everyone know, we are planning on allowing the poach a fish from opposite area rule again this year... Let's see if it shows up in rule 9 this time...   Hope it works... J1.    No entry fee for the contest again this year, but we need some help lining up prizes from supporting businesses and individuals.  Please let me know if you can or will help?  Most places will provide some prizes simply by asking them and letting them know what it is for. 
2. Must be a registered member of BFT to enter. 
3. Points will be awarded by the half inch. Entries will be based on length measure nose to pinched tail (although most just let the tail lay flat). Weight measures are welcome, but not required, nor will weight count towards points, but may be used for bragging rights. 
4. Must have a picture with the fish on the ground next to the tape, the BFT logo and your BFT username and the year. There is printable logo at the bottom of this post. Please lay your catch from one end of the tape (that must be visible), and be sure numbers are clear and visible on the other end. Check your pictures. Take extras.  Think of the judges needing to be fair and able to read a true measure… Some are much better at taking pictures than others so start practicing on your small fish so you do it right when you catch your monster, we want to be able to score it… 
Pictures of fish in the air next to a tape will not count for points. Tape should be laid or stretched flat. All pictures must be taken at the lake or river where caught. 
Bump boards are acceptable, (and preferred by the judge) but a commercially available tape measure/ruler needs to be laid next to the measurements on the bump board, and a proof photo needs to be taken and sent to me demonstrating you are calibrated.  Contrasting colors helps view-ability, especially in poor light conditions.  (FYI: I will not score my own entries)
5. You may select to enter as a member of Northern Utah, or Southern Utah. Points will be awarded for up to three cats per individual, and the longest ten for an entire team will earn the whole team bragging rights. 
6. Boundaries will be drawn roughly at a line going east to west and passing through the mouth of the Jordon river entering the Great Salt Lake. Northern Region: From the Idaho border southward, to include all areas north of Salt Lake City, including the Weber River, Willard Bay, Bear River, and Cutler Marsh. The Southern Region will include Utah Lake, Jordan River, everything south of Salt Lake to the southern border of the state. 
7. The target of the competition will be Channel Catfish, but Bullheads can be entered too but they may not be very competitive. You may submit as many entries as you want (within reason) and the best 3 will count towards your total. 
8. You must follow Utah’s Legal guidelines with regards to bait, number of lines, hooks, etc. Fish must be caught with a rod, this competition will not include setlines. 
9. Though you are welcome to fish anywhere legal to do so, if you enter as a member of a team, your entries must come from the areas listed for your region, (Exception for 2020, one fish from opposite waters may be entered as part of your 3 fish.) and though you don’t have to divulge any exact location, the name of the water must be shared. 
10. You must post your own fish for it to get credit. I can help anyone who has problems resizing or posting their photos. Please post your photos in JPEG format on the BFT forum. Please be sure the tape-measure can be read clearly in the photo. 
11. Posts must include date caught, name of lake/river, and length of fish. All entries must be made within 7 days of the day the fish was caught… This helps to prevent sand baggers that make all their entries at the end when others don’t get a chance to try beating their mark.
12. Anyone harassing another contestant for posting the name of a lake will be disqualified. An entrant is welcome to offer what bait/rig they used, but this is not required, and same harassment rule applies in that regard. Entrants are encouraged to release any fish over 7 lbs, but legal limits are the rule. Again, no harassment of entrants for their posts or personal choices. 
13. Anyone found cheating will be disqualified. 
14. Anyone disqualified forfeits their entry fee. (This may not be a big deal this year, but your info will be removed from the competition with a scarlet letter saying booo booo.) 
The team award will win that region’s Super-Catfish-Bragging-Rights for the next year. 
The contest will accept entries caught and posted between March 15[sup]th[/sup] through Oct 31st.

There will be prizes for First place on each team North/South and one for the overall champion.  The team that has the champion score will have a prize for the runner up score based on total individual scores. This is a total of three prizes for high scores.  We will also have a youth prize for highest 3 fish score.  This overall youth prize will require youth that are 16 or younger on March 1[sup]st[/sup] to identify themselves as youth when they enter… Note, more prizes may be awarded if additional items are obtained, but as a minimum we will have four prizes that can be won…  1 youth, 2 team high, and 1 overall winner… One disclaimer, if the same person wins more than one category only one prize will be awarded to them, we will pass the lesser prize to the runner up in the contest that they were not awarded the prize for… If you don’t submit an entry, you won’t qualify for prizes and your team misses out on the help. 

Any and all ties for fish will be broken by the longest fish posted. Also this year’s top winner will have their entry fee next year waved as the defending grand champion. (Sorry not a big perk this year.)

If you catch a larger Cat than one you posted already, no problem. Post the new fish and your points will be adjusted. Don’t remove your older entries. Prefer you don’t edit your entries after they have been scored. You don't get points for both fish (unless it is one of your top 3) but the larger one will be the one counted. Please don’t go overboard and post 300 fish .  (I think Yote wrote that one for me…)
Post all your entries to a single thread per contestant. Follow the TITLE pattern I’ll put up. Look at contest board and there will be Catfish contest posts, copy one of them with your name, and then attach all your entries to that post… There may be other competitions going on in parallel.

Please check your pictures on the lake where you caught the fish if you can. If it moved and doesn't show the full length of the fish I'm sorry but I go with what shows up in the picture. Points are based on the photos. No limit on size of photos this year but please don't abuse this. If you want to add inline pictures, perhaps size those down, but leave a biggun attached for offline zooming by judges. Any concerns about entries should be directed to me through a PM and I will review. Public flogging is discouraged.  Team banter and smack-talk is encouraged. Some talk big, some catch big.

Reply to this post telling me your team (north or south), your age if 16 or under on the day the contest begins (this enters you in the youth prize division), and I'll enter you in the contest. Any questions are welcomed too. Once entries are received, I will list on this post who has entered, and which team they belong to. Then you can add a “reply” with your contest post whenever you have a fish, and I’ll update the post with the verified scores. Refer to my “starter” post – and model your title so it’s easier to track. Rules subject to change, but I will color all changes purple so you can see the updates..  One new rule I added this year, is all prize winners must attend the award get together or make arrangements to pick up their prizes, or else those prizes will be forfeited and roll into the prize pool for the next contest prize ceremony.  I can’t keep up with prizes that don’t get picked up… Sorry too much to do with all the different contests so it’s up to you to get your prize. 

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1. No entry fee for the contest again this year, but we need some help lining up prizes from supporting businesses and individuals.  Please let me know if you can or will help?  Most places will provide some prizes simply by asking them and letting them know what it is for. 2. Must be a registered member of BFT to enter. 3. Points will be awarded by the half inch. Entries will be based on length measure nose to pinched tail (although most just let the tail lay flat). Weight measures are welcome, but not required, nor will weight count towards points, but may be used for bragging rights. 4. Must have a picture with the fish on the ground next to the tape, the BFT logo and your BFT username and the year. There is printable logo at the bottom of this post. Please lay your catch from one end of the tape (that must be visible), and be sure numbers are clear and visible on the other end. Check your pictures. Take extras.  Think of the judges needing to be fair and able to read a true measure… Some are much better at taking pictures than others so start practicing on your small fish so you do it right when you catch your monster, we want to be able to score it… Pictures of fish in the air next to a tape will not count for points. Tape should be laid or stretched flat. All pictures must be taken at the lake or river where caught. Bump boards are acceptable, (and preferred by the judge) but a commercially available tape measure/ruler needs to be laid next to the measurements on the bump board, and a proof photo needs to be taken and sent to me demonstrating you are calibrated.  Contrasting colors helps view-ability, especially in poor light conditions.  (FYI: I will not score my own entries)5. You may select to enter as a member of Northern Utah, or Southern Utah. Points will be awarded for up to three cats per individual, and the longest ten for an entire team will earn the whole team bragging rights. 6. Boundaries will be drawn roughly at a line going east to west and passing through the mouth of the Jordon river entering the Great Salt Lake. Northern Region: From the Idaho border southward, to include all areas north of Salt Lake City, including the Weber River, Willard Bay, Bear River, and Cutler Marsh. The Southern Region will include Utah Lake, Jordan River, everything south of Salt Lake to the southern border of the state. 7. The target of the competition will be Channel Catfish, but Bullheads can be entered too but they may not be very competitive. You may submit as many entries as you want (within reason) and the best 3 will count towards your total. 8. You must follow Utah’s Legal guidelines with regards to bait, number of lines, hooks, etc. Fish must be caught with a rod, this competition will not include setlines. 9. Though you are welcome to fish anywhere legal to do so, if you enter as a member of a team, your entries must come from the areas listed for your region, (Exception for 2020, one fish from opposite waters may be entered as part of your 3 fish.) and though you don’t have to divulge any exact location, the name of the water must be shared. 10. You must post your own fish for it to get credit. I can help anyone who has problems resizing or posting their photos. Please post your photos in JPEG format on the BFT forum. Please be sure the tape-measure can be read clearly in the photo. 11. Posts must include date caught, name of lake/river, and length of fish. All entries must be made within 7 days of the day the fish was caught… This helps to prevent sand baggers that make all their entries at the end when others don’t get a chance to try beating their mark.12. Anyone harassing another contestant for posting the name of a lake will be disqualified. An entrant is welcome to offer what bait/rig they used, but this is not required, and same harassment rule applies in that regard. Entrants are encouraged to release any fish over 7 lbs, but legal limits are the rule. Again, no harassment of entrants for their posts or personal choices. 13. Anyone found cheating will be disqualified. 14. Anyone disqualified forfeits their entry fee. (This may not be a big deal this year, but your info will be removed from the competition with a scarlet letter saying booo booo.)  The team award will win that region’s Super-Catfish-Bragging-Rights for the next year. The contest will accept entries caught and posted between March 15th through Oct 31st.  There will be prizes for First place on each team North/South and one for the overall champion.  The team that has the champion score will have a prize for the runner up score based on total individual scores. This is a total of three prizes for high scores.  We will also have a youth prize for highest 3 fish score.  This overall youth prize will require youth that are 16 or younger on March 1st to identify themselves as youth when they enter… Note, more prizes may be awarded if additional items are obtained, but as a minimum we will have four prizes that can be won…  1 youth, 2 team high, and 1 overall winner… One disclaimer, if the same person wins more than one category only one prize will be awarded to them, we will pass the lesser prize to the runner up in the contest that they were not awarded the prize for… If you don’t submit an entry, you won’t qualify for prizes and your team misses out on the help.  Any and all ties for fish will be broken by the longest fish posted. Also this year’s top winner will have their entry fee next year waved as the defending grand champion. (Sorry not a big perk this year.) If you catch a larger Cat than one you posted already, no problem. Post the new fish and your points will be adjusted. Don’t remove your older entries. Prefer you don’t edit your entries after they have been scored. You don't get points for both fish (unless it is one of your top 3) but the larger one will be the one counted. Please don’t go overboard and post 300 fish .  (I think Yote wrote that one for me…) Post all your entries to a single thread per contestant. Follow the TITLE pattern I’ll put up. Look at contest board and there will be Catfish contest posts, copy one of them with your name, and then attach all your entries to that post… There may be other competitions going on in parallel. Please check your pictures on the lake where you caught the fish if you can. If it moved and doesn't show the full length of the fish I'm sorry but I go with what shows up in the picture. Points are based on the photos. No limit on size of photos this year but please don't abuse this. If you want to add inline pictures, perhaps size those down, but leave a biggun attached for offline zooming by judges. Any concerns about entries should be directed to me through a PM and I will review. Public flogging is discouraged.  Team banter and smack-talk is encouraged. Some talk big, some catch big.  Reply to this post telling me your team (north or south), your age if 16 or under on the day the contest begins (this enters you in the youth prize division), and I'll enter you in the contest. Any questions are welcomed too. Once entries are received, I will list on this post who has entered, and which team they belong to. Then you can add a “reply” with your contest post whenever you have a fish, and I’ll update the post with the verified scores. Refer to my “starter” post – and model your title so it’s easier to track. Rules subject to change, but I will color all changes purple so you can see the updates..  One new rule I added this year, is all prize winners must attend the award get together or make arrangements to pick up their prizes, or else those prizes will be forfeited and roll into the prize pool for the next contest prize ceremony.  I can’t keep up with prizes that don’t get picked up… Sorry too much to do with all the different contests so it’s up to you to get your prize.

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Looks like the formatting didn't work well, so I reposted rules as plain text and I think all is there, but they are hard to read where they aren't formatted... I'll try and get a placard posted later today... Pat has provided one, if I can get it attached so you can get at it... Sorry my work computer and phone are really limiting what I can do on the site and I don't have much time to work it at home at night... later Jeff

[Tin-Can]

Thanks Jeff. It's a bit harder to read, but I see it in Rule 9 now.

[SkunkedAgain]

Okay this is what I have for a sign up list so far... Looks like 39, with 20 from the south... Pretty even considering how it started out... Going to be fun... Looking back over last years scores I can't believe how many big cats were caught... Let's hope this year will be even better...  Good luck everyone and if you see some that haven't signed up yet, please let them know... Later Jeff


See follow up post for list... Chrome won't let me post the list...

[Mooseman75]

Jeff, I called Richard today since I haven't seen them and he has had issues getting logged in on top of that he had knee surgery.  So he asked if I would add him, R2U2 and Mrs J. To the catfish contest to team south. He will contact me for help in a few days if he is unable to log in and I'll go over and help. But for now if that work that I add them I would appreciate it.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Justin I had noticed they weren’t signed up yet. This won’t have them but I’ll add them right after thanks Jeff

[Boatloadakids]

Hey Jeff, Got two more for the south. Catcarsen and Catnipper want to join again but they are still working the bugs out of the new forum. Anyhow, two more for the south.

Interesting that they are part of my original "boatloadakids" but now they are eighteen year olds. Guess I have outgrown my name. No matter, I have done my job very well -- chronic cataholics.

[SkunkedAgain]

Hey Lynn, I got the boys added and they are ready to catch fish....  Well if I could get a placard up... Pat, can you post your placard so folks can get a copy of it to use for their posts?  My systems have too much protective software that don't allow me to do anything I need to do for this contest... I have to send stuff to my phone and hope the phone will work to post it... Not the most effective system at this point, but hopefully I get things figured out so I can do what needs to be done... Glad I had a little more time to figure things out before you guys started posting tons of fish... Thanks all... Jeff

[ice_sled]

Add me to team South.

[Tin-Can]

Add me to team South.

hey Ben, good to see ya back on the forum.

[TubeDude]

Hey Lynn, I got the boys added and they are ready to catch fish....  Well if I could get a placard up... Pat, can you post your placard so folks can get a copy of it to use for their posts?  My systems have too much protective software that don't allow me to do anything I need to do for this contest... I have to send stuff to my phone and hope the phone will work to post it... Not the most effective system at this point, but hopefully I get things figured out so I can do what needs to be done... Glad I had a little more time to figure things out before you guys started posting tons of fish... Thanks all... Jeff

Here it is in two different sizes.  If you want to make a whole page you may have to enlarge it.  I also make 2-up on a page for smaller placards on my tube...with shorter distances.

[dontblink]

Sign me up for the south! Thanks

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Pat for the placards, Ben you are already on the list, like number 2 up top... dontblink, got you on the list now also... Two days and counting, hope everyone has got their rods rigged and new line on the reels so they don't lose the big ones this year... Not that I had bad experiences with that last year or anything...  Looking forward to sharing a fun season of memories with everyone and I'll try not to be too jealous of the monsters your pulling out...  Will this be the year you break your best mark ever???? I hope so... Looking for that full on 30"er for me this year... I know some of you will be into 33"+ but  I still  need to break the big 3 0... Hope they will be kind and give me a tug this year...  Good luck everyone... Later Jeff