09-24-2009, 04:16 AM
[size 2][font "Arial"]Everybody at Recycled Fish is happy today, because we have some great news to celebrate.
First and foremost, we want to congratulate all of our 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon Angler-Ambas
ors.[/font][/size][font "Arial"][size 2] These men and women all did an outstanding job of raising awareness for the problems facing our fisheries, and the money to help solve those problems.
Not only that, they did a pretty great job out there on the water!
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The first ever Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon raised over $6,000 to advance the Stewardship Ethic!
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Not only that, but anglers caught and released over 750 fish from Minnesota to Nebraska, Pennsylvania to Georgia.
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]They were also fishing for some significant prizes, so here goes with a rundown on the awards:
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Our top fundraising team is also our top fishing team.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The team of Jim and Gary Miller fishing at Czechland Lake in Nebraska scored 57,717 points on the AMI Fishing Calculator in 24 Hours there[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]. Out-sized crappies and a big channel catfish led to their success. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]There is poetry in this, too. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]At Recycled Fish, we talk about how our lifestyle runs downstream, and if we can to catch more and bigger fish, it takes healthy waters. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Our anglers picked where they wanted to fish, then took a look at those waters to figure out what the “issues” were there. One of our Nebraska waters was tough in that regard – we had a lake that had nothing wrong with it. Sportfish Restoration Funds, good agricultural practices, sound fisheries management and responsible angling have made Czechland Lake in Nebraska an example of “what happens to a fishery when everything goes right.” [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]It should come as no surprise that these anglers' catch was over THREE TIMES the catch of anglers fishing in other waters! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]But these two men were also a fundraising machine.[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] Combining their Fish-A-Thon weekend contributions with their fundraising efforts leading up to the event, these brothers raised $1621.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]They won a 4-night trip to Spring Bay Resort at Lake Vermillion, including travel expenses, a cabin on the lake, and a boat with motor. [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Kevin and Josh Workman fishing Gavin’s Point Dam are our #2 Anglers[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2], and since Jim and Gary were our #1 Anglers but already won in the fundraising category, these two brothers had second shot at top prizes.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]They are choosing between a once in a lifetime trip with one of three PAA Pro Anglers: John Cruise, Brian Snowden and Kurt Dove.
[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The Noll / Willms team in Illinois (fished in Wisconsin)[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] were also a fundraising powerhouse. Together, they raised $1410 and were neck-and-neck with Jim and Gary the whole time! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]We’ll be sending their team a pair of Cabela’s Tackle Storage Systems.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Back on the lake, we had a team who fished as a family, which speaks to the important legacy and the culture of fishing. Arron Slater is a Youth Fishing Instructor in the state of Nebraska and he also owns a custom rod building business called Dragon's Custom Rods. Their family brought hundreds of fish to hand, and it was enough to total 14,149 points. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]We’ll be sending Arron’s team a Berkley Prize Pack.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The first two teams to have everything uploaded[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] and reported in to me were David & Elsie Asher and Arron Slater. They both get a Patagonia Hip Chest Pack for that.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]We also have a Berkley Prize Pack to award to the team who had the worst day on the water, and Buddy Johns and his team win by a landslide. As reported earlier, these poor guys had their 26’ pontoon go down on them in the middle of the lake. Talk about scary! They spent almost the whole 24 hours dealing with that, what a brutal experience. Buddy said he was so sore on Sunday that he could hardly move, and I bet the rest of the guys were about the same. They did still manage to catch and release one bass for 590 points. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]A final prize is yet to be determined. We’ll send a Frabill Conservation Series Net to whomever had the best “hero shot” according to our board of directors, but the directors get another day to vote on that. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]A couple of other notables – for their own reasons, Kevin Winkler and Finn Horvath took themselves out of the competition for prizes, but wanted to fish the 24 hours for the cause. I applaud this passion and commitment, and I hope that next year they’ll fish IN the competition! These two men know what they’re doing out there. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Because Kevin is involved in outdoor media and guiding, he was a media powerhouse for this event and the issues he was highlighting: Zebra Mussels and Getting New People Outdoors. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Another person who worked the media angles in powerful ways was Andre Xiong. He and his team garnered excellent local and affinity coverage. They did well on the water, too. They were just a few points out of some of these top prizes, but they’ve got a Patagonia Pack on its way to them for meeting one of the previous challenges. Way to go, Andre and team! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Also, a special thanks to Cory Stuart. He is one of our ambasors in Illinois who stepped in to fish with Finn when Pike Smith was unexpectedly unable to fish. Super cool, Cory. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Finally, David and Elsie Asher are heroes. David is, as he is active duty military, and is only back home by the span of – what – 6 weeks or so? But they also endured the painful experience of taking a kid to the ER right at the beginning of this year’s Fish-A-Thon. What a bummer, the little guy got his hand closed in the car door on the way to the babysitter. Were it not for the fact that David was out of country and that they had to deal with a medical emergency, there’s no doubt that they would have come in much higher in both fundraising and fishing categories. That’s not to disparage what they DID accomplish – their participation means some significant funds to the cause, and with over 1,000 points, they boated a few fish. Not only that, it was so helpful being able to demonstrate that we had anglers in Georgia fishing for the issue of water conservation, as the southeast has been so hard hit by drought. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]There you have it – the long summary of our FIRST EVER Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[size 2][font "Arial"]Interested in seeing how you can get involved in 2010?
Shoot an e-mail to us at fishrecycler[at]recycledfish[dot]org and say, "tell me more about fishing in Fish-A-Thon 2010!
Learn more about this year's event, the anglers and their issues at www.RecycledFish.org/FishAThon.
[/font][/size]
[signature]
First and foremost, we want to congratulate all of our 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon Angler-Ambas
ors.[/font][/size][font "Arial"][size 2] These men and women all did an outstanding job of raising awareness for the problems facing our fisheries, and the money to help solve those problems.Not only that, they did a pretty great job out there on the water!
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The first ever Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon raised over $6,000 to advance the Stewardship Ethic!
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Not only that, but anglers caught and released over 750 fish from Minnesota to Nebraska, Pennsylvania to Georgia.
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]They were also fishing for some significant prizes, so here goes with a rundown on the awards:
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Our top fundraising team is also our top fishing team.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The team of Jim and Gary Miller fishing at Czechland Lake in Nebraska scored 57,717 points on the AMI Fishing Calculator in 24 Hours there[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]. Out-sized crappies and a big channel catfish led to their success. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]There is poetry in this, too. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]At Recycled Fish, we talk about how our lifestyle runs downstream, and if we can to catch more and bigger fish, it takes healthy waters. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Our anglers picked where they wanted to fish, then took a look at those waters to figure out what the “issues” were there. One of our Nebraska waters was tough in that regard – we had a lake that had nothing wrong with it. Sportfish Restoration Funds, good agricultural practices, sound fisheries management and responsible angling have made Czechland Lake in Nebraska an example of “what happens to a fishery when everything goes right.” [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]It should come as no surprise that these anglers' catch was over THREE TIMES the catch of anglers fishing in other waters! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]But these two men were also a fundraising machine.[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] Combining their Fish-A-Thon weekend contributions with their fundraising efforts leading up to the event, these brothers raised $1621.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]They won a 4-night trip to Spring Bay Resort at Lake Vermillion, including travel expenses, a cabin on the lake, and a boat with motor. [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]
[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Kevin and Josh Workman fishing Gavin’s Point Dam are our #2 Anglers[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2], and since Jim and Gary were our #1 Anglers but already won in the fundraising category, these two brothers had second shot at top prizes.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]They are choosing between a once in a lifetime trip with one of three PAA Pro Anglers: John Cruise, Brian Snowden and Kurt Dove.
[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The Noll / Willms team in Illinois (fished in Wisconsin)[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] were also a fundraising powerhouse. Together, they raised $1410 and were neck-and-neck with Jim and Gary the whole time! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]We’ll be sending their team a pair of Cabela’s Tackle Storage Systems.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Back on the lake, we had a team who fished as a family, which speaks to the important legacy and the culture of fishing. Arron Slater is a Youth Fishing Instructor in the state of Nebraska and he also owns a custom rod building business called Dragon's Custom Rods. Their family brought hundreds of fish to hand, and it was enough to total 14,149 points. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]We’ll be sending Arron’s team a Berkley Prize Pack.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]The first two teams to have everything uploaded[/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] and reported in to me were David & Elsie Asher and Arron Slater. They both get a Patagonia Hip Chest Pack for that.[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]We also have a Berkley Prize Pack to award to the team who had the worst day on the water, and Buddy Johns and his team win by a landslide. As reported earlier, these poor guys had their 26’ pontoon go down on them in the middle of the lake. Talk about scary! They spent almost the whole 24 hours dealing with that, what a brutal experience. Buddy said he was so sore on Sunday that he could hardly move, and I bet the rest of the guys were about the same. They did still manage to catch and release one bass for 590 points. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]A final prize is yet to be determined. We’ll send a Frabill Conservation Series Net to whomever had the best “hero shot” according to our board of directors, but the directors get another day to vote on that. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2][/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]A couple of other notables – for their own reasons, Kevin Winkler and Finn Horvath took themselves out of the competition for prizes, but wanted to fish the 24 hours for the cause. I applaud this passion and commitment, and I hope that next year they’ll fish IN the competition! These two men know what they’re doing out there. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Because Kevin is involved in outdoor media and guiding, he was a media powerhouse for this event and the issues he was highlighting: Zebra Mussels and Getting New People Outdoors. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Another person who worked the media angles in powerful ways was Andre Xiong. He and his team garnered excellent local and affinity coverage. They did well on the water, too. They were just a few points out of some of these top prizes, but they’ve got a Patagonia Pack on its way to them for meeting one of the previous challenges. Way to go, Andre and team! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Also, a special thanks to Cory Stuart. He is one of our ambas
ors in Illinois who stepped in to fish with Finn when Pike Smith was unexpectedly unable to fish. Super cool, Cory. [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]Finally, David and Elsie Asher are heroes. David is, as he is active duty military, and is only back home by the span of – what – 6 weeks or so? But they also endured the painful experience of taking a kid to the ER right at the beginning of this year’s Fish-A-Thon. What a bummer, the little guy got his hand closed in the car door on the way to the babysitter. Were it not for the fact that David was out of country and that they had to deal with a medical emergency, there’s no doubt that they would have come in much higher in both fundraising and fishing categories. That’s not to disparage what they DID accomplish – their participation means some significant funds to the cause, and with over 1,000 points, they boated a few fish. Not only that, it was so helpful being able to demonstrate that we had anglers in Georgia fishing for the issue of water conservation, as the southeast has been so hard hit by drought. [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2]There you have it – the long summary of our FIRST EVER Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon! [/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 2] [/size][/font]
[size 2][font "Arial"]Interested in seeing how you can get involved in 2010?
Shoot an e-mail to us at fishrecycler[at]recycledfish[dot]org and say, "tell me more about fishing in Fish-A-Thon 2010!
Learn more about this year's event, the anglers and their issues at www.RecycledFish.org/FishAThon.
[/font][/size]
[signature]
