Well we managed to field a small but enthusiastic group of 12 anglers for this first year event. Numbers dropped from 18 to 12 over the last week leading up to the tourney. Five of those entrants were first time kayak fisherpeople and most were first time in a kayak. There were a lot of firsts at this event; first 2 day, 2 river, downstream event; first woman entered in a "kayak fishing only" event in Canada, and she did quite well, not surprisingly.
The fishing was actually decent considering that a tornado had swept its way up the corridor of these two rivers just over 24hrs from the tourney start. River conditions were were tough on the Maitland due to low water and forced a lot of people to walk their boats thru the skinny sections. The whole premise of a downstream river tourney is a very difficult thing to organize well, but this event went quite smoothly and that is a tribute to the individuals who competed in it.
Here's a brief visual recap of how things sorted out:
"The Crew", missing Kevin McLean who was called to work Sunday.
Russ Jones - 3rd place
Stefan Jackson - 2nd place
Mike Blumhagen - 1st place, overall winner
There will be much to add yet in the coming days. Thanks very much to all who entered and our title sponsor - Scotty Paddlesport Products made this event successful!
