Lydia Ann Fly Masters Tournament Results 2016
2016 TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Gross Funds Raised: $9,125
Net Funds Raised: $6,183
Total Funds Donated to CfR (2009-2016): $39,378
Total Number of Anglers: 60
Kayak Anglers: 12
Boat Anglers: 48
Female Anglers: 8 (included in totals)
2016 TOURNAMENT WINNERS:
BOAT DIVISION – REDFISH CLASS:
1st: Mickey Collins – 30 1/4″ Redfish
2nd: Steven Charles – 29″ Redfish
3rd: Lloyd Mathews – 26 3/4″ Redfish
KAYAK DIVISION – REDFISH CLASS:
1st: Ken Kahanek – 21″ Redfish
2nd: Walter Ross – 15” Redfish
3rd: Rick Burlingame – 12” Redfish
BOAT DIVISION – OPEN SPECIES CLASS:
1st: Joel Miller – 39” Kingfish
2nd: Oscar Gutierrez – 22 1/2” Ladyfish
KAYAK DIVISION – OPEN SPECIES CLASS:
1st: Dawson Merrill – 16” Needlefish
2nd: Tim Constanzo – 14 3/4” Speckled Trout
TOP WOMAN ANGLER:
1st: Kari King – 21 1/2″ Redfish
Fellow Anglers and CfR Supporters,
After wrapping up the 7th annual Lydia Ann Fly Masters Tournament, I remain humbled and grateful for the outpouring of support that the fly fishing community continues to give toward our event and especially toward Casting for Recovery. We have been truly blessed by the continued support from each of you and from our dedicated and generous sponsors!
Though this was our seventh year to host the tournament, we continue to take your suggestions to improve and grow the tournament in small ways each year. In my opinion, this year was the best tournament yet and the changes we have made were well received.
This year was also one of the most meaningful tournaments with this year’s LAFM tournament being dedicated to Allison Miller, a CfR alumni and longtime supporter of the LAFM tournament. We were truly honored and humbled to be able to use our tournament to remember and celebrate the life of a strong and devoted supporter of both our tournament and Casting for Recovery. It made it even more meaningful to see so many of Allison’s family members and friends at the tournament this year.
As I finished the clean up this year and walked away from another successful event, it got me to thinking about how far this tournament has come since its inception in 2009. We began with a few small tents, a couple of banners and a handful of sponsors on the sandy side of the Crab Man Marina parking lot. We had to learn from scratch what it takes to put on an event like this, from the venues to the rental companies to soliciting sponsors and participants. Through the past seven years, we have all braved the heat, the rain and the wind. We have watched rivers form and run through our raffle tents, we helplessly watched raffle tickets and buckets get blown off the tables and we saw our original venue change hands and change names. Collectively, these challenges have created havoc during the tournaments, but they have also created great memories that have made the journey of keeping this tournament going so enjoyable. READ MORE FROM ROB BURLINGAME
Fast forward to this year’s tournament and the multitude of changes we have made throughout the years have changed the face of the tournament for the better. We have online registration, can accept credit cards, have upgraded t-shirts twice and have moved to a top notch venue with a wonderful new pavilion. We changed the date from mid-summer to early October in search of better weather, fewer crowds and better fishing. We are averaging about 60 anglers each year, offer a full meal at the awards ceremony and our list of sponsors continues to grow!
We were also able to continue growing our list of wonderful sponsors this year! I would encourage each of you to visit our sponsor page (www.lydiaannflymasters.com/2016-sponsors.html) to see the groups and individuals that generously donated to this year’s event. Our sponsors are the life blood of the tournament and truly made it possible for us to give out a ton of great items for prizes and in our raffle and auction. A huge THANK YOU to each of our sponsors and individual donors for their generosity and support for this year’s LAFM tournament! As challenging as securing sponsors can be, it has been a pleasure to develop great relationships with a faithful group of sponsors that step up big each and every year to help our tournament and CfR!
It has also been a pleasure to meet each and every one of you who take the time to participate in our tournament, from the new faces to the many regulars that have attended the tournament for many years. Before I move on to this year’s results, I wanted to personally thank my team of volunteers for all of their hard work in preparing for the tournament, securing sponsors and helping to keep things running smoothly on tournament day. Thank you to David Beck, Rick Burlingame, Tim Constanzo, Todd Fleming, Oscar Gutierrez, Lloyd Mathews, Jeff Michels, David Reichert and Walter Ross of the Alamo Fly Fishers as well as Susan Gaetz and Palmer Simpson. The event takes a lot of preparation and effort and I certainly could not have done it without their help!
Now that my ramblings and trip down memory lane are finished, here is what you have all been waiting for…this year’s final tally. We wrapped up the 2016 tournament with a total of 60 anglers. There were 48 anglers in the boat category and 12 in kayaks. The fishing results from this year seemed to be hit and miss with the odd weather pattern that we had. It was a beautiful day, but the winds seemed to be heaviest in the morning and the water levels were still a bit high. Those who found fish seemed to find quite a few and managed to find some good sized fish. Many of the boats made their way to more distant fishing spots to find the fish. We even had an adventuresome group who braved the rougher seas off shore and landed several nice open species catches.
On the financial side of the tournament, this year was another huge success and one of the best years to date. Between registration, raffle and silent auction proceeds, we raised a total of $9,125. After the tournament expenses, the net donation back to Casting for Recovery was $6,183, pushing our total funds raised for Casting for Recovery through the LAFM Tournament to $39,378! Those funds truly go a long way toward providing funding for CfR to bring women on their retreats. I have witnessed firsthand the power of these retreats and the life changing impacts they have on the women who attend. CfR is a wonderful organization with an awesome mission! I am extremely proud to be a part of the Texas fly fishing community and thank each and every one of you that is making such a great impact on these women’s lives. I can’t wait until next year!
Tight Lines,
Rob Burlingame
(210) 885-3730 cell
Category: Causes, Complimentary Reading, Tournaments and Contests
