STRIPERTHON 2010 :: Surfcaster's Journal Blog

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STRIPERTHON 2010

Our main reason for creating this contest is to promote catch, photo and release. We want to avoid the slaughter of striped bass that goes on unnecessarily in other surf fishing tournaments. Since we don’t believe in killing fish for tournament sake, we will make this a picture and release contest.

Some might say that we put a lot of trust in our friends. We say, if you can’t lean on a friend to do the right thing, then who can you lean on? Do you really think people will try to cheat and risk public embarrassment and possibly criminal charges for a chance of winning some prizes? Because it’s only a chance, you’ll never know if you “win” until the last day.

We don’t think so. And you will understand why after you read the rules.

Our original idea was to have a “largest released fish” contest. But who can calibrate and certify all the scales? Even if most scales sadly started to show the “real” weight, the logistics were impossible.

Having a “kill-the-fish” contest is not an option for us. We don’t thumb our noses at those who keep fish and we don’t think we are something special but we have set high standards for ourselves and for this magazine when it comes to conservation.

It is something we all believe in passionately at Surfcaster’s Journal. And we will do our best to educate and inform our readers of the benefits of conservation.

Finally we settled on something that human beings have had between themselves since the dawn of civilization. Trust in one another. You are given a great opportunity to win some prizes and promote the catch and release ethic in the process. We will trust you and your witness to play by the rules.

Those big cow stripers, the big breeders with the strongest genes that we been slaughtering like there is no tomorrow in the name of a few dollars, will thank you.

We also believe that our children do not spend as much time fishing as they should, for myriad of reasons. To encourage them to do so, we have created a special “Junior” category but remember, they can’t go if you don’t take them. And catching the fish from the couch is very hard.

Contest Rules

(Please read them carefully.)

Contest starts on 4/1/2010 and ends at midnight of 10/31/2010.
Contest boundaries are marine waters from the coast of Maine to the coast of North Carolina, including both states.
There is NO FEE for entering this contest. Yes, that means you get a chance to win a Penn Torque reel and many other great prizes for FREE.
All Surfcasters Journal Blog subscribers as of March 31, 2010 are automatically entered into the contest.
After April 1, 2010 you must be a Surfcasters Journal Blog subscriber at least 7 days before you are eligible to enter a picture in the contest.
Minimum weight for an entry is 25 lb. Only shore caught striped bass are eligible to be entered.
You are limited to 5 entries in a calendar month.
Adults submit two pictures by email to striperthon2010@surfcastersjournal.com and attach the two pictures. They must also include in the email, their name and phone number, the name and phone number of the witness, the date caught and the weight of the fish.Please include “Striperthon 2010″ in the email subject
We need your witness’s phone number to verify the weight. No Exceptions!!!
You must submit two pictures. One picture while displaying the fish and a “thumbs up” sign to guarantee that this was not an old picture being submitted as new. This picture is only to verify that your picture is current
A second picture of you and a live fish. You will be judged on this picture.
You can submit only 2(two) pictures at a time. You must agree to take Polygraph, DNA and proctology exams if required
If the fish is killed after the picture is taken, your entry is automatically disqualified.
To submit an entry for a “Junior” prize, attach the picture to an email and send it to info@surfcastersjournal.com with the name of the child. Any saltwater fish is eligilbe. Please include “Junior category” in the email subject
Junior category is for boys and girls under the age of 17. Any size fish can be entered.
In addition to prizes at the end of the contest, we will award a Monthly Prize to one deserving recipient. One picture will be picked each month and awarded a monthly prize. This picture will be eligible for all other prizes at the end of the contest.

“Thumbs up” sample picture

There is a chance that we would be accused of picking our friends so we decided to get creative.

A panel consisting of editor Roger Martin, design guru Tommy Corrigan and professional photographer and Photoshop expert John Chase will serve as the contest judges. They will look through all the entries and pick 15 pictures based on size and picture quality. They will be instructed to assign equal weight (50%) to the size of the fish and the beauty of the photo (50%). The decision of the judges is final.

Prize drawing

Here is the kicker. Out of those 15 finalists you’ll get to pick the winners!!!
You heard us right. We will let blog subscribers pick the actual winners via a poll on our blog. Only those who registered for the contest will be able to participate in the poll.
One poll entry vote per subscriber.
Whoever gets most votes gets First prize and so on. Ties are broken by the date the picture was submitted and the earliest submission wins.

Prizes