2015 RESULTS
Fellow Anglers and Fly Fishing Fanatics:
I would like to thank each one of you for your participation and continued support of the Lydia Ann Fly Masters Tournament and most importantly, Casting for Recovery. We were blessed with wonderful weather and plenty of fish for this year’s tournament. After looking at the final tally from the weigh in sheet, this year may have been the best year to date in terms of number of fish caught. Based on the responses we had from this year’s attendees, it looks like the date change has been well received and offers better and more comfortable fishing!
As with each of the tournaments, we are always striving to make things just a little better from one year to the next. We have changed the date, the t-shirts, wind management techniques and have found more creative ways to give our sponsors more recognition each time. This year, we upgraded the t-shirts a little and made some small changes to help the tournament run a little smoother. Another first for this year was the number of online registrations we received…with nearly 95% of you registering online! I can’t tell you how much easier that makes everything on tournament day! I already have a few notes to implement for next year, but we are always looking for more suggestions. We would love to hear your feedback so that we can continue to improve and grow the LAFM tournament and ultimately raise more money for CfR. Feel free to send me an email with any comments or suggestions you may have.
This year's tournament was a little rough getting off the ground and organized as we faced a few unforeseen challenges and already overloaded schedules. Thankfully, we were able to pull together a great team that was willing to volunteer their time and talents to pull everything together to make sure we could continue to support the wonderful cause that is Casting for Recovery. I want to personally thank Walter Ross, Tim Constanzo, Mark Hjuler and Jeff Michels for all of their hard work in preparing for the tournament as well as serving as the staff during the event. Their hard work kept things running smoothly from set up to weigh in to tear down. Special thanks also to Stacy Lynn, Susan Gaetz and Cornelia Gates for their continued help in making this year's tournament a success.
While I am thanking folks, I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize Palmer Simpson for his initial vision for this tournament and for all of the hard work he put in up front to help this idea take off. Neither one of us could have imagined that six years later, the tournament would be the size it is today with the tremendous support from the fly fishing community from all across Texas. It’s hard to imagine that we have now exceeded our initial goal to raise $2,000 for CfR many times over, with this year’s event pushing us well past the $30,000 mark!
With that level of growth, there are challenges (in a good way) and it takes even more effort to keep the tournament running smoothly. As I mentioned at the awards dinner, we are looking for volunteers to help with planning and staffing next year’s tournament. I won’t lie and tell you that the tournament isn’t a lot of work, but as the saying goes, “Many hands make light work!” With a team of people involved, we can prepare for the tournament much easier. I would encourage each of you to consider volunteering to help with the tournament and be part of next year’s team. There are a number of ways that each of you can help, so please email me ([email protected]) if you’re interested and we can find something that fits your talents and schedule.
My goal for this year was simply to clear the $30,000 mark for funds raised for CfR, which is roughly the equivalent of supporting every woman on two full CfR retreats. I am happy to announce that we not only met this goal, but blew right past it! Since the 1st LAFM in 2009, we have had a total of 384 anglers registered and have donated over $33,000 back to Casting for Recovery! It is still amazing to see the impact a dedicated group of fly fishers can make when supporting a very worthy cause! It is both humbling and gratifying to know that each of us has helped to provide even more women with the opportunity to attend one of these truly life changing retreats.
None of these amazing goals could have been reached without the continued support of all of you as participants or without the generosity of our sponsors and individual donors, many who have supported our tournament each and every year. I would highly encourage each of you to look at the sponsor list from this and past years' tournaments (http://www.lydiaannflymasters.com/2015-sponsors.html). Next time you are in the market for fly fishing gear or goodies, I would highly encourage each of you to support these generous sponsors. Be sure to let them know how much we all appreciate their support of the LAFM tournament and Casting for Recovery!.
We will be sure to get the word out as soon as next year's date has been set, but plan for it to be around the early part of October. Keep an eye on the tournament website (www.lydiaannflymasters.com) or join and follow our Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/110508092316938/) so you will know as soon as things are set. You can also find photos from this year's tournament posted on the Facebook page.
Again, a sincere thank you to everyone who supported the Lydia Ann Fly Masters tournament and Casting for Recovery. Thank you to everyone for signing up and spreading the word about our tournament and about Casting for Recovery. We look forward to seeing all of you (and all of your friends) next year.
Now, what you have all been waiting for...the results!
Tight Lines,
Rob Burlingame
2015 TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Gross Funds Raised: $8,400
Net Funds Raised: $4,648
Total Funds Donated to CfR (2009-2015): $33,195
Total Number of Anglers: 59
Kayak Anglers: 15
Boat Anglers: 44
Female Anglers: 10 (included in totals)
2015 TOURNAMENT WINNERS:
BOAT DIVISION - REDFISH CLASS:
1st: Todd Fleming – 27 1/4" Redfish
2nd: Paul Parks – 26 3/4" Redfish
3rd: David Norris, Jr. – 26 1/2" Redfish
KAYAK DIVISION - REDFISH CLASS:
1st: Ken Kahanek – 23 1/4" Redfish
2nd: Conner Iselt – 18 1/2” Redfish
3rd: Phillip Griggs – 17” Redfish
BOAT DIVISION - OPEN SPECIES CLASS:
1st: Walter Ross – 20” Ladyfish
2nd: Will Taylor – 18 1/8” Ladyfish
KAYAK DIVISION - OPEN SPECIES CLASS:
1st: Oscar Gutierrez – 20” Speckled Trout
2nd: Mandy Mendez – 18” Speckled Trout
TOP WOMAN ANGLER:
1st: Katie Doyle – 20 1/2" Redfish
2015 SPONSORS: PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSOR PAGE BY CLICKING HERE
Our sponsors are instrumental each year in the success of the tournament.
Please do all you can to SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT US!
I would like to thank each one of you for your participation and continued support of the Lydia Ann Fly Masters Tournament and most importantly, Casting for Recovery. We were blessed with wonderful weather and plenty of fish for this year’s tournament. After looking at the final tally from the weigh in sheet, this year may have been the best year to date in terms of number of fish caught. Based on the responses we had from this year’s attendees, it looks like the date change has been well received and offers better and more comfortable fishing!
As with each of the tournaments, we are always striving to make things just a little better from one year to the next. We have changed the date, the t-shirts, wind management techniques and have found more creative ways to give our sponsors more recognition each time. This year, we upgraded the t-shirts a little and made some small changes to help the tournament run a little smoother. Another first for this year was the number of online registrations we received…with nearly 95% of you registering online! I can’t tell you how much easier that makes everything on tournament day! I already have a few notes to implement for next year, but we are always looking for more suggestions. We would love to hear your feedback so that we can continue to improve and grow the LAFM tournament and ultimately raise more money for CfR. Feel free to send me an email with any comments or suggestions you may have.
This year's tournament was a little rough getting off the ground and organized as we faced a few unforeseen challenges and already overloaded schedules. Thankfully, we were able to pull together a great team that was willing to volunteer their time and talents to pull everything together to make sure we could continue to support the wonderful cause that is Casting for Recovery. I want to personally thank Walter Ross, Tim Constanzo, Mark Hjuler and Jeff Michels for all of their hard work in preparing for the tournament as well as serving as the staff during the event. Their hard work kept things running smoothly from set up to weigh in to tear down. Special thanks also to Stacy Lynn, Susan Gaetz and Cornelia Gates for their continued help in making this year's tournament a success.
While I am thanking folks, I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize Palmer Simpson for his initial vision for this tournament and for all of the hard work he put in up front to help this idea take off. Neither one of us could have imagined that six years later, the tournament would be the size it is today with the tremendous support from the fly fishing community from all across Texas. It’s hard to imagine that we have now exceeded our initial goal to raise $2,000 for CfR many times over, with this year’s event pushing us well past the $30,000 mark!
With that level of growth, there are challenges (in a good way) and it takes even more effort to keep the tournament running smoothly. As I mentioned at the awards dinner, we are looking for volunteers to help with planning and staffing next year’s tournament. I won’t lie and tell you that the tournament isn’t a lot of work, but as the saying goes, “Many hands make light work!” With a team of people involved, we can prepare for the tournament much easier. I would encourage each of you to consider volunteering to help with the tournament and be part of next year’s team. There are a number of ways that each of you can help, so please email me ([email protected]) if you’re interested and we can find something that fits your talents and schedule.
My goal for this year was simply to clear the $30,000 mark for funds raised for CfR, which is roughly the equivalent of supporting every woman on two full CfR retreats. I am happy to announce that we not only met this goal, but blew right past it! Since the 1st LAFM in 2009, we have had a total of 384 anglers registered and have donated over $33,000 back to Casting for Recovery! It is still amazing to see the impact a dedicated group of fly fishers can make when supporting a very worthy cause! It is both humbling and gratifying to know that each of us has helped to provide even more women with the opportunity to attend one of these truly life changing retreats.
None of these amazing goals could have been reached without the continued support of all of you as participants or without the generosity of our sponsors and individual donors, many who have supported our tournament each and every year. I would highly encourage each of you to look at the sponsor list from this and past years' tournaments (http://www.lydiaannflymasters.com/2015-sponsors.html). Next time you are in the market for fly fishing gear or goodies, I would highly encourage each of you to support these generous sponsors. Be sure to let them know how much we all appreciate their support of the LAFM tournament and Casting for Recovery!.
We will be sure to get the word out as soon as next year's date has been set, but plan for it to be around the early part of October. Keep an eye on the tournament website (www.lydiaannflymasters.com) or join and follow our Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/110508092316938/) so you will know as soon as things are set. You can also find photos from this year's tournament posted on the Facebook page.
Again, a sincere thank you to everyone who supported the Lydia Ann Fly Masters tournament and Casting for Recovery. Thank you to everyone for signing up and spreading the word about our tournament and about Casting for Recovery. We look forward to seeing all of you (and all of your friends) next year.
Now, what you have all been waiting for...the results!
Tight Lines,
Rob Burlingame
2015 TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Gross Funds Raised: $8,400
Net Funds Raised: $4,648
Total Funds Donated to CfR (2009-2015): $33,195
Total Number of Anglers: 59
Kayak Anglers: 15
Boat Anglers: 44
Female Anglers: 10 (included in totals)
2015 TOURNAMENT WINNERS:
BOAT DIVISION - REDFISH CLASS:
1st: Todd Fleming – 27 1/4" Redfish
2nd: Paul Parks – 26 3/4" Redfish
3rd: David Norris, Jr. – 26 1/2" Redfish
KAYAK DIVISION - REDFISH CLASS:
1st: Ken Kahanek – 23 1/4" Redfish
2nd: Conner Iselt – 18 1/2” Redfish
3rd: Phillip Griggs – 17” Redfish
BOAT DIVISION - OPEN SPECIES CLASS:
1st: Walter Ross – 20” Ladyfish
2nd: Will Taylor – 18 1/8” Ladyfish
KAYAK DIVISION - OPEN SPECIES CLASS:
1st: Oscar Gutierrez – 20” Speckled Trout
2nd: Mandy Mendez – 18” Speckled Trout
TOP WOMAN ANGLER:
1st: Katie Doyle – 20 1/2" Redfish
2015 SPONSORS: PLEASE VISIT OUR SPONSOR PAGE BY CLICKING HERE
Our sponsors are instrumental each year in the success of the tournament.
Please do all you can to SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT US!