Results of the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks (Tidal Schuylkill River)

Hello, Blog Readers!

Temperatures have finally started to drop. It surely feels like Fall now, doesn't it? 

As planned, yesterday I held the "3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks" from 9-3 p.m., between Locust and Chestnut streets (on the River). A nice picture of the event is below:

One section of the competition -- Locust to Walnut.

Overall, the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks was a little bit slower than the 2nd one.

For the 2nd Catfish Tourney on the Banks (June 23rd), we finished with 90 fish -- 143.81lbs of Catfish. For the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks (09/15), we finished with 31 fish -- 66.26lbs.

Therefore, the quantity decreased by 1/3 while the quality of the fish decreased only by 1/2. In other words, we caught less fish; however, only 1 or 2 were below 1 pound or so. Most of the fish were reasonable.

For the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks, I had a total of 18 individuals/teams. Therefore, the number of overall participants increased a lot! It's always pleasant to see that more and more people are coming for the competitions. Thank you very much, guys!

As a tradition, I always like to take a group picture after the competition. I usually send it to all the participants, since it's a good memo of the day! Above are 17 of the 21 individuals/teams registered for the 3rd competition. 

The total amount of cash collected was 490 dollars. From that amount, 20% (98 dollars) to the SRDC non-profit organization (Schuylkill River Development Corporation). I just made the donation today.

The SRDC is the organization responsible for the Schuylkill Banks (from the Fairmount Dam until the Grays Ferry Crescent Trail). They do their best to maintain a clean environment for anglers, runners, bikers, and so on. That includes removing graffiti on a weekly basis, providing a clean and neat space for everyone, etc. They also hold Summer events (free movie nights on certain Thursdays, kayak and boat tours, etc). If you want to know more about them, you can click here to access their website.

Below is the ranking for the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks:

Jose N. & Anthony N. -- 13.18lbs
Daniel G. & Kathleen S. -- 8.08lbs
Ian R. & Jeremy R. -- 7.15lbs
Vince B. & Bill C. -- 6.89lbs
Joe S. & Lowell -- 6.14lbs
Steven G. & Monica M. -- 5.85lbs
George T. & Linda Z. -- 4.03lbs
Chazz P. & John P. -- 3.43lbs
Kevin M. & Miles T. -- 2.97lbs
Andrew H. & Moua F. -- 2.90lbs
Michael O’C. -- 2.57lbs
Joe G. -- 1.58lbs
Michael “Mactinez” -- 1.49lbs
Kyle G. & Christine R. -- --- lbs
Ralph O. -- --- lbs
Ivan V. & Bryce -- --- lbs
Henry J. -- --- lbs
Aaron C. & Amando D. -- --- lbs

Above are the 4 winners of the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks: 1st Place (center - with his son): Jose Negron & Anthony Negron; 2nd Place (right): Daniel Guzman & Kathleen Serafin; 3rd Place (Center - left): Ian Rafter; Big Fish (left): Joe Scott & Lowell. Congrats, guys!

As you guys can see, this last competition was pretty unstable! Literally anyone had a chance to win at least up to 2nd place until the end of the competition. If 4-7th places actually got one more fish (about 1.5lbs), they could have jumped up by a lot!

As a matter of fact, Daniel and Kathleen (the actual 2nd place winners) were in 5th place until 2 p.m.. It was only during the last hour that they caught most of their fish, finishing up in 2nd place!

The prizes for the 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks were the following:

1st Place -- $156 + Trophy
2nd Place -- $118 + Trophy
3rd Place -- $78 + Trophy
Big Fish -- $40 + Trophy

People that participated: thank you very much for your support! As I have mentioned in the closing ceremony, you guys are making a difference in the fishing community in Philadelphia, not to mention that you are staying active in the field. The 20% of your proceeds will make a difference for the SRDC, even if it's small!

Also, many thanks to Kevin Madden and Miles Taylor (the two kids in green -- center of the picture) for coming all the way from Collingswood, NJ. I first met both of them when I was fishing at Knight's Lake. It just happened that I gave them my fishing card, and yet we met once again! Thank you very much, guys!

Extra thanks to Jose Negron and Monica Martinez, John Person, Joe Scott, Kyle Gruber & Christine Rabusa, Jeremy Rafter, and Daniel Guzman. Fishing is certainly MORE fun when you bring your loved ones with you! Therefore, having kids and loved ones around is always an extra plus. Fishing is definitely not just about catching.

For those who didn't catch anything, be not sad. It was a tough day on the Banks, and sometimes that's how it's is. Thankfully, it was still a nice day (nice weather), and of course the experience counts a lot!

Since I still have some free time and the weather is still OKAY, I'll plan one extra Catfish Tourney on the Banks for the month of October. The 4th Catfish Tourney on the Banks will be on October 27th, 2013, and that will absolutely be the last one for this year. Therefore, if you missed the 3rd one, you still have one more chance to go!

Below are pictures of other catches:

Participant Bill C. with a 2.24lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Linda Z. with a 2.18lbs Channel Catfish.

 Participant Anthony N. and his sister with a 3.90lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Lowell with a 1.69lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Ian R. with a 3.50lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Steven G. and Monica M. with a 3.08lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Daniel G. with a 3.10lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Lowell with the biggest fish of the day -- a 4.45lbs, 22 inches, Channel Catfish.

Participant Jeremy R. with a 2.24lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Anthony N. with a 3.88lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Miles T. with a 2.97lbs Channel Catfish.

Participant Michael O'C with a 2.57lbs Channel Catfish.

Best of luck for all of us!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.