Finders Keepers

Hmm... Works for me. Anyone else having issues?

This coming winter there will be a new tournament not only for ice anglers, but also for those fishing the open water, tributaries, rivers, etc. The NYS Winter Classic Tournament (www.NYSwinterclassic.com) will be the largest winter fishing tournament ever run in NYS! Using the current LOC tournaments and old ESLO style formats, anglers will be fishing for 7 different categories of fish (Trout (Browns, Lakers, Rainbows/Steelhead), Northern Pike, Walleye, Pickerel, Yellow Perch, Crappie, and Panfish (Sunfish & Bluegill)), from January 1st through February 22nd, on any waterway in NYS (ice, open water, rivers, etc.), with 14 weigh-in locations spread across the state (see map on website for locations), and a huge prize structure with cash payouts for 5 places in each category. Major sponsors are currently being negotiated and secured funds will be announced once finalized. Entry into the Classic is only $25/angler and $10 to enter the Lunker Pool, which will pay out 3 places per category. This winter every day fishing will be a tourney day!! Registration is now open!! Check it out and feel free to ask questions!!

Yeah, those fleas are unbelievable this year, and I too joined the "dipsy rig lost" club last Friday trying to clean the fleas! Man, if someone had a submersible they could load up!!

Websites are up and the IPA site is currently being updated for the 2015 events: www.NYSiceproam.com www.NYSwinterclassic.com Registration is now OPEN for both tournaments with registration forms able to be printed and downloaded from the sites. Feel free to ask questions and I'll be posting updates as new sponsors are confirmed. We will need 500 anglers statewide by December 16th in order to run the Winter Classic - a tournament based after the current LOC Derbies held on Lake Ontario with a prize structure more like the old ELSO Derbies. I don't foresee 500 as being an issue! Anyone fishing any tournaments this winter or planning on doing any fishing in NYS would be foolish not to get in this one for only $25!! Assuming all goes well this year, we will likely be adding several more weigh stations for future years.

Agreed!! A-TOM-MIK's are hands down the best flies and copper in the market! We like to run our meat rigs, but nothing puts more fish in our boat during the summer months than A-TOM-MIK's!! And as stated, the amount of exposure and work Tom & his crew put into this fishery is nothing short of amazing!! Keep up the great work Team A-TOM-MIK and you will forever have a HUGE following of dedicated anglers!!

How do we sign-up and pay for this Tom? Thanks!

Is there a number we can call to see what the largest fish weighed in is so we can release any smaller fish if we can?

Nice 21 lb'er Nick!! Looks nice out there!!

Nice green monster Nick!! LOL!!

Sharp turns have produced best for us. It has the same effect as adjusting the throttle (outside turn lures speed up, inside lures slow down) but also adds lateral movement as well. However, some days regardless of what you do, if they have lockjaw, unless you have some dynamite you won't see those fish.

Yeah, the lake is running late this year for sure, but they'll show up by and by! We're in for the Pro-Am's and they are a blast!!

It would be great to see more local teams get involved and support this great event in addition to fishing it! We're running the scales and have brought in several of our team's sponsors with product and displays for the event. Any anglers/teams with sponsorships simply ask your companies if they would like to gain exposure by supporting this event through sponsored product, funding, or anything else! We're more than happy to put up banners and/or displays if they want to provide them for us for additional exposure and the ability to get some great promotional pictures from the event! I know someone locally usually does the food at the event (which if that is already set-up that's great), otherwise we may be able to get a BBQ vendor for the event with which we may be able to get a % of the proceeds to go towards the pen project. Let me know if this is something we should pursue!

Definitely going to be a fun week!!

The dates & locations for the NYS Ice Pro-Am Tournament Series have been confirmed: January 17 - Chaumont Bay - Team-Only Event - $100/team Entry January 31 & Feb. 1 - Black Lake & Chaumont Bay - Full IPA Event - $160/team, $30/Open Entry Feb. 15 - Oneida Lake - Team-Only Event - $100/team Entry Feb. 21 & 22 - Sodus Bay - Full IPA Event - $160/team, $30/Open Entry March 14 - TBA - IPA Invitational - $275/team Entry NYS Winter Classic Tournament: January 1 through February 22 on all NYS waterways - $25/angler Entry We now have 14 weigh-in stations securred across the state for the Winter Classic Tournament. Registrations for both the IPA Team Events and Winter Classic Events will open on Augiust 1st. Open registrations for the Full IPA Events will only be taken at check-in/registration for each event. All IPA Events will be limited to 100 teams, the Invitational will be limited to 12 teams (by invite only). Rule changes for next season: 1) Open Division anglers can bring their fish to the weigh-in stations via the ice or vehicle. 2) Disputes with just cause for winning anglers can be submitted with $500 deposit for a lie detector test to be given. If the angler is found to be guilty, the $500 deposit will be returned and the angler found guilty will be blacklisted from all future IPA and Winter Classic events.