TroutfesT 2015: It’s almost that time again
Big Bear Lake’s Trout Fishery is Ripe and Ready
11th Annual Western Outdoor News/Big Bear Lake TroufesT, Oct. 3rd & 4th, 2015
For itinerary, rules and to enter on line, CLICK HERE
It’s awfully difficult to fathom that it’s mid-July already, and with that comes the sudden realization that the 11th annual TroutfesT is now less than just three months away – but that, of course, is a very good thing. And the 2015 version of the event is poised to be quite the show considering the chain of events that have brought us from last year’s TroutfesT to the present.
![[Image: alwaysahighlight.jpg]](http://www.wonews.com/images/image-manager/2014/alwaysahighlight.jpg)
alwaysahighlight
ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT of the event, the awards ceremony will once again be chock full of great prizes and raffle items, capped by the grand raffle prize of the Klamath 16 EXW rigged with a Mercury 40 hp motor.
Just a few months ago in early April, Big Bear Lake was able to seriously restock its trout fishery by securing the purchase of 1.25 million trout from the Calaveras Fish Hatchery, bolstering the lake’s trout population in a major way. On top of that, 11 net pens were established at the lake for the purpose of raising approximately 400,000 of these 1.25 million rainbows until they reach adequate size, along with having sustainable trout-rearing grounds on-site for the foreseeable future should any further opportunities arise. At the time, General Manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District, Mike Stephenson, described the massive trout additions as, “the plant marking the most trout the lake has ever seen.” The plan was to have those penned trout grow and to release them into the lake in anywhere from 6 months to a year’s time – the earlier of which puts us at, you guessed it – early October (fingers crossed).
![[Image: blindbogeyprizes3.jpg]](http://www.wonews.com/images/image-manager/2014/blindbogeyprizes3.jpg)
But even if those 400,000 penned ‘bows haven’t yet reached adequate size to be released by the time October rolls around, the net result will still be well over 725,000 additional trout that have been released this year swimming around Big Bear Lake – which wasn’t the case in years prior - not to mention the thousands of additional trout that will have been planted throughout the season by the DFW. Combine that with the fact that both the Jim Hall Memorial May Trout Classic and June’s Fishing for $50K Trout Derby were both cancelled this year, and WON’s October TroutfesT should be ripe for the picking. For 2015 at least, the WON/Big Bear Lake TroutfesT is the only game in town. Needless to say, there’ll be plenty of finned targets come early October when the weather starts to cool down, and the Big Bear trout bite could very well be red hot…
blindbogeyprizes3
BLIND BOGEY PRIZES can put you into some serious cash, as nearly $5,000 in blind bogey money was dished out at last year’s event.
As for TroutfesT itself, the same rap-roaring, family fun and friendly competition can be expected as usual, along with the treasure trove of stellar awards, raffle prizes and giveaways that WON and its sponsors bring to the table each and every year. Per standing operating procedure, the grand daddy of raffle prizes will again be the fish-slaying Klamath 16 EXW rigged with a Mercury 40 hp motor and accompanied by an EZ Loader trailer, all rigged by the pros at Quality Performance Marine, an astounding value of $21,000 when you consider the mere $75 adult entry fee.
And new for this year’s annual alpine trout derby at Big Bear, Sea Eagle is upping the ante by offering up its new, inflatable Travel Canoe 16 (TC16), completely reinventing the traditional canoe to result in a lightweight, versatile fishing machine. Panther Martin is giving anglers every opportunity to increase their odds of taking the TC16 home from TroutfesT by giving you an extra raffle ticket for every Panther Martin lure you purchase between now and the event (see p8 for details). Other top raffle items set to go out at the Oct. 4 awards ceremony include Mud Hole gift cards, Costa sunglasses, a FoodSaver unit and a fishing trip to Alaska.
As always at TroutfesT, goodie bags will be doled out to the first 600 entrants consisting of Thomas Buoyant and Panther Martin lures, packs of Magic Bait, Sport Chalet gift cards and spools of Hi-Seas mono just to name a few.
Up for grabs and going to the TroutfesT angler with the biggest ‘bow of the event will be a $250 Yo-Zuri lure prize pack, a Global Fish Mount of the trophy fish and a five-night stay at Frontier Lodge in Sitka, Alaska, with three full days of world-class fishing included!
shortrodsalways3
SHORT RODS ALWAYS have a blast at TroutfesT, and catching just that one big fish can put youngsters over the top in the junior divisions, can send them home big-time winners, personified here by 2014’s Junior Male champ, Mason Baston, with this 5½-pound, day-two ’bow.
![[Image: shortrodsalways3.jpg]](http://www.wonews.com/images/image-manager/2014/shortrodsalways3.jpg)
Keeping in tradition with the 10 previous TroutfesTs, it’s not merely blind luck that can earn you prizes galore, and you can rest assured that putting your angling skills to work over the first weekend in October can send you home a big winner. Placing in the top five in each division (Adult Male and Female, Junior Male and Female) will bring home the bacon. Some of the prizes going to the top-placing TroufesT anglers include Okuma combos, Rapala lures, Plano storage solutions, Kastmasters, Kalin grubs, Costa sunglasses and much more.
Opportunities to win still don’t stop there, as blind bogey prizes are going to be a big part of the equation yet again, with $5 from each and every entry going into the pot. Nearly $5,000 in blind bogey dough was handed out last year, so catching a trout of any size can help you cash in big time at TroutfesT – you just never know. In addition, there will be approximately 100 tagged trout roaming the waters of Big Bear Lake for the tournament, with each one caught and brought to the weigh station good for four additional grand prize raffle tickets and a $25 Sport Chalet gift card.
As far as the prizes and awards go at TroutfesT, it truly is a legitimate smorgasbord of fishing goodness.
But even beyond the countless items to be dished out, it’s hard to say that the two days of trout fishing in the serene, alpine setting of the San Bernardino Mountains with family and friends isn’t the ultimate highlight of the event beyond all else.
There are also some advantages from avoiding the procrastinating crowd and locking up your spot for 2015 TroutfesT well in advance. This year’s early-bird entrants (those signed up by Aug. 28) will be eligible to win one of eight top-end Esky Coolers. These aren’t your typical family coolers laying around the garage either. Esky Coolers feature all of the bells and whistles imaginable for a cooler, durable enough for any adventure and keeping all your goods cold for up to 7 days, from freshly-caught fish and harvested game, to family picnic items and cold drinks. Not to mention, early entry is also used as a tie-breaker in the event of equal 2-day fish weights at the end of the competition, so signing up early could potentially mean the difference between first and second place in the tourney.
So scrap any plans for early October that you might have been pondering recently and instead pin down your entry along with your family and friends in this year’s edition of TroutfesT. Above all, TroutfesT might just be the most fun-filled and family-friendly fishing contest in the state, blending the perfect balance of spirited competition with tons of laughs, lots of bent rods and with everyone heading back down the mountain at the end of the event with a head full of great memories -and hopefully, a car trunk full of new gear to boot...
![[Image: ladyangler3.jpg]](http://www.wonews.com/images/image-manager/2014/ladyangler3.jpg)
ladyangler3
LADY ANGLER Janelle Schneider ran away from the competition in the Adult Female division at last year’s TroutfesT by landing this hefty, 6.91-pound rainbow on the final day of the tournament.
For itinerary, rules and to enter on line, CLICK HERE
Big Bear Lake’s Trout Fishery is Ripe and Ready
11th Annual Western Outdoor News/Big Bear Lake TroufesT, Oct. 3rd & 4th, 2015
For itinerary, rules and to enter on line, CLICK HERE
It’s awfully difficult to fathom that it’s mid-July already, and with that comes the sudden realization that the 11th annual TroutfesT is now less than just three months away – but that, of course, is a very good thing. And the 2015 version of the event is poised to be quite the show considering the chain of events that have brought us from last year’s TroutfesT to the present.
alwaysahighlight
ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT of the event, the awards ceremony will once again be chock full of great prizes and raffle items, capped by the grand raffle prize of the Klamath 16 EXW rigged with a Mercury 40 hp motor.
Just a few months ago in early April, Big Bear Lake was able to seriously restock its trout fishery by securing the purchase of 1.25 million trout from the Calaveras Fish Hatchery, bolstering the lake’s trout population in a major way. On top of that, 11 net pens were established at the lake for the purpose of raising approximately 400,000 of these 1.25 million rainbows until they reach adequate size, along with having sustainable trout-rearing grounds on-site for the foreseeable future should any further opportunities arise. At the time, General Manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District, Mike Stephenson, described the massive trout additions as, “the plant marking the most trout the lake has ever seen.” The plan was to have those penned trout grow and to release them into the lake in anywhere from 6 months to a year’s time – the earlier of which puts us at, you guessed it – early October (fingers crossed).
But even if those 400,000 penned ‘bows haven’t yet reached adequate size to be released by the time October rolls around, the net result will still be well over 725,000 additional trout that have been released this year swimming around Big Bear Lake – which wasn’t the case in years prior - not to mention the thousands of additional trout that will have been planted throughout the season by the DFW. Combine that with the fact that both the Jim Hall Memorial May Trout Classic and June’s Fishing for $50K Trout Derby were both cancelled this year, and WON’s October TroutfesT should be ripe for the picking. For 2015 at least, the WON/Big Bear Lake TroutfesT is the only game in town. Needless to say, there’ll be plenty of finned targets come early October when the weather starts to cool down, and the Big Bear trout bite could very well be red hot…
blindbogeyprizes3
BLIND BOGEY PRIZES can put you into some serious cash, as nearly $5,000 in blind bogey money was dished out at last year’s event.
As for TroutfesT itself, the same rap-roaring, family fun and friendly competition can be expected as usual, along with the treasure trove of stellar awards, raffle prizes and giveaways that WON and its sponsors bring to the table each and every year. Per standing operating procedure, the grand daddy of raffle prizes will again be the fish-slaying Klamath 16 EXW rigged with a Mercury 40 hp motor and accompanied by an EZ Loader trailer, all rigged by the pros at Quality Performance Marine, an astounding value of $21,000 when you consider the mere $75 adult entry fee.
And new for this year’s annual alpine trout derby at Big Bear, Sea Eagle is upping the ante by offering up its new, inflatable Travel Canoe 16 (TC16), completely reinventing the traditional canoe to result in a lightweight, versatile fishing machine. Panther Martin is giving anglers every opportunity to increase their odds of taking the TC16 home from TroutfesT by giving you an extra raffle ticket for every Panther Martin lure you purchase between now and the event (see p8 for details). Other top raffle items set to go out at the Oct. 4 awards ceremony include Mud Hole gift cards, Costa sunglasses, a FoodSaver unit and a fishing trip to Alaska.
As always at TroutfesT, goodie bags will be doled out to the first 600 entrants consisting of Thomas Buoyant and Panther Martin lures, packs of Magic Bait, Sport Chalet gift cards and spools of Hi-Seas mono just to name a few.
Up for grabs and going to the TroutfesT angler with the biggest ‘bow of the event will be a $250 Yo-Zuri lure prize pack, a Global Fish Mount of the trophy fish and a five-night stay at Frontier Lodge in Sitka, Alaska, with three full days of world-class fishing included!
shortrodsalways3
SHORT RODS ALWAYS have a blast at TroutfesT, and catching just that one big fish can put youngsters over the top in the junior divisions, can send them home big-time winners, personified here by 2014’s Junior Male champ, Mason Baston, with this 5½-pound, day-two ’bow.
Keeping in tradition with the 10 previous TroutfesTs, it’s not merely blind luck that can earn you prizes galore, and you can rest assured that putting your angling skills to work over the first weekend in October can send you home a big winner. Placing in the top five in each division (Adult Male and Female, Junior Male and Female) will bring home the bacon. Some of the prizes going to the top-placing TroufesT anglers include Okuma combos, Rapala lures, Plano storage solutions, Kastmasters, Kalin grubs, Costa sunglasses and much more.
Opportunities to win still don’t stop there, as blind bogey prizes are going to be a big part of the equation yet again, with $5 from each and every entry going into the pot. Nearly $5,000 in blind bogey dough was handed out last year, so catching a trout of any size can help you cash in big time at TroutfesT – you just never know. In addition, there will be approximately 100 tagged trout roaming the waters of Big Bear Lake for the tournament, with each one caught and brought to the weigh station good for four additional grand prize raffle tickets and a $25 Sport Chalet gift card.
As far as the prizes and awards go at TroutfesT, it truly is a legitimate smorgasbord of fishing goodness.
But even beyond the countless items to be dished out, it’s hard to say that the two days of trout fishing in the serene, alpine setting of the San Bernardino Mountains with family and friends isn’t the ultimate highlight of the event beyond all else.
There are also some advantages from avoiding the procrastinating crowd and locking up your spot for 2015 TroutfesT well in advance. This year’s early-bird entrants (those signed up by Aug. 28) will be eligible to win one of eight top-end Esky Coolers. These aren’t your typical family coolers laying around the garage either. Esky Coolers feature all of the bells and whistles imaginable for a cooler, durable enough for any adventure and keeping all your goods cold for up to 7 days, from freshly-caught fish and harvested game, to family picnic items and cold drinks. Not to mention, early entry is also used as a tie-breaker in the event of equal 2-day fish weights at the end of the competition, so signing up early could potentially mean the difference between first and second place in the tourney.
So scrap any plans for early October that you might have been pondering recently and instead pin down your entry along with your family and friends in this year’s edition of TroutfesT. Above all, TroutfesT might just be the most fun-filled and family-friendly fishing contest in the state, blending the perfect balance of spirited competition with tons of laughs, lots of bent rods and with everyone heading back down the mountain at the end of the event with a head full of great memories -and hopefully, a car trunk full of new gear to boot...
ladyangler3
LADY ANGLER Janelle Schneider ran away from the competition in the Adult Female division at last year’s TroutfesT by landing this hefty, 6.91-pound rainbow on the final day of the tournament.
For itinerary, rules and to enter on line, CLICK HERE
Let God lead the way!
Give a man a fish he eats for one day, teach him to fish he eats forever!
Give a man a fish he eats for one day, teach him to fish he eats forever!
