Adult/Youth Fishing Tournament

2019 Tournament results

10 and under kid/adult division:

1^st place – Rebel and Zach Nadolski
2^nd place – Josie and Kade Lehmkuhler
3^rd place - Brooke and Zac Brashears
4^th place – Parker and Eric Wackler

11 – 17 old kid/adult division:

1^st place – Gus Ganser/Delbert Smith
2^nd place – Sawyer and Jake McGill
3^rd place – Dylan Coates/Phil Francke
4^th place – Rye and Bret Tiller

2 kid/1adult division:

1^st place – Oliver, Gavin and Chance Nutter
2^nd place – Nash, Haley and Doug Hesse
3^rd place – Jake, Morgan and Dave Ishii
4^th place – Bridger, Gunner and Randy Rice

Heaviest Walleye: Jake, Morgan and Dave Ishii

Heaviest Northern Pike: Ayden, Dylan and Adam Naslund

Heaviest Largemouth Bass: Bridger, Gunner and Randy Rice

Overall Heaviest Fish: Jake, Morgan and Dave Ishii

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The priorities of this tournament are: (1) safety, (2) kids fishing and having fun while spending quality time doing so, and (3) the memory of our son, Andrew.

NEW THIS YEAR: In order to keep traffic running smoothly on Saturday morning, we have decided to make a change from prior years. Once exiting Highway 97 at the Beeds Landing sign, turn right on the road immediately before the restrooms and follow the road around to the boat ramp area. We will have a sign at the road indicating where to turn. By taking this road, it will allow the main road going into the Beeds Landing boat ramp area to remain open for vehicles and trailers to be driven to the parking lot after the boats have been launched.

ROAD CLOSURES: Highway 97 from Mullen to Merritt Reservoir has been closed since May 24th due to the significant rainfall and is still closed as of today. Please check https://kvsh.com/archives/7908 for updates on the road closure prior to traveling to Merritt Reservoir. It is very unlikely that Highway 97 will be reopened by June 8th.

For those of you who want to explore Valentine and the surrounding areas, please click on the following link: http://visitvalentine.org/.

There will be a tournament dinner and rules meeting on Friday, June 7th starting at 6:00 p.m. (central time) in front of cabins 1 – 6 (weather permitting). If there is inclement weather, the meeting/dinner will be held inside the Water’s Edge restaurant on the bottom level. Attendance is not mandatory but highly encouraged.
Agenda for Friday night:

Team check in and receipt of team number and other important information
Registration for all youth participants 15 years or younger and a Nebraska resident for the 2 drawings for a FREE youth lifetime hunt/fish combo permit that will occur at the awards ceremony on Saturday after the weigh-ins
Dinner will be provided along with non-alcoholic drinks
Rules meeting to follow the dinner

The bait shop plans on being open until approx. 9:00 p.m. on Friday, June 7th to accommodate bait and tackle, ice and any other needs. The bait shop will NOT be open early enough on the morning of the tournament so make sure you get all of your bait shop items on Friday night.

Tournament Details:
Each team will consist of one of the following: (a) 1 adult (18 years or older) and 1 child (10 years or younger), (b) 1 adult (18 years or older) and 1 child (11 – 17 years old), or, (c) 1 adult (18 years or older) and 2 children (17 years old or younger). Age is determined as of June 8, 2019. One team per boat. NO SPECTATORS ARE ALLOWED IN THE BOATS.

Fish may either be released after weigh-in or harvested. If you choose to weigh in fish prior to your final weigh in of the day, those fish MUST BE released after a tournament official has weighed and charted your catch.

The following fish species are allowed to be weighed in and included in the “total heaviest catch” rankings (walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, crappie, bluegill and perch). NO other species are allowed to be weighed. PLEASE see the next page for 2019 tournament bag limit exceptions from the 2019 Nebraska state fishing regulations.

Total heaviest catch is determined per team. For example, a 2 child/1 adult team will weigh their entire catch together; maximum of 3 bag limits based on Nebraska state 2019 fishing regulations AND bag limit exceptions for this tournament as outlined below.

All decisions by tournament officials will be final.

Day of Tournament:

NEW THIS YEAR: Once exiting the highway at the Beeds Landing sign, turn right on the road immediately before the restrooms and follow the road around to the boat ramp area. We will have a sign at the road indicating where to turn. By taking this road, it will allow the main road going into the Beeds Landing boat ramp area to remain open for vehicles and trailers to be driven to the parking lot after the boats have been launched.

When you arrive at Beeds that morning, please park in line, come get breakfast and then at 6:15 AM, we will start launching boats and inspecting live wells prior to your launch.

We will be serving a light breakfast consisting of coffee, OJ, milk and grab ‘n go items, such as muffins and donuts starting at 5:45 AM (central time) at Beeds Landing boat ramp area. All teams must have checked in, received their team numbers (if they were unable to attend the rules meeting on Friday night) and had their live well inspected by tournament officials prior to the 7:00 AM (central time) start time.

We will have volunteers available to assist with launching your boat and parking your vehicle/boat trailer. Since boats will be released to follow the “release boat” to fish by their team number, please attempt to position your boat in the water according to your team number. Once boats are in the water, they should all be to the east of the Beeds Landing boat ramp.

Boats will be released one by one to fish based on their team number starting at 7:00 AM sharp (central time). THERE WILL BE A “RELEASE BOAT” THAT WILL LEAD THE BOATS OUT OF THE BEEDS LANDING AREA TO FISH. ONCE YOUR TEAM NUMBER IS CALLED, ALL BOATS MUST ABIDE BY THE “NO WAKE RULE” UNTIL THEY HAVE REACHED THE “RELEASE BOAT”. DO NOT PASS THE RELEASE BOAT UNTIL YOUR TEAM NUMBER IS CALLED. This is to enforce safety for smaller boats and boats at the dock. Failure to follow this rule can result in team disqualification. Fishing hours will be from 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM (central time).

All teams must be in the weigh-in line at Beeds Landing boat ramp area no later than 3:00 PM (central time) or be disqualified. If you are unable to “dock” your boat due to heavy boat traffic, please “check in” with the person in the orange vest on the docks, by waving your team number at him or her and stay in that immediate area until you are able to dock your boat.

An awards and celebration ceremony will be held immediately following team weigh-ins at approximately 3:30 PM near the weigh-in area at Beeds Landing.

Hot dogs, chips and drinks will be available for all participants and those attending the award ceremony. A big thank you to Dave and Desaray Ishii, their families and Hy-Vee for providing this lunch.

Fishing Rules and Regulations:
It is the responsibility of the adult team member to ensure that all bag, possession and length limits are followed. Please refer to the 2019 Fishing Guide that is in your team bag.

All Nebraska state 2019 fishing regulations (bag, possession and length limits) will be followed with THESE EXCEPTIONS:

Northern Pike; bag limit of 2 per person.
Largemouth bass and Smallmouth bass; bag limit of 4 per person.

A Nebraska Game & Parks official will be at the weigh-ins overseeing the length and bag limits. Tickets can be issued for failure to comply with these rules and regulations.

Park permits are required on all vehicles on Nebraska Game and Parks grounds, including Beeds Landing boat ramp area. Fishing licenses are required for all tournament entrants including youth entrant if 16 years or over or a nonresident under age 16 if not accompanied by someone who has a Nebraska fishing permit. If youth entrant is 15 years or younger and a Nebraska resident, they are not required to have a fishing license. It is highly recommended that you obtain any necessary fishing licenses and park permits prior to arriving at Merritt Reservoir. Fishing licenses and park permits can be obtained by visiting http://outdoornebraska.gov/fishingguidesandreports/ and click on Buy a Permit.

No child under 13 is allowed aboard any vessel when not wearing a Coast Guard-approved life preserver. Vessel operators shall be held responsible.

Prizes and Awards:
Prizes will be awarded to the Top 4 teams in each of the 3 divisions based on total heaviest catch. Prizes will include: trophies, Scheels gift cards, cash and prizes from our prize table (fishing, camping and outdoors related prizes). Tie breaker for determining the Top 4 teams in each division will be based on (1) heaviest fish caught then, if necessary, (2) total number of fish caught.

Additionally, trophies will be awarded to the (1) overall heaviest fish and (2) heaviest fish by species for 4 different species: (a) walleye, (b) northern pike, (c) largemouth bass, and (d) smallmouth bass. EACH CHILD will compete for these awards individually; NOT per team. There will be no heaviest fish awards for crappie, bluegill, and perch (these 3 species only count toward total heaviest catch). Tie breaker for these awards will be applied as follows (1) total heaviest catch then, if necessary, (2) total number of fish caught.

Andrew’s Uncle Dan Davenport has established and funded a “Hard Luck” award. There will be an area set up close to the weigh-in area where any youth participant can tell the judge their hard luck story and the judge will then determine the winner. The winner of the Hard Luck award will receive $50 and have the opportunity to tell their hard luck story at the awards ceremony.

EVERY youth participant will be recognized and receive a prize from the prize table and a fishing medal.

Random Drawings:
Random drawings will be held from all youth tournament entrants at the awards ceremony for the following donated drawings:

FREE Youth lifetime permit – hunt/fish combo – authorized by Nebraska Game & Parks Foundation and funded by Nebraska Game & Parks Foundation and by Joni’s siblings; Julie Bailar, Jean Davenport, JoDee Kimball, Dan Davenport, Jennifer Drey, Jimmy Davenport and Jacque Porter in memory of Andrew’s grandparents, Jim & Sherry Davenport (youth MUST BE entered in the tournament, a Nebraska resident and 15 years or younger)
FREE Youth lifetime permit – hunt/fish combo – authorized by Nebraska Game & Parks Foundation and funded by Nebraska Game & Parks Foundation and Andrew’s brother, Brian Claymon (youth MUST BE entered in the tournament, a Nebraska resident and 15 years or younger)
Fishing with 1 or more member()s of the University of Nebraska Husker Bass Anglers fishing team at Merritt Reservoir or at another time and location to be determined by the winner of the drawing and the Husker Bass Angler team members
Gift certificate for merchandise at Merritt Trading Post Resort (not including beer, gas or tobacco products) – donated by John and Regina Bauer and family
Gift certificate for merchandise at Merritt Trading Post Resort (not including beer, gas or tobacco products) – donated by John and Regina Bauer and family
Gift card provided by Kevin and Justin Miller

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PLEASE CONTACT US WITH ANY QUESTIONS. We will be at Merritt mid-afternoon on Thursday, June 6th staying in cabin number 15 so feel free to stop in and say hi.

Tournament Organizers and Officials:
Joni Claymon, Andrew’s mom
Joni cell: 970-445-8190