BLCC/Beaver Lake Seasonal Ice Fishing Derby 2017 Start Date: Saturday December 31, 2016 given safe ice conditions End: Safe Ice Out (Participants will be notified via email of the closing fishing day based on ice conditions) Derby Coordinators: Russ Mooney (413‐537‐9141 [email protected]) and Mike Cygan (413‐658‐8140 [email protected]) Fish Photo Judging: Walt Wilke (Send fish photos to [email protected] No texts please) Registration: Contact Russ Mooney or Mike Cygan by Saturday January 21, 2017. Entry fee is due upon registration. Entry Fee: $25 / Fisherman (All registration $$$ will be returned as prize payouts) Website Photo Album: http://beaverlakecc.com/album/2017‐seasonal‐ice‐fishing‐derby Derby Prize Categories and Payouts (Payouts will be determined based on the amount of the collected registration $$$.) Largest Bass: TBD 2nd Largest Bass: TBD Largest Pickerel: TBD 2nd Largest Pickerel: TBD Largest Perch: TBD Largest Calico Bass: TBD The Beaver Lake Seasonal Ice Fishing Derby is planned to be a two to three month event (as long as there is safe ice). Fishermen can register for the derby with the derby coordinator by paying a $25 entry fee. They will receive a BLCC yardstick for measuring their catch or they may use their own. Fishermen can fish as often as they like while the derby is open. When a fish is caught that a fisherman wants to enter into the derby, a picture of it is taken against a yardstick/ruler with the fisherman's smartphone or camera and emailed to the derby coordinator for judging and ranking. There will be a photo album on the website that will contain all fish pictures submitted. At the close of the derby, prize money will be paid for the largest fish in each category. General Rules 1. A derby will be open for an entire season: for example an Ice Fishing Derby would run January 1 thru ice out and a Spring/Summer/Fall Derby would run from May 1 through Columbus Day. a. Prize categories will be established for each derby (i.e. largest bass). Prize amounts will be determined based on collected registration fees. b. Fishermen will pay a registration fee to enter each derby. c. All registration fees will be returned as prize money. 2. Prior to a derby’s start date, a registration session will be held at West Beach to register fishermen and collect entry fees. a. Must be either a BLCC member or member's guest to enter the derby. b. Late registration can be done by appointment with the Derby Coordinator. 3. You may fish as often as you like on Beaver Lake during each derby’s open dates. 4. When you catch a fish you want to enter into the Derby, you take a picture of it on a yardstick/ruler with your smartphone/camera and send it to Walt Wilke ([email protected]). Emailed photos must be sent from the email account that you provided at registration to ensure proper assignment of fish photos to fishermen. Send in as many photos as you like. a. Honor System ‐ all fish submitted for a derby must be caught in Beaver Lake and during the derby’s open dates. 5. A BeaverlakeCC website page will be setup to track the registered fishermen and the current largest fish submitted in each prize category. All submitted fish pictures will be posted on the website including the fisherman’s name and the species and judged size of the fish. 6. At the end of the derby, prizes will be awarded for the largest fish in each category based on the photos submitted. (Note ‐ this rule was modified on October 13, 2014. For any category that has a first and second BLCC Beaver Lake Seasonal Ice Fishing Derby 2017.docx largest fish prize, if a fisherman has entered fish that take both prizes, he/she may only win the largest fish prize. The 2nd largest fish prize will be awarded to the fisherman who submitted the next largest fish.) 7. Only BLCC member registered (stickered) boats, ATVs, or Snowmobiles are allowed on Beaver Lake. All “guest” fishermen must use their BLCC member sponsor’s boats/vehicles for fishing. 8. Will still run Winter/Spring/Summer Day Derbies. a. Fish caught in BLCC day derbies may also be submitted for a season long derby. Notes about judging/determining fish sizes: All submitted photos will be carefully reviewed by the derby coordinator. Fish lengths will be measured from the tip of the snout (with mouth closed) to the tip of the tail. Accuracy of determining fish size will somewhat depends on the quality of the submitted photo of the fish against the yardstick/ruler. During determination of fish length, attempts will be made to compensate for poor alignment of the fish against the zero point of the yardstick/ruler. When multiple photos of leading judged fish lengths fall within 1/8” or less of each other, a tie for the category will be declared. Both the BLCC and BTLI Board of Directors encourage catch and release fishing in Beaver Lake. All fish caught for this and all BLCC sponsored fishing Derbies should be returned into the lake. This definitely includes all pickerel that are caught. Tips for Taking Accurate BLCC Fishing Derby Photos on Yardsticks Judging the length of fish from photos submitted for BLCC fishing derbies is very dependent on how the fish are placed on the yardsticks and the angles and distance between the camera and the fish. Sometimes there is only a quarter of an inch difference between the first and second place fish so taking photos that are clear and easy to judge is important. Here are some examples to help you take photos that are useful for judging: Poor Example – Difficult to determine fish length. 1. Camera not centered directly above the fish making it difficult to see how it lines up with the ruler markings 2. Can’t see the entire fish on the ruler. Is it lined up with the end of the ruler? Good Example – Easy to accurately determine the fish length. 1. Camera is centered directly above the fish making it easy to see how it lines up with ruler markings. 2. Entire fish is visible to see how it is lined up with the end of the ruler. So, please consider the tips below for taking photos that are easy to judge accurately. It might make the difference between a winner and a runner‐up! BLCC Beaver Lake Seasonal Ice Fishing Derby 2017.docx 1. Make sure there is enough light to take the picture, or better yet, use a flash. 2. Be sure that either the fish’s head or tail tip is lined up closely with the 0” end of the yardstick 3. Be sure that the camera is directly over the center of the fish when you take the picture – not at an angle. This makes it easier to see how the fish lines up with the ruler markings. 4. Be sure the camera is close enough when you take the picture so the yardstick markings are clearly visible. It is best if the fish snout to tail takes up most of the picture. All of these tips make the process of judging a submitted photo easier and more accurate. BLCC Beaver Lake Seasonal Ice Fishing Derby 2017.docx