Since the 1930s, the world of birding has held an informal contest to find out who can see or hear the largest number of species of birds within a calendar year. They call this contest The Big Year, and we thought it was time flyfishing had its own Big Year. Our contest will be run through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It is open to anyone, and the rules are simple:
Starting Sat., April 26th (Opening day of trout season for several states), post a picture of you with your fish on The Drake’s Facebook page (there’ll be a special spot/app for entries). Whoever posts the most different species of fish, that they caught between April 26, 2014, and April 25, 2015, on a fly rod, will lay claim to the Grand Prize loot.
Three important things to remember:
- You must use the hashtag #DrakemagBigYear when entering via Twitter or Instagram, for us to be able to track your entry.
- While the fish can be from anywhere in the world, we are using the IGFA list of species. So, for example, a “cutthroat trout” is considered one species—even if you catch one Snake River Cutty and one Colorado Cutty, it’s still just one cutty.
- This is a catch-and-release competition, so each fish must be alive and be properly handled in the photos. Also, like the birding version, we are using the honor system. If the fish you post was caught before April 26th, 2014, it is not eligible. No cheating!
The two main goals of this event:
- To have fun while winning cool gear.
- To showcase how many different types of fish can be caught on a fly rod.
This is not a “biggest fish” contest or a “most fish” contest, it’s a variety-of-species contest. For a more detailed explanation of the rules, and to see some of the prizes, and how to win them, stay tuned to this page.
PRIZES: Monthly winners will win gear from RIO, Sage, Redington, and William Joseph. Our quarterly winners will win stuff from the above, as well as a cooler from Yeti, and sunglasses from Smith. The grand prize winner receives the ultimate swag bag, including prizes from ALL sponsors.
Keep checking back for more details. Thanks, and good luck!
sponsors:
