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Billfishing
Tournament
CHARLESTON, SC— There’s a new
tournament in South Carolina – one that promises a whole new level
of billfishing. The Carolina Billfish Classic, the state’s first
multi-port billfishing tournament, will be the third leg of the SC
Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series and part of the sanctioned World
Billfish Series, June 23 – 26, 2010.
Tournament Headquarters will be located at Charleston
Harbor Resort & Marina, with a second location at Harbour Town Yacht
Basin, Hilton Head Island, SC, and a third location, north of
Charleston, to be announced. The tournament plans to have
simultaneous broadcasts from each venue to allow sharing in the
excitement between all three locations simultaneously. Nancy
Cappelmann, Harbourmaster, Harbour Town Yacht Basin, says, “We are
very excited to be a host venue for this leg of the Governor's Cup
and look forward to bringing a tournament of this caliber back to
the Hilton Head, Beaufort, and Savannah market”. Tracy Mitchell,
Sales Director of Charleston Harbor Resort “is thrilled with the
opportunity to once again be the host site for a Governor’s Cup
Billfishing Tournament”. The Governor’s Cup Series staff and board
members are excited to have the addition of this multi-port
tournament in the Series which should allow increased opportunity
and accessibility to participate for out-of-state anglers as well as
home-state boats.
Deidre Menefee, Tournament Director explains, “The idea
to create a South Carolina version of “The Big Rock” has been a
consistent discussion on the waterfront for years, and Carolina
Billfish Classic will be the tournament to do just that. The
tournament founding Board of Directors represents all areas of South
Carolina and have one common interest – the love of fishing.”
Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina is the site that
currently holds the Blue Marlin State Record, caught by “Corky”
Taylor aboard Rascal in 2005 during the Charleston Harbor Billfish
Tournament. The World Billfish Series is the most elite billfishing
tournament series in the world, with over 60 tournaments, seven
divisions, and 30,000 anglers annually worldwide.
Beyond the benefits of fishing in these series, anglers
also have the possibility to win over $1,000,000 with a 100 boat
entry, PLUS $1,000,000 for a State Record Blue Marlin, Dolphin,
Tuna, or Wahoo.
For more information on the Carolina Billfish Classic,
the SC Governors Cup Billfishing Series, or the World Billfish
Series, email dm@fishcbc.com
Despite Economy,
Fishing License Sales Up
Sales increase mirrors recreational fishing’s heyday in the 1960s
and 1970s
ALEXANDRIA, VA (October 20, 2009) – The Recreational Boating &
Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and the American Sportfishing Association
(ASA) today announced the publication of a quarterly fishing license
sales index to track trends that have an impact on the industry and
the entire recreational fishing community.
“Not since the 1970s have we seen a single-year
increase in fishing license sales like we’ve seen so far in 2009,”
said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman. “Understanding how the
needle moves in terms of sportfishing participation is important not
just for the sportfishing industry, but for the entire outdoor
recreation community. This new license metric will provide everyone
with important sales and participation information.”
“Our recent research shows that fishing is the number
one gateway activity for introducing children and their families to
the outdoors,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “We
believe that national campaigns such as Take Me Fishing™ and
state-based sportfishing marketing and direct mail are also having a
positive effect.”
As of September 1, 2009, state fish and wildlife
agencies reported a 7.7 percent positive change in the number of
licenses sold year-to-date compared to the same months last year
(January - July 2009 vs. January - July 2008). The same states also
saw a seven percent increase in the number of licenses sold in July
2009 compared with July 2008.
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