2011 BPS Simcoe Open News Release and Update

This was just sent to anglers on the list as of last Wed. If you have registered and paid but didn't get this directly thru email- don't worry - just show up at the meeting.

Hello all anglers fishing the 2011 BPS Lake Simcoe Open,
Please see latest press release below. Please forward to your tournament partner.
Meeting starts at 6pm at Highwayman Inn- Orillia ... we need to be off water by 5pm
For morning check in ... you will be asked to have boating safety equipment on deck
Please note- after 7:30-8am tomorrow(Friday) I will not be monitoring this email until after the tournament.
Thanks and see you all tomorrow evening,
Wil



Hello selected media,
Please see notice of Canada’s premier one day bass tournament – set for Orillia this Saturday.

2011 BASS PRO SHOPS LAKE SIMCOE OPEN – ORILLIA WEIGH-IN STARTS 3PM SATURDAY OCT 22

For Immediate Release: October 20, 2011

Orillia ON: Canada’s premier one day bass fishing tournament, The Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open hosted by the Aurora Bassmasters is all set to launch on Sat. Oct 22, 2011! A full field of 110 boats each with two anglers fishing as a team, will be vying for a first place finish worth a guaranteed $20,000 in CASH! Although the potential winners will welcome this incredible paycheck for a day’s fishing ... what most competitors have their sites on is to break the current, ALL TIME CANADIAN RECORD for five bass weighed in during a Canadian Tournament. Last year’s winners, Mark Moran and Joe Muszynski did just that with a sack of smallmouth bass that tipped the scales at an incredible 31.5 pounds! For their win, they also took home the Toyota Record payout, which Bass Pro Shops and Toyota Canada have been paying into for several years. With the pot accumulating every year ... because no one topped the original Canadian record – they were able to amass a grand total of over $50,000 in cash and contingency awards. “This year, we are back to square one with that record payout ... so it will be an extra $5,000 over and above the guaranteed $20,000 – if a team weighs in more than Mark and Joey did last year,” explained Herb Quan, president of the Aurora Bassmasters and this year’s Tournament Director.

More Incredible Prizes:
Support from the angling industry and community has always been strong for this event and this year is no exception. Of course Bass Pro Shops as title sponsor has offered the greatest contribution both in cash awards and their marketing and organizational expertise. Additionally we have retained platinum sponsors Jack Links Beef Jerky, BoaterExam.com and Toyota Canada. Shimano will once again supply their live release boat and in water weigh-in system. Additionally, they will kick in $2,000 seed money for the Shimano Pay To Play pot. Anglers can enter during the pre tournament meeting the Friday night before. Their $40 per team will go into the pot and directly to the winners – if they entered before the event. If not it goes to the 2nd place team and so on. In total this could be an additional $6,000 for the winners if 100 teams contributed. Berkley/Pure Fishing will once again offer $1,000 towards the Berkley Gulp Alive Bucket Bonus for the heaviest largemouth weighed in and another $1,000 cash bonus if someone weighs in a bass over 8 pounds. (Last year’s heaviest bronzeback tipped the scales at 8.05 lbs.) Humminbird/Minn Kota will offer $2,000 to the winners if they used their products during the tournament. Rapala will run their popular “X Spot” award and Mustang will provide four Floater suits. Sunshine Radio 89.1 FM in Orillia is covering the event and promoting it daily all week. They will also be at the event and broadcast live and interview teams while they waiting in their boats for the weigh-in. These are all major sponsors who make this event the most anticipated and anticipated one day tournament in the country. We would like to thank supporting companies X Zone lures and CL Fishin for their product support.


How The 2011 Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open Works:

After all the boats are checked carefully by tournament officials at the Port of Orillia, Anglers will blast off at 8am Saturday morning in flights of 25 boats each. The vast majority of teams will leave Lake Couchiching, go thru the Atherly Narrows and on into Lake Simcoe. “It’s here that the vast majority of those monster six pound plus smallmouth bass reside and it’s those very bass that are required in order to not only win- but typically even place in the top 20”, said Herb Quan, president of the Aurora Bassmasters. .” Anglers will use a variety of proven tournament techniques with different artificial lures (no live bait permitted) and must keep their bass in tip top shape during the day in their aerated livewells. The five heaviest bass – largemouth or smallmouth will win the tournament. Both Simcoe and Couchiching have tremendous largemouth fisheries, but it’s the smallies that outweigh their big mouthed cousins. Beginning at 3pm, right at Couchiching beach park in downtown Orillia’s beautiful waterfront, anglers will begin weighing in. Those who think they have 23 pounds or more, will be invited into the prestigious Drive By Weigh-In. Others will walk their bags of live, healthy bass in to have them weighed in front of the crowd.. One of the teams hoping to make the prestigious drive by is well known Canadian pro Mark Kulik of Strike Zone Baits who weighed in 27 pounds last year. This time Mark will be teaming up with well known US pro Terry Baksay who fishes the FLW circuit south of the border. Terry has accumulated over $500,000 in career tournaments winnings and is excited to come to Canada and fish one of the finest trophy bass lakes on the planet.

Free Weigh-In
Large crowds of fishing fans and curious onlookers are expected to enjoy the free entertaining weigh in. Everyone is invited to come out and support Big Brothers and Big Sisters with a charity BBQ hosted by Maple Lodge Farms. There will also be draws for two Mustang Floater Suits – an item most competing anglers will already have on that day, as well as all kinds of other draw prizes. Bass Pro Shops will have several gift cards. John Whyte, who is one of the competitors also runs Time On The Water Canada and they will have several prizes available for spectators. “There will a draw for three spectators to fish with myself, Dave Chong, or Mark Kulik, in a mini tournament this November. Someone will also win a day on the hard water this winter with “We Pound Em Charterss” who have donated a day on the ice”, said Whyte. Shimano and Bass Pro Shops will also be adding great prizes for the draw.

We will also bring back the extremely popular Live Streaming video of the weigh-in event; weather and techno-challenges permitting. As far as we know, we were the first bass tournament in Canada to successfully broadcast the entire weigh-in live at last year’s record setting event. The 2010 weigh-in can still be seen at www.simcoeopen.com and www.aurorabassmasters.com and these sites will carry the event live in 2011.


2010 Top 20 Standings
Position Team Weight
1 Mark Moran & Joe Muszynski 31.5
2 John Mcgeoy & Josh Myers 29.80
3 Mike Desforges & Derek Srub 29.65
4 Wayne & Gail Misslebrook 29.50
5 Todd Hatch & Chad Wentzell 28.70
T6/7 Mike Reid & Brian Gardy 28.45
T6/7 Greg Klatt & George Schneider 28.45
8 Scott Murison & Paul Hecking 27.60
9 Simon & Melanie Frost 27.30
10 Mark Kulik & Joe Cutajar 27.00
11 Dave Kennedy & Bob Devine 24.55
12 James Paluch & Shaun McKay 23.50 BF 8.05
T13/14 Gerry Heels & Wil Wegman 21.85
T13/14 Ernie Jenson & Rob Hyatt 21.85
15 Todd Currie & Alex Campbell 21.75
16 Marcel & Carrie Cartwright 21.20
17 John Prokator & Kevin MacDonald 21.05
18 Barry Graves & Dave Johnson 20.75
19 Jay Hotzak & Russell Watkins 19.80
20 George Saliba & Des Barns 19.15

For More Information, please contact:
Wil Wegman
wil.wegman@rogers.com
Or Herb Quan:
herbquan@gmail.com