Host a Pontoon Fishing Tournament!

With a broad, stable platform, shallow draft, and plenty of storage and tons of space to move around, a pontoon fishing boat makes an outstanding angling platform. Chances are, if you're a pontooning angler, you'll be eager to hit your favorite fishing holes as often as you can.

You might also be looking for new, exciting ways to liven up the season. Hosting your own fishing tournament is a great way to do just that — and remember, fishing isn't just for the guys anymore.

Family Tournaments

If the usual "I'm bored" summertime mantra is picking up steam around your house, engage the kids with a Family Fishing Tournament. Around the dining table, get everyone's votes on a favorite lake, river or reservoir for the tournament, and decide if the event is going to be for family members of all ages or kids-only. Then plan your list of guests — if you have too many for your pontoon fishing boat, enlist a friend and split up anglers between the boats.

Wherever children are concerned, the key is to keep things easy and fun. Make sure you have plenty of good food on the boats, including a full array of snacks and cold beverages. Rather than junk food, consider offering fresh fruits and veggies as snacks; if you have sodas or Kool-Aid on board, encourage the kids to drink plenty of water as well.

Another great idea is to get party subs from a local sub shop. It's easy, and the kids will enjoy sampling the different subs.

Also, plan a variety of prizes so everyone wins something. In addition to the "Biggest Fish" and "Most Fish" prizes, you also can offer awards for "Most Improved," "Best Effort," "Best Jokes," "Best Casting" and so on. The only limit is your imagination.

Once you haul your boats or tie up to the dock, gather everyone together at a local beach or park — or at your home or cottage if that's where the boats are — for a post-tournament party. Have a cookout, go swimming, get a volleyball game going, and create an informal stage where you can award the prizes.

Trust us, everyone is going to go home with huge smiles on their faces — including you. Not only will you have given your kids and their friends a memorable, fun day on the water, you've given them bragging rights that will last until the next tournament. Which could be sooner than you think!

Buddy Tournaments

When most people hear of a "friends" fishing tournament, they envision a group of guys heading out on their boats for the morning or perhaps the entire day. While that continues to be true for a segment of the pontooning population, that's not the whole story. When you host a Buddy Tournament, you have three options: It can be guys-only, girls-only or coed!

When hosting an adult-oriented tournament, you're probably going to focus a bit more on the rules, fish sizes and fish weights. You'll want to set a minimum size a fish must be to keep it and the overall number of fish allowed for judging.

That being said, however, it's still all about fun. After all, it's a day on the water, and camaraderie is just as important as competition.

You might want to consider enlisting the aid of a local screen-printing shop and having T-shirts made for the event. "The Unofficial UW Alumni Fishing Tournament," "1st Annual Trout Lake Summer Fish-Off," "Girls' Weekend 2010," "Cottage Crew's Gone Fishing"... the options are endless.

Once again, make sure you stock plenty of good snacks and cold beverages. And bear this in mind: While many anglers might be satisfied with a few bags of pretzels and potato chips, consider upping the ante with onboard cuisine.

If you're heading out early in the morning, hot coffee and fresh bagels or muffins will be greatly appreciated. Bring along an extra cooler so that, in addition to the cold beverages, you can offer savory dips and fresh cheeses for the chips and crackers. Fruit salad and fresh veggies also will be a crowd-pleaser. To keep costs down, have everyone bring a snack or beverage to share.

As with the Family Tournaments, all your guests will appreciate some sort of shore-based fun after the tournament ends. And when you award prizes, the group will get a kick out of special awards such as "Best One-That-Got-Away Story," "Best Effort," "Smallest Fish," "Most Throw-Backs," "Best/Worst Dressed," "Ugliest Hat," "Best Snack" — perhaps even "Closet Fishing Nut!"

Before you know it, you'll have started an annual tradition.

Tournament "Must Have" List:

Whether you're hosting a Family Tournament or Buddy Tournament, you'll want to have a few items organized and ready to go. All events benefit from a well-prepared organizer.

• Sign-in sheet: Next to the participants' names and contact information, you can check their arrival, valid fishing licenses, number of fish submitted for judging and the fish lengths/weights.
• Fishing licenses: Visit www.takemefishing.org to learn more about how to obtain a license and for information about your state's specific requirements.
• Index cards, with pens or pencils: Provide each participant with these supplies so he or she can log their fish on board.
• Fish rulers and portable, hand-held weighing scales.
• Whistle, megaphone and/or loudspeaker — any method of getting a scattered group's attention!
• Bottled water and other cold beverages.
• Snacks and post-tournament cookout lunch: If you'd like to keep your costs down, arrange to have each person contribute one item for the group, and have a BYO policy for beverages other than the water.
• First-aid kits.
• Mobile phone: Make sure at least one phone on site has good coverage.
• PRIZES!
• And, of course, a pontoon fishing boat with all the right angling equipment.

Print Article