Wanted to get this posted to get our minds off cabin fever! This year's Tourney Trail has mostly new names in the schedule to provide some variety. Also, the season has been extended a bit on each end and thinned in the busy vacation months of July and August. Most of these locations were suggested, with others coming from my personal experience. Field limits will vary with parking availability. Things can change so watch for postings and signups on or about Sunday night 2 weeks before the Tourney. Please don't ask to sign up until Tourney is posted. I hope to see both old and new faces this year!
Here's the lineup:
April 25-Ponkapoag Pond (Canton)
May 2- Delaney Project (Stow)
May 16- Nabnasset Pond (Westford)
May 30- Fort Pond (Lancaster)
June 13- Robins Pond or connected/adjacent pond (E. Bridgewater)
June 27- North Pond (Hopkinton)
July 11- Furnace Pond (Pembroke)
August 8- Canton Reservoir (Canton)
September 12- Lake Nipennicket (Bridgewater)
September 19- E. Brimfield Reservoir (Brimfield/Sturbridge)
September 26- Willis Pond (Sudbury)
October 10- Norton Reservoir (Norton)
MAFF Kayak / Canoe Tournament Rules
1. All boats must be human powered, pedal or paddle; no motors or sails.
2. Entry fees are paid per person; fees will not be less than $10 nor more than $25 to be determined by the tournament host. All fees are to be paid prior to launch. Participants arriving after launch may still participate in the tournament by paying their fee to a tournament official within the first two hours of the tournament; it is the participant's responsibility to locate the tournament officials on the water.
3. Multi-person boats are acceptable; each person pays the entry fee.
4. Artificial lures only, no live or formerly live bait.
5. All participants must have a valid in-state fishing license.
6. Start and end times are final and absolute...unless voted otherwise by a majority of participants.
7. Digital camera and digital scale are required equipment.
8. Scales will be calibrated against a standardized weight prior to tournament start and a handicap established for those weighing light or heavy.
9. Default unit measurement is pounds and ounces. Another unit of measure may be used based on a review of the participants’ scales and subject to a majority vote by the group.
10. Two photos of each fish, must include (1) a full body shot and (2) a clear shot of the scale digital readout and head of fish. Minimum weight for a fish is 1 lb.
11. Remove lures from fish BEFORE photographing them. Visible lures in photos will incur a 1 ounce penalty for each infraction.
12. Unclear or questionable scale readings will be subject to review and vote by the group.
13. A scorecard is provided to each participant; participants are responsible for writing in the weights of their fish and totaling them.
14. Completed scorecards and photos must be submitted to tournament officials. Officials will review photos against the scorecard, verify the math, convert the total to the appropriate measure if necessary. Participant and official will sign the scorecard. Signed score cards are FINAL.
15. Up to five fish may be submitted; highest aggregate weight wins the tournament. In the case of a tie, the tie breaker goes to the person with the largest fish. In the case of a tie for lunker, the tie breaker goes to the person with the next largest fish.
16. Payouts: First Place=50%, Second Place=30%, Third Place=10%, Lunker=10%; these are general guidelines, amounts may be adjusted nominally to facilitate distribution of the kitty.
Last edited by tomp on Tue Jun 16, 2015 12:00 pm; edited 6 times in total
Here's the lineup:
April 25-Ponkapoag Pond (Canton)
May 2- Delaney Project (Stow)
May 16- Nabnasset Pond (Westford)
May 30- Fort Pond (Lancaster)
June 13- Robins Pond or connected/adjacent pond (E. Bridgewater)
June 27- North Pond (Hopkinton)
July 11- Furnace Pond (Pembroke)
August 8- Canton Reservoir (Canton)
September 12- Lake Nipennicket (Bridgewater)
September 19- E. Brimfield Reservoir (Brimfield/Sturbridge)
September 26- Willis Pond (Sudbury)
October 10- Norton Reservoir (Norton)
MAFF Kayak / Canoe Tournament Rules
1. All boats must be human powered, pedal or paddle; no motors or sails.
2. Entry fees are paid per person; fees will not be less than $10 nor more than $25 to be determined by the tournament host. All fees are to be paid prior to launch. Participants arriving after launch may still participate in the tournament by paying their fee to a tournament official within the first two hours of the tournament; it is the participant's responsibility to locate the tournament officials on the water.
3. Multi-person boats are acceptable; each person pays the entry fee.
4. Artificial lures only, no live or formerly live bait.
5. All participants must have a valid in-state fishing license.
6. Start and end times are final and absolute...unless voted otherwise by a majority of participants.
7. Digital camera and digital scale are required equipment.
8. Scales will be calibrated against a standardized weight prior to tournament start and a handicap established for those weighing light or heavy.
9. Default unit measurement is pounds and ounces. Another unit of measure may be used based on a review of the participants’ scales and subject to a majority vote by the group.
10. Two photos of each fish, must include (1) a full body shot and (2) a clear shot of the scale digital readout and head of fish. Minimum weight for a fish is 1 lb.
11. Remove lures from fish BEFORE photographing them. Visible lures in photos will incur a 1 ounce penalty for each infraction.
12. Unclear or questionable scale readings will be subject to review and vote by the group.
13. A scorecard is provided to each participant; participants are responsible for writing in the weights of their fish and totaling them.
14. Completed scorecards and photos must be submitted to tournament officials. Officials will review photos against the scorecard, verify the math, convert the total to the appropriate measure if necessary. Participant and official will sign the scorecard. Signed score cards are FINAL.
15. Up to five fish may be submitted; highest aggregate weight wins the tournament. In the case of a tie, the tie breaker goes to the person with the largest fish. In the case of a tie for lunker, the tie breaker goes to the person with the next largest fish.
16. Payouts: First Place=50%, Second Place=30%, Third Place=10%, Lunker=10%; these are general guidelines, amounts may be adjusted nominally to facilitate distribution of the kitty.
Last edited by tomp on Tue Jun 16, 2015 12:00 pm; edited 6 times in total
i have 2 questions....
1. is there a link for Delaney Project? ive never heard of this place and when i Googled it, i found the conservation place but not the lake.
2. why do we do weight when every other yak tournament does length??
thanks Tom
I looked earlier and could only find a Delaney Pond in Stow, or near it, but it looks tiny. There's a Lower Delaney Pond nearby and it looks like it connects to a bigger body of water, but it's all super-weedy. Maybe that's it, though. Probably won't be bad in May.
And I've seen videos on YouTube where they do overall length. I'd hate to lay a 5-pounder on the ruler and have it flop back in the water before I snap a photo. Haha.
Doesnt look bad too me if this is the same Delaney:
http://heritageboatworks.com/category/fishing-tales/
http://harvardparkandrec.org/Page.asp?n=106046&org=harvardparkandrec.org
https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/321310438/
Measurement IMO should be IAW mass wildlife catch & release rules:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/hunting-fishing-wildlife-watching/fishing/catch-and-release-minimum-length-requirements.html
http://heritageboatworks.com/category/fishing-tales/
http://harvardparkandrec.org/Page.asp?n=106046&org=harvardparkandrec.org
https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/321310438/
Measurement IMO should be IAW mass wildlife catch & release rules:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/hunting-fishing-wildlife-watching/fishing/catch-and-release-minimum-length-requirements.html
Thanks for scheduling another season Tom! I appreciate the work you put into this.
Personally, I like doing weight, seems more meaningful to me then length. It's definitely tough sometimes to get them weighed in the Yak but I look at that as part of the challenge.
I look forward to making at least a couple of these this year.
Personally, I like doing weight, seems more meaningful to me then length. It's definitely tough sometimes to get them weighed in the Yak but I look at that as part of the challenge.
I look forward to making at least a couple of these this year.
Delaney shows up on Google Maps as Delaney Flood Control Site. The launch is on Harvard Road in Stow. It's not by accident that this location is earlier in the season. By summer it's almost wall to wall vegetation. Think A-1/Stump on steroids. Some big fish but not a place for the casual angler. One of tacklesmith's links is worth reading for clues to success there.
As far as weight vs length, the simple reason for doing weight is because that's how it was done when I took over the Tourney Series. If I ever hit my goal of a 10+ pound bag, we can take another look at this! Last year, we fished some smallie places and, no, they don't like to pose for pictures! I know it's sometimes challenging to do scale pic especially when it's sunny. The "judge" tends to be very lenient when it comes to clarity of scale pics so please just do your best in taking these as quickly and efficiently as possible so as not to stress out the fish.
As far as weight vs length, the simple reason for doing weight is because that's how it was done when I took over the Tourney Series. If I ever hit my goal of a 10+ pound bag, we can take another look at this! Last year, we fished some smallie places and, no, they don't like to pose for pictures! I know it's sometimes challenging to do scale pic especially when it's sunny. The "judge" tends to be very lenient when it comes to clarity of scale pics so please just do your best in taking these as quickly and efficiently as possible so as not to stress out the fish.
OK, so I just made an edit/addition to the schedule. Moved E. Brimfield to a new date to accomodate Western MA gang. I inserted Robins or related pond into 6/13. I won't be around for the 6/13 Tourney so hoping someone who is familiar with this location can step in to determine specific launch location and run event that day. Thanks!
oh and Tom, i just came across this...
http://www.suttonmass.org/valley/stayingfit/kayaking/eastwaushacum/
permits?
http://www.suttonmass.org/valley/stayingfit/kayaking/eastwaushacum/
permits?
Your link is for East Waushacum. We're fishing West Waushacum. It's a different pond.
Tacklesmith is an angler who posted in this thread. Open or cut and paste first link with the word heritage in it. Delaney is all pretty shallow. Leave the depth finder at home.
Tacklesmith is an angler who posted in this thread. Open or cut and paste first link with the word heritage in it. Delaney is all pretty shallow. Leave the depth finder at home.
OK, so I just made an edit/addition to the schedule. Moved E. Brimfield to a new date to accomodate Western MA gang. I inserted Robins or related pond into 6/13. I won't be around for the 6/13 Tourney so hoping someone who is familiar with this location can step in to determine specific launch location and run event that day. Thanks!
I could do that. It would probably be easier to launch at the bog pond (what I call Stump Pond), but only if it's not been rainy. It can get pretty muddy. Probably have to make that call closer to the tournament.
But anyway, I could run that one, no worries. =)