Welcome aboard to the official site of the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament Trolling Circuit – held each year in Niagara, Orleans, Oswego and Wayne counties. All four tournaments are conservation minded events designed to showcase the fantastic Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon fisheries. They also share a universal set of rules and are linked together by The Lake Ontario Challenge Cup.
The Niagara tournament, the longest running of the circuit, celebrates their 25th event this year. The tournament is now named after one of its founders, Walter "Skip" Hartman. The Oswego County event will mark its 15th in 2009 and Wayne County will host its 6th contest. Orleans County is starting its fourth year and tournament series organizers are anticipating a great event season with plenty of cash and prizes up for grabs.
Designed for those who consider themselves as among the most skilled competitors, the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Series Challenge Cup provides an additional contest to determine the most consistent fisherman on the lake. The Challenge Cup Race is divided into two separate, but equally important, “legs”. The Western Division comprised of the Niagara and Orleans Tournaments, and the Eastern Division that includes the Oswego and Wayne Tournaments. Each Divisional Race has its own winner but the “Crown Jewel” of Lake Ontario—the Challenge Cup, will only go to the Professional and Amateur Teams compiling the highest number of points after all 4 tournaments are completed. Consistency is the name of the game.
There are several aspects of the Pro-Am Tournament Series tournaments that make them unique. First is the scoring system. Each tournament awards points based on weight and quantity. The scoring for each of the two days of the tournaments is based on 10 points for each fish and 1 point for each pound of fish weighed in. A 10-pound fish would be worth 20 points and a 5-pound fish would be worth 15 points. Minimum sizes are put into effect to protect the smaller fish. Amateur teams are allowed to keep only one lake trout per day and the pro teams are only allowed two per day. Regardless of team size no Amateur team can kill more than 9 fish and no Pro team may kill more than 12 fish.
Of course filling the box with a limit catch isn’t always an easy thing to do. Rapidly changing water will often move fish several miles overnight. Weather plays a critical role in determining the outcome of every tournament on Lake Ontario. Being able to consistently “read the water” and the weather’s effects on it is critical to a good finish in any of these tournaments.
The make up of the teams is based on a minimum of four members on the Pro teams and two members on the Amateur teams. There is no maximum number of anglers for either the Pro or Amateur Divisions but special provisions have been made in the Pro Division to allow for 3 person teams. Each team is required to provide an independent observer to ride on another randomly selected boat. The observer’s job is to act as scorekeeper, timekeeper and to ensure that all tournament rules are being followed. Observers may not assist in the fishing in any way.
In an attempt to bolster the Amateur Division changes have been made based on input from competing teams and those who would like to compete. For starters, Amateur teams may now have as few as two-members on their team. This limits the number of rods they can run and the number of fish they may keep. Each two-man team has the option of purchasing a New York State Fishing License for the observer who will be on their boat, thereby allowing them to run two more rods but not to take more than a two man limit of fish. In order for an amateur team to weigh-in a limit catch (9 fish) they must have at least 3 team members. This is often not possible or practical for Amateur teams with smaller boats so a new “Open” division has been added for 2009.
The Open division gives smaller amateur teams the option of participating in the Pro-Am events without the need to include an observer on their boat and they may also chose to fish the Saturday event, the Sunday event or both events. The Open division will be similar to the now popular Friday “pre-fishing” derbies. Teams will weigh-in their best three fish, one of which may be selected (prior to weighing) as their big fish for the day. Separate prizes will be awarded each day based on the field for that day. Payback will be to a minimum of 25% of the field or the top three teams whichever is greater.
There has also been some discussion about adding a Monday event for you seriously competitive anglers. If this comes together the contests will take place on the Mondays immediately following the Niagara and Oswego events. Contestants must have participated in the regular Pro-Am tournament (Saturday & Sunday) to be eligible for the Monday event.
The Lake Ontario Pro-Am Tournament events provide an excellent way to share tips and techniques. They are also a great opportunity to meet some of the top fishermen on the lake, from other Great Lakes ports and even from other countries. Last year the Lake Ontario Pro-Am series included participants from ten states and three countries. The competition is high and the action is intense. We look forward to your participation in the 2009 tournament series and hope you will feel free to contact any of the tournament directors listed on the application if you have questions regarding this years events.
