2016 Healing Waters Salmon Slam

[TOP SECRET]

Excellent pic and thank him for his service for me! Please stop by the event if you are in town and say hi!

[TOP SECRET]

Thank you again to Bass Pro in Auburn for donating many of the Veteran prizes . We picked them up tonight and some of our Salmon Slam volunteers ensured they were fish ready!

[TOP SECRET]

Ok, I heard from a lot of people asking about more formal Salmon Slam shirts this year along with the tshirts. The Sodus Point Fudge and Gifts Shop is working with us in ordering Columbia Bahama II short sleeve shirts with the Salmon Slam logo on the back.

Each shirt will cost $35 and will be white, with the logo on back. That's actually $5 under retail for just a plain shirt thanks to Dick at the Fudge Shop!

Here is what the shirts will look like...

 

I will need all orders in by July 14th in order to have them in time for the Salmon Slam.  If you don't mind getting them after the Salmon Slam, I can take your order whenever.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Ruff Rider

[bout time]

I will take a large and one  Medium for dad please

[TOP SECRET]

I will take a large and one Medium for dad please

Mike are those tshirts or the columbias?

[bout time]

Columbia's please. i will stop by this weekend with the money

[TOP SECRET]

Columbia's please. i will stop by this weekend with the money

Got it!

[TOP SECRET]

Plano is in again as a core sponsor this year! I had to share these awesome tackle bags they provided for some of our lucky Veterans!

Be jealous Salmon Slam Captains, but not too jealous, as Plano has something special for you as well...

A big thank you to Tim and Jeff from Salmon Slam team Finders Keepers for securing the Plano support this year!

[Xxx]

That's awesome, what a gift!! I know I would love to win that tackle bag

[insufishent]

Nick CoHoMoTiOn is in for BFF and 2 dinner spots do we pay for dinner now or at the restaurant?

Sent from my XT1254 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[TOP SECRET]

Nick CoHoMoTiOn is in for BFF and 2 dinner spots do we pay for dinner now or at the restaurant?

Sent from my XT1254 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Paying ahead is always appreciated!

[TOP SECRET]

I am very proud to announce that we have reached our goal of 40 boats this year! Thank you to everyone whom is donating their time to this cause!

Also, the Big Fish Friday pot is growing nicely! Remember, you can fish BFF from ANY port, so those of you nailing kings out west right now, feel free to get in on the action!

[TOP SECRET]

Thank you Michigan Stinger for joining as a sponsor to our event this year!

[TOP SECRET]

Two more weeks folks! We had one boat drop out this week, so we have one opening left. If you were on the fence about joining, here's your chance!

 

Thank you Eagle Eye for filling our last slot!

Edited July 21, 2016 by Ruff Rider

[TOP SECRET]

Ok folks, we have nearly one week left until the Salmon Slam!  We have a lot of boats signed up for BFF and as of now the weather looks great.

 

Folks can still sign up for BFF and remember you can fish from ANY PORT on Friday as long as you drive your fish over to Arneys for weigh in.  With all the kings being caught out West, I'm surprised to not see more boats out there wanting in on what will likely be a $500+ award.

 

Also, remember that $25 of your entrance fee is tax deductible as a charitable donation! 

[Finders Keepers]

Hopefully the kings will stick around and the weather will cooperate so we can offer the veterans a great time on the water catching the best fish Lake O has to offer!! Looking forward to the event!!

[Little Crappie]

Hey was just wondering how come there's no weigh-in spots other than Arney's? As a wounded warrior, and fellow fisherman this is a great cause! great work! 

[TOP SECRET]

Hey was just wondering how come there's no weigh-in spots other than Arney's? As a wounded warrior, and fellow fisherman this is a great cause! great work!

It really comes down to coordination and Theresa and I not wanting to deal with different scales, disputes, etc.

[TOP SECRET]

Today is last call for signing up for the Salmon Slam dinner on Friday @6pm. Below is the list I have. Please let me know by 5pm if you want to be added/removed...

Edited July 25, 2016 by Ruff Rider

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Kudos to Nick, and all of the volunteers and boat owners helping make this worthy cause such a big event. Here's to great fishing for all that day. 

[TOP SECRET]

Thanks Vince, couldn't even begin to think about an event like this without all of the Volunteers!

[bout time]

Thanks Vince, couldn't even begin to think about an event like this without all of the Volunteers!

Is the team list final for Saturday ? I will be working on the scoreboard this week

[TOP SECRET]

Is the team list final for Saturday ? I will be working on the scoreboard this week

As final as it gets

Thanks for taking care of the scoreboard again this year!

[TOP SECRET]

I have been getting a few questions in preparation for Saturday's event and I wanted to provide some of the answers here in case others had the same question.

For those boats fishing out of Sodus:

On Saturday, if you do not have a slip at Arneys, I recommend boating over to Arneys and tying up if possible or double parking with a friend. This will allow you to quickly jump in line for the escort out to the channel.

After fishing however, I highly recommend you dock back at your normal slip at whatever marina you are at and drive your Veteran and cooler to Arneys. Arneys gets very busy during the day, especially on Salmon Slam day, and it will be easier on everyone.

All Captains must be to Arneys and signed in prior to 6am. Allow yourself a bit of time to sign in, grab a donut, and pick up your Captain's Pack, which contains a flag to fly from your boat prior to leaving. The quick Captain's meeting to answer any final questions will be at 6am and I'll call everyone to a huddle away from the sign in table. Once that's done, I'll start calling out Veterans to pair with the teams. Once you've met your Veteran, head to your boat and pull out into the bay just outside of Arneys. We will likely communicate with the Coast Guard on Ch16 and then switch to CH9 once we are through the pier heads. Once your boat is through the pier heads, teams are free to begin fishing. I don't want to ruin all of the surprises, but if the escort is like last year, be careful going through the chute/pier heads as it gets VERY wavy.

Both ports will have Captain Packs with the Salmon Slam Lure. Every team gets the same red, white, and blue ITO fly, but with a different ProTroll dodger. The largest fish caught on the combo will win a separate prize, so make sure to record which of your fish are caught on it!

This is an open communication event and it is highly recommended to share any info you have to help each boat put our Veterans on fish.

In case of rough water or storms, each Captain needs to use his/her best discretion as to the safety of their vessel and passengers. If you decide to tuck into a port for a storm to pass, you can certainly return to fishing afterwards. Remember that the goal here is to show the Veterans a good time, so if the water is too rough for them, don't hesitate to fish the bay or take a cruise around the bay and explore. You will still be given a Captain ticket and a Veteran ticket for the prize raffle.... which is LOADED this year thanks to our awesome sponsors! Speaking of which, I am extremely proud of our fishing community and corporate sponsors that came through this year to make this event bigger than ever, the end result of which is enabling us to help more Veterans than we ever have before!

I don't have the full Hughes Sponsor list yet, but here is the Sodus sponsors list:

Edited July 27, 2016 by Ruff Rider

[ITS A FISHAL]

Nick, Theresa you guys have put forth a lot of effort and time. I see that paying off, for the veterans and everyone involved. It only gets better year by year. Thanks for all your hard work. Thanks to all sponsors and Sarah from the loc. We all can really enjoy this sport. I will enjoy bringing a veteran out to show him/her what the greatest lakes have to offer. Thank you all for keeping it alive and enjoyable for the old and new comers. Happy Fishing Safety first, See you out there!!![emoji2] [emoji2]

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