2019 Niagara County Pro-Am

[Tourneygirl]

Greetings Pro-Am Anglers, 

 

As we gear up for the 2019 Fishing season, I wanted to introduce myself to some of you who may not know me. My name is Penny Hartman-Lyman and I have accepted the Director’s Position for the Niagara Pro-Am Tournament, I am inviting you to our 2019 event to be held out of the ports of Olcott and Wilson on Lake Ontario May 31 – June 2. 

 

This Tournament is an event that I hold close to my heart as it is named after my father (Walter “Skip” Hartman). I am looking to not only keep this tournament as the longest running tournament on the lake, but to have it flourish again.     

 

Changes occurred for the Pro Division in 2018. Some of those changes included going back to the Classic 12 fish box, closed communication and a date change back to early June.  We are also looking at tweaking some of the Amateur Division rules in 2019. 

 

If you would like more information on the Niagara Pro-Am please feel free to contact me at 716-628-2361, [email protected], www.lakeontarioproam.net or check us out on Facebook at Pro-Am Niagara. 

 

We are excited by some of the new sponsors who have jumped on board, joining a list of strong supporters for this event. We strive to make this the biggest contest it can be and continue to pay back more than 100 percent of the registration money back to the contestants.

 

New for this year is the 2019 Raffle ticket (see attached). How it works is I need to sell 350 tickets or more at $100.00  each. The payout would be as follows:

1st prize $10,000  

2nd prize $3,000

3rd prize $2000

4th prize $1000

5th prize $500

6th to 25th $125

 Again this is based on me selling all 350 tickets. If all tickets are sold, I would also Guarantee 1st place Pro $10,000.00 and 1st place Am $3,000.00 before any registration money is collected. I will give Reelin for a Cure $1,000.00 donation and the remainder will be split between the rest of the prize structure. 

 

If you would like a ticket please let me know. I can mail one or more out to you. A few have stepped up and offered to help sell tickets as well. Please let me know if you can help. Thank you in advance for your support. 

 

Come and be part of our history, celebrating our 35^th year this year.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Penny Hartman-Lyman

Tournament Director

 

 

 

 

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Thanks Penny for keeping this Tournament running. This is the one that started it all. Your father was instrumental in bringing this event to Lake Ontario in 1985 after seeing the format was popular in Lake Michigan out of Ludington/Manistee. The tribute is fitting.

The fishery has changed so much, in the mid 80s Pro teams were allowed 20 fish, and winning catches were made up primarily of large Lake Trout. Your father, understanding the restoration effort of Lake Trout, was way out in front of changing the format to allow far less Lake Trout in the creel. This led to the tournament becoming primarily a Silver fish event, and making all participants better anglers. 

[GAMBLER]

Penny,

 

Is the Am division going back to the old format or staying with the current open format?  

[Tourneygirl]

Hi Brian, 

Thanks for asking. I emailed all teams that fished it last year with some proposed changes and that was one of the changes I proposed. I have been getting a lot of feedback  from the teams which is great. I will be making a decision here soon on all the feedback I have received. Thanks! 

[Tourneygirl]

3 hours ago, Capt Vince Pierleoni said:

Thanks Penny for keeping this Tournament running. This is the one that started it all. Your father was instrumental in bringing this event to Lake Ontario in 1985 after seeing the format was popular in Lake Michigan out of Ludington/Manistee. The tribute is fitting.

The fishery has changed so much, in the mid 80s Pro teams were allowed 20 fish, and winning catches were made up primarily of large Lake Trout. Your father, understanding the restoration effort of Lake Trout, was way out in front of changing the format to allow far less Lake Trout in the creel. This led to the tournament becoming primarily a Silver fish event, and making all participants better anglers. 

Thanks Vince! I will keep this tournament running as long as I can. I do it because it is one of the best memories I have of him. It was the only time he let me skip school. 😂

[rdebadts]

Penny- we look forward to it. We really appreciate you reaching out to the ams for our input!


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[Tourneygirl]

Thank you and I appreciate everyone giving me input. I have just posted all the changes and hope I have made choices that will please everyone in some way. It was a tough choice, but I think the choices that were made will work for everyone.  Thanks again!! 

[Tourneygirl]

Huge thank you to all the AM’s that responded to the email thread we had going regarding possible changes. I have taken everyone’s input and made some decisions. I hope I have at least satisfied most of you. 

1. The AM division will be two consecutive days. Fri and Sat we will have a  Big Fish and Biggest Box prize. The top two consecutive day total will be the 1st place winner. 

2. You don’t have to attend a Capt’s meeting. I will post two different days and times and you can download Zoom video conferencing.I will give you the code that you will need to join the meetings. Please have your questions ready.  This is not mandatory - it’s for only if you have any questions. 

3. Cell phone number will be required on all entries into the AM division. This way I can send out a mass message to all participants in case of emergency/small craft. 

4. Instead of three fish we are going to five

5. 4 hours constitutes a full day of fishing. 5 Am to 9AM will be your time frame

6. You can’t leave the dock before 5AM

7. Tournament registration fee is $300.00

8. Chicken BBQ - Friday night tickets are for sale. You can order them on the registration page . 

Dan Brown will handle all issues/protest

We have raffle tickets if you are interested please reach out to me so I can get them to you. The more we sell the bigger your pot will be. 

Again, thank you all who took the time out to give me feed back. I truly appreciate all your input. 

Thanks!

[Tourneygirl]

Hello guys!!! Couple changes for the PRO Division.....

1. The rules now state that 2 hrs of fishing constitutes a full day of fishing - RULE CHANGE - 4 hrs of fishing constitutes a full day of fishing. Pros leave the dock at 5:30 - fishing starts at 6. 6-10 will constitute your 4 hours. 

2. The Entry fee will be $1100.00

3. Any issues - Protesting etc will be handled by Dan Brown 

We have raffle tickets still so if you are interested please reach out as soon as you can. The more we sell the bigger your pot will be. 

Thanks!!

[Tourneygirl]

On 1/27/2019 at 3:11 PM, GAMBLER said:

Penny,

 

Is the Am division going back to the old format or staying with the current open format?  

Hello! I have posted the change that the old format will be coming back. Two day consecutive days with Big Fish Fri and Sat along with Big Box Fri and Sat. Thanks!   

[GAMBLER]

Hello! I have posted the change that the old format will be coming back. Two day consecutive days with Big Fish Fri and Sat along with Big Box Fri and Sat. Thanks!   

If I can get a new trailer for my boat, my crew will be there! Thank you!


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[Missdemeanor]

Just run it down!

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[Tourneygirl]

16 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

If I can get a new trailer for my boat, my crew will be there! Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I hope you can!! I will look forward to seeing you!