The New Brunswick Sportfishing Association offers competition and camaraderie out on the water

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by Paul Merrigan
This Week Staff

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Fishing is one of the summer's most popular and longstanding pastime, with many people getting out to local waterways to try their hand at landing the big one, to catch a meal or two or maybe even to just "drown a few worms".

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The New brunswick Sport Fishing Association can help get you started in this sport for all ages.

For those more experienced anglers or those with a bit of competitive blood running through their veins who are looking for something new, sportfishing just might be the answer. In New Brunswick, competitive sportfishing is organized and governed through the New Brunswick Sportfishing Association.

"Our mandate is to promote the sport of bass fishing, through tournament and non-tournament fishing," explains Bert Beek, Chairman of the New Brunswick Sportfishing Association. "We also promote catch and release to increase the conservation of the fish for future generations."

While membership in the Association has had mild fluctuations over the past several years, the number has remained similar to current levels, about 250 members province wide.

"This year, for members that haven't fished in the past three years ow who have never tried, the membership is free," says Bert. "Our regular members pay a membership fee which is $50 a year, and entitle you to you to come to our banquets, fish in our tournaments and get involved in all of our activities."

While conservation and safety are strong mandates of the Association, the main draw for members is certainly the competitive tournaments which take place each summer.

"We have two different series within the tournaments we organize," says Bert. "The unlimited series, which is 71 horsepower motors and above, seems to be our more popular and competitive series. We do attract a lot for the limited series as well though, which is 0-71 horsepower motors."

With 12 tournaments - seven unlimited and five limited - throughout the summer, the sportfishing season is quite busy and intense. One of the challenges is always finding the best locations to hold a tournament.

"It's really hard to find bodies of water that have the fish and can hold 50 boats as well," says Bert. "We search all over the province for places to have tournaments, but many of the waters are in the central part of the province."

Even though the sport is quite competitive, new anglers are always welcome to join in the fun as well.

"With newcomers, we show them some places to fish, what equipment to use, some techniques, that sort of thing," states Bert. "We all think we're great fishermen though, and the competition is what draws a lot of people in. Anyone that has competitive blood in them will get hooked pretty quick."

The end of the season involves a fish-off between the top teams in both the limited and unlimited series. All finalists are given jackets to display their accomplishments, which they receive at the year end banquet.

"Besides the awards themselves, we're giving away a $20,000 boat, motor and trailer package which was provided by Mercury Marine and Phil's Auto & Recreation," says Bert.

With a steady and loyal membership from all over the province, including several husband and wife teams, sportfishing is certainly here to stay.

"I think to get new people involved it's good to get them into the small boat series and let them try out a tournament free of charge to see what they think," says Bert. "It can become a real addiction once you start. Our Association is always glad to see new people take up the sport and hit the water."

For more information on the New Brunswick Sportfishing Association and its upcoming events, visit their website at www.nbsportfishing.ca.