25th Annual Western Outdoor News Striper Derby around corner

[Bill Hutcheson]

Get the rods out of storage and spool up your reels with new line because the 25th annual Western Outdoor News Lake Havasu Striper Derby is just around the corner.

Slated for May 17th & 18th, the Striper Derby draws nearly 300 teams to the shores of Lake Havasu for a weekend of fun in the sun as our contestants fish and compete for nearly $100,000 in cash and prizes.

The Western Outdoor News Striper Derby is a grass roots, family oriented tournament consisting of two person teams fishing Saturday and Sunday to catch the heaviest cumulative weight possible. Each team is limited to a total of 10 Striped Bass per day, which must be a minimum of 14 inches to qualify as a legal catch. Team divisions are set up for Father/Son, Father/Daughter, Husband/Wife, and Open divisions. Prizes are awarded to the top 15 finishers in the Open division and the top finishing team in the other 3 categories. Shakespeare/Pflueger will award the big fish prize of $1,500 cash for the largest striper caught on a Shakespeare or Pflueger rod & reel.

Check in and late sign-up for the Striper Derby is held on Friday afternoon at the Nautical Inn Convention Center. At this time, anglers pick up their event t-shirts, hats, and goodie bags. They can also register for the blind bogey contest and make any team changes or adjustments necessary. A pre-tournament meeting will start at 6:00 pm with numerous raffle prizes given away at that time. A Saturday beach party featuring food for our derby contestants and a live band will follow the weigh-in. Look for additional raffle prizes to be given away at this time.

The Striper Derby also features the ever-popular blind bogey contest where participating anglers have a shot at winning their share of $20,000 in cash. The blind bogey contest works as follows: The tournament director takes 10 pre-selected weights for Saturday and 10 for Sunday and seals them up in envelopes months in advance of the tournament. On Saturday, each of the first 10 envelopes is opened and the team who comes closest to the selected weight without going over wins $1,000 on the spot! The same contest is repeated on Sunday with another $10,000 awarded. The selected weights can run anywhere from 1 pound on up, so you don’t have to be the best angler on the lake to win – a single fish can do it!

Each year, the Striper Derby awards to one lucky contestant a boat and motor package regardless of how they finish in the event. For 2008, Triton boats and Mercury Marine are pleased to offer a Triton VT19 aluminum bass boat equipped with a Mercury OptiMax 115hp engine, MotorGuide trolling motor, and Lowrance electronics. The entire package is valued around $25,000 and will be given away on Sunday, May 18th to one lucky participant.

The Striper Derby is staged out of the Nautical Inn & Convention center located at 1000 McCulloch Blvd, Lake Havasu, AZ 86403. The Friday evening meeting and Sunday awards are conducted in the Nautical Inn Convention Center while the Saturday and Sunday weigh-ins, and Saturday beach party is held in the Nautical Inn Beach Cove. Discounted room reservations at the Nautical Inn for Striper Derby contestants can be obtained by calling (800) 892-2141 and mentioning “Striper Derbyâ€