The Skinny
$125 ENTRY FEE FOR TEAM OF TWO.
Contestants will have 24 hours to go out and catch as many species of fish on the fly rod as they can in Pennsylvania (wading and boat fishing permitted). Any waters in PA you can get to and get back from in the allotted time is fair game!
The contest will start at 12 PM Saturday June 8th, 2024, and ends at 11:59 AM Sunday June 9th followed by a reception and prize awarding at Axeman Brewing Co. in Bellefonte, PA.
ALL PROCEEDS (after costs) FROM THE TOURNAMENT AND RECEPTION will be donated to CLEARWATER CONSERVANCY to help support the fantastic work they do protecting our watersheds in central Pennsylvania.
Event
The award party and event will take place at Axeman Brewing in Bellefonte, PA from 12-3pm, Sunday June 9th. Contestants will be given 2 drink tickets each toward beverages (21 and older). TCO will be providing snacks & lunch. All attendants are welcome to order additional food or beverages on a separate tab. As contestants arrive, they will present their photo evidence of catches to the judges and will be awarded points accordingly.
Rules
Contestants will have to take a photo of all their eligible fish using personal cameras or cell phones. A time and date stamp from their device will be required to have a fish eligible for points and additional measuring device provided by TCO will need to be part of photo. Points will be awarded in correspondence with fish species, size and relative difficulty to find and catch in Pennsylvania.
ONLY ONE FISH FROM EACH CATEGORY WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS (you won’t be able to catch 60 - 8” brown trout and win). Winners will be named and rewarded after judging and points will be allocated that evening. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place teams as well as prizes for individual categories (ie. biggest fish, strangest fish). All contestants must be checked in and done fishing at Axeman by 12 pm June 9th to be eligible. All fish must be caught using fly-fishing gear and must be fair hooked, we are going on honor system here so don’t be a cheater!
Contestants will meet at 11:15 am June 8th at Spring Creek Park (345 Balmoral Way, State College, PA 16801) YOU MUST BE AT THIS MEETING TO COMPETE, remote starts will not be allowed to keep the playing field level.
TCO will provide additional materials for use in scoring the contest that morning, you will need to provide a camera to document your catch. There will be a good deal of driving during this tournament, we encourage all are participants to obey local speed limits and laws. Any contestant found guilty of violating local laws during the tournament will be disqualified. TCO Employees and guides are not eligible to win from contestant prize pool but may compete in a separate scoring event with allocated prizes TBD.
*****NOTICE IMPORTANT*****
Due to the nature of this tournament (you will be fishing multiple watersheds) the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has asked us to ask all participants to please be conscious of fishing Spring Creek and avoiding the spread of New Zealand mud snails. If you plan on fishing Spring Creek, please have a separate pair of boots that you will use only on the Spring Creek watershed or make sure that Spring Creek is your last stop for the day. New Zealand mud snails are very resilient, and you run the risk of spreading them to our other watersheds. Merely disinfecting your boots will not kill them, you must freeze your boots or treat with hot water (over 140 degrees) for at least 10 minutes. If you plan on fishing Spring Creek for the All Fins In event, TCO will do our best to provide you with a loaner pair of boots for the day. Please contact georgecosta@tcoflyfishing.com if you have questions. Thanks!
Point Structure - Check out the list and plan your route!!
| Species | Size | Points Awarded |
| Brown Trout | under 12" | 2 |
| Brown Trout | 12"-18" | 3 |
| Brown Trout | 18" over | 5 |
| Rainbow Trout | under 12" | 2 |
| Rainbow Trout | 12"-18" | 3 |
| Rainbow Trout | 18" over | 5 |
| Brook Trout | under 10" | 2 |
| Brook Trout | over 10" | 5 |
| Banana fish aka Palomino | under 16" | 2 |
| Banana fish aka Palomino | over 16" | 3 |
| Tiger Trout | 10 | |
| Lake Trout | 5 | |
| Smallmouth Bass | under 12" | 2 |
| Smallmouth Bass | 12"-18" | 3 |
| Smallmouth Bass | 18" over | 5 |
| Largemouth Bass | under 15" | 3 |
| Largemouth Bass | over 15" | 5 |
| Spotted Bass | 3 | |
| Rock bass | 2 | |
| Crappie | 2 | |
| Sunfish | 2 | |
| Bluegill | 2 | |
| All other types Sunfish | Each Species | 2 |
| Yellow perch | 2 | |
| White Perch | 2 | |
| Striped bass | 10 | |
| White bass | 8 | |
| Walleye | 8 | |
| Sauger | 10 | |
| Musky | under 30" | 5 |
| Musky | 30"- 42" | 10 |
| Musky | over 42" | 15 |
| Tiger Musky | under 30" | 5 |
| Tiger Musky | over 30" | 10 |
| Pike | 8 | |
| Pickerel | 5 | |
| Carp | Each species | 5 |
| Bowfin | 10 | |
| Burbot | 10 | |
| Fallfish | 2 | |
| White sucker | 3 | |
| Quillback | 10 | |
| Catfish | Each species | 5 |
| Eel | 15 | |
| Sculpin/Madtoms | 10 | |
| Chubs all types | Each species | 3 |
| Freshwater Drum | 10 | |
| Dace & Minnows | Each species | 3 |