Just got off the phone with Pt Jude Joe a little while ago and we discussed some of the points many have had here in regards to doing a tournament. The idea, put very simply, is to have a reason to get together to remember John.
Joe said he'll run everything by Jess in the next few days so everything will done according to her wishes as it should be.
The key to the tourney is based on the K.I.S.S. principle - just keep it simple. The spirit in which the tourney is conducted should be respect and love for Habs and his family. Period.
Since Joe is with the family regularly and works with John Jr just as he worked with Habs himself on production, I knew he was the guy who would ensure that the family's wishes are followed to honor the memory of a friend who is no longer with us.
Anyway, the long Columbus Day weekend would make the most sense, with the tourney to run from 6:00 PM Friday through 6:00 AM Sunday morning. If anyone is interested, I can talk to the owner of Flo's Clam Shack who's a good friend of mine for a Friday Happy Hour meet and greet to start things off.
Then we get to fish our butts off 'til 6:00 AM Sunday morning
Like DZ said in an earlier post, make it a surf contest and we agree. John was a shore guy, not that he or anyone else had anything against boats. No tackle restrictions, Habs himself used whatever worked best to put fish on the beach - or rocks, as the case may be.
Prizes and categories should be simple, too, if we want to get this done in the time frame we have to work with. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners based on certified weight at one of the weigh stations, with the perpetual trophy and donated prizes to go to the largest bass. 2nd and 3rd place finishers get awarded prizes and a smaller trophy if we can afford them. I'll kick in some very nice prints from my collection as will Joe from his line at Pt Jude Lures. If anyone else wants to contribute prizes, they'll be gratefully accepted.
Joe and I will talk to Billie at the Blooberry Factory
(also known as the Coddington Brew Pub) and see if we can do an awards get-together there at some point in the afternoon on Sunday - say maybe 4:00 or so - have a few cold ones and something dinnerish, award prizes and hold a raffle so everyone has a shot at winning something, sort of like our TFCTFN raffle. John loved the place and we had some great times with him there. For entertainment, we may be able to get Mike Laptew to show some of his latest footage. Maybe we can get Iron Mike to recreate a performance or two from the past as well
After that, everyone will have the Monday holiday to recuperate after a full weekend and be able to rest up before the work week.
That's pretty much it, no fuss, no muss, just a good time fishing and hanging out. If anyone wants to get more elaborate, there's always next year.
We may also be able to get Habs pins for each of the entrants - the oval Habs pins with "#1 Needlefish" on them, but Joe has to check with Jess to see how many she has left before we know if it's do-able or not, so that's not a sure thing. It would be incorporated in the registration fee, perhaps $15 or so.
Well, that's it - keep it simple, get together, have fun, catch fish.
A great way to remember a great guy.