I did my best to keep up with the events surrounding this years Kingston Canadian open, but when it came to recapping the event and sharing with you all the amazing stuff that went on, I think I missed the boat. Sure, I shared with you the winners on the Pro side including weights and pics, but there is much more to this event then the Pro's, so here is the low down on Canada's Premier Bass fishing event.
To right a grevious wrong Im going to start off by congratulating the winner on the AM side. Congrats to Paul Legacy who tipped the scales with an incredible 66.80lbs!
The next angler I want to give props to is Jennifer Fullard. Jennifer was the only female competitor in this years event and from what Im told she really held her own. I hope this is just the start, as I would love to see more and more ladies hammering away in Bass tournaments. Congrats Jennifer
Next thing on my list of items missed during my coverage of the Kingston Canadian open is how Kid friendly this event truly was. If you have a child you want to introduce to the sport this is a great way to do it.
the Event MC was "Big Jim" and other then Bob Izumi himself I don't think there could have been a better choice to keep the Kids interested and keep the crowd laughing. Obviously the key to keeping kids involved for extended periods of time is to keep them interested and with Big Jim there is never a dull moment and each delay between anglers weighing in was filled with stories and tons of free swag (thanks to the various sponsors).
Check out the below pic as all the kids leap for flying packs of Berkley Gulp (Big Jim has poor aim)
At times I felt like a kid myself, watching monster fish after monster fish being weighed in, and like a kid my interest also waned during the longer pauses or at times the lengthy sponsor speeches (especially the 10+ minute segment of speeches that took place just prior to the winner being crowned). I really appreciate the fact that the organizers took this into consideration and made sure the gaps were filled. Big Jim spent much of his time talking to the crowd but made sure his attention was focused on the kids and took a "no child left behind" approach to his duties as MC.
Last but not least I want to touch on yet another great crowd experience in down town Kingston. I know the anglers must have trulyfelt the love as it looked like Kingston's fishing community came out in full force to support this event. It was great to see, and really helped mark the success of the tournament. I personally got calls and text messages all weekend long from friends who came across the event while hanging out down town, all of whom were impressed by the stage presence and the sponsor booths.
Kingston is a great fishing town, and the perfect place to hold the Canadian open (as seen by the bags of fish being brought to the scales. Im really looking forward to the 2013 event and may even have to throw my hat in the ring on the non-boater or AM side.
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