Niagara’s Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament Celebrates 30 Years!
It was 30 years ago that the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament celebrated its inaugural event out of the ports of Olcott and Wilson in Niagara County. This year – three decades later – there will be double the excitement for the competition that helped to get the salmon and trout fishing craze started from a team standpoint. The Niagara USA Pro-Am experience offers two separate tournaments this year (May 24-25 & May 31-June 1), as well as four separate Recreational Open events (May 24, 25, 31, June 1). The icing on the cake, though, will be over $40,000 in guaranteed sponsor prize money that is part of Niagara’s West Cup package for different aspects of the tournament structure – in addition to the prize structures that are already in place as 100 percent entry fee cash payback to the top 25 percent of the fields. No other salmon and trout tournament event on the lake can lay claim to such a statement! To qualify for the extra cash, you just need to fish in these tournaments – there are no extra fees involved. The Pro-Am Tournament Cup scoring structure is unique, based on two two-day events (Niagara 1, May 24-25 and Niagara 2, May 31-June 1), as well as overall scores for each tournament – providing contestants with the opportunity to establish six cup scores (Day 1, Day 2 and Overall for each tournament) to determine the overall West Cup Champions. For the Recreational Open Division, just fishing a minimum of two daily events is needed to establish a cup score. Fish in all four and take your best two scores to vie for the first-ever LOC Open Cup and an extra check for $500.
Classic Division participants, which represent up to the first 12 legal fish each day of the tournament (based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound), will be eyeing up $35,000 in cash for the Niagara USA Classic Cup. Trophy Division participants (based on your best five fish of the tournament each day) will be looking to earn at least $5,000 in cash prizes to win the Niagara USA Trophy Cup. Recreational Open (best three fish each day) participants (no observer required) need just two daily scores over the two weekends of contests to compete for the LOC Open Cup, cash and merchandise prizes. Tournament dates are May 24-25 and May 31-June 1, 2014.
To find out more information about the Niagara-based tournaments, look no further than the tournament website at www.lakeontarioproam.net. The link for signing up online will be functioning shortly. In the meantime, printable forms are available on the site and can be mailed in by established deadlines.
