New Smyrna Beach, Fla. - FishStock - one of the largest fishing tournaments and festivals in the nation - announced today the 2010 sponsors for its two signature fishing competitions held on May 27-30, just offshore from Riverside Park in New Smyrna Beach. Hell's Bay Boatworks has re-signed as the presenting sponsor for the Redfish-Trout Challenge, while Mercury Marine comes on board to sponsor the Striker Offshore Tournament.
The Redfish-Trout Challenge, presented by Hell's Bay Boatworks, and the Striker Offshore Tournament, presented by Mercury Marine, are two of the largest fishing contests in the nation, attracting nearly 1,000 competitive anglers from throughout the country to compete for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.
The Striker has been successful for more than three decades by focusing on the "striking fish" that offshore anglers target most: tuna, wahoo, dolphin and king mackerel.
"Mercury's involvement provides an incredible platform and opportunity to partner with the anglers who have supported this tournament through the years," said Steve Fleming of Mercury Marine. "Two-thirds of the boats entered in the tournament are powered by outboards, so the opportunity is here to showcase our product and tie in with our large group of dealers in Central Florida."
The novelty of the Challenge, coupled with the enthusiasm for inshore fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon area, has made the event one of the most exciting fishing contests around.
Showing its continued support for both the event and the sport, Hell's Bay Boatworks has instituted some wonderful conservation measures for the Redfish-Trout Challenge. One of its many contributions has been to design and build a 2,000-gallon release tank, which provides 6,000 gallons of raw water per hour identical to the fish's original environment. Because the tank is located on a floating dock, at the end of the day the fish are taken to the shallow-water estuary and allowed to recover fully before being released back into the shallow-water environment.
"We wanted the tournament to adhere to the best fish-handling practices in conformance with our environmental policy," said Chris Peterson, owner of Hell's Bay Boatworks. "We want to provide a better recovery rate for the fish brought back to the weigh-in."
FishStock is a four-day festival that brings together two of the top saltwater fishing tournaments in the nation, along with all the excitement of the onshore festivities at the FishStock Village. The eighth annual event will be held at Riverside Park in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., on May 27-30.
For more information on FishStock, visit www.fishstock.com or contact tournament director Dan Jacobs at 407-571-4680 or by e-mail at dan.jacobs@bonniercorp.com.
FishStock is presented by Sport Fishing magazine. Sport Fishing, published by Bonnier Corp., is written for the passionate angler who wants in-depth, cutting-edge information on the latest techniques, the hottest locations and the newest equipment to optimize a day on the water.
