re: Fishing Tournament Catch Verification

We are having sponsors donate prizes. Stateside military rules keep us from giving a monetary prize, so we have to solicit businesses to give prizes in return for free publicity.

We are doing this in a three town area, two of which are decently populated college towns, and then the base itself. Ideally, we would advertise via newspaper, a few radio ads on local stations, and banners posted around the cities that we are running the tourney for.

I would say that the threat of a polygraph probably would work. Honor system would too, but even just in the planning stages, we have heard people bitching about verification.

As for prize scenarios, we are setting it up to be a tandem tourney (teams of 2), ~$150 per team. Prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in total combined weight, and each team will have either a 3 or 5 fish limit. The "Catch of the Day" (largest fish) will also receive a big side prize.

We are looking at advertising 6-8 weeks in advance, and to have the tourney around the first weekend in October, maybe sooner if we can get everythig in line.

We are also doing a party at the weigh in with dollar draft beers and live country music. Possibly going to have door prizes, if we can solicit enough sponsorship opportunities.

Thanks for the suggestions, by the way!

And as far as the one about limiting the number of lines/hooks, how would that go? Also, how would you keep track of that? I have never heard of that as a limiting factor in a tourney before (not to say it isn't common).