Is Bozeman the best fishing town in America? National contest aims to find out
By BEN PIERCE Chronicle Outdoors
The World Fishing Network (WFN), a cable network that offers 24-hour fishing news, stories and lifestyle features, is on the search for the best fishing town in America. The network is holding a nationwide contest asking anglers to nominate their favorite towns to determine a winner.
Bozeman, with its close proximity to the Madison, Gallatin and Yellowstone rivers – not to mention numerous other blue ribbon trout streams and Yellowstone National Park – has got to be among the best places for a trout fisherman to live. We’ve also got some great ponds in town that produce trout throughout the winter ice fishing season and plenty of small streams to explore.
But I’m wondering if trout fishing alone is going to be enough to win this award?
How does our walleye fishing on Canyon Ferry Reservoir, the emerging northern pike fishery above Toston Dam and our carp-catching opportunities on the Jefferson and the Mighty Mo stack up against other cities?
WFN is asking anglers to submit stories, photographs and video that depict the best fishing opportunities in the area. The winning town will receive a $25,000 prize to be used for fishing-related projects (i.e. cash to clean up Bozeman Creek).
Imagine the boost to Bozeman’s claim as the country’s top fishing town if we had a top-notch stream flowing through the city similar to Lewistown and Big Spring Creek.
Additionally, WFN will broadcast a 30-minute program about the town, its people and its fishing.
“No matter if they love to fish in a small rural community or a tourist Mecca, we encourage everyone to nominate their favorite fishing spot,” WFN’s Shauna Gosevitz said. “This promotion gives us, and the participating towns, a great opportunity to profile the places where people love to fish all across the USA.”
How to nominate your ultimate fishing town: People can nominate their town between March 1-April 8, 2011 by visiting www.wfnfishingtown.com. Nominations may include photos, videos and essays about why any town should be WFN’s Ultimate Fishing Town USA. If a town is already nominated, people are encouraged to add to the nomination with additional photos, videos and essays.
For the preliminary round of voting, WFN divided the United States into seven voting regions: PACIFIC: Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada; ROCKIES: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado; SOUTHWEST: New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana; MIDWEST: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana; NORTHEAST: Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, District of Columbia; SOUTHEAST: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama; FLORIDA: State of Florida.
Following the March 1-April 8 nomination period, the first round of public voting will be open from April 12-May 3. The 20 finalists, comprised of the two entries in each of the seven regions with the highest vote totals plus six “wild card” entrants, will advance to the final round of voting from May 10-31. The results will be announced in June at a ceremony in the winning community emceed by a WFN personality.
Related posts:
- Remembering Sylvester Nemes: Bozeman fly-fisherman and author elevated art of angling with soft-hackled flies
- Montana’s Best Fly Fishing: University of Montana grad publishes fly fishing guide
- Wildlife ambassadors: Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center aims to educate, inspire
- Ice fishing essentials: Everything you need to fish through the ice this winter
- Bozeman’s Jon Yousko wins Jackson Hole fishing tournament with Team Worldcast
About The Author
Loading ...
Comments