When we launched GL2S in November of 2007, gas was around $2.50/gallon, the stock market was near 14,000, and the economic outlook was generally optimistic. Who could have predicted that during the 2008 season, gas would go as high as $4.50/gallon (more on the water), the stock market would be less than 8,000, the American auto industry along with many others would be in critical condition, and the economy would hit a brick wall? Looking back, 2008 and 2009 have become the perfect storm of negative factors in which to launch this new venture.
Although we received enthusiastic support from tournament anglers, most of the traditional tournament sponsors from the fishing industry were already feeling the pinch of a slowing economy. We knew going in that our long-term success depended on getting the participation of corporate sponsors from outside the fishing industry. Given the current economic conditions, a number of corporate sponsors who were engaged in various stages of participation with GL2S have had to deal with the harsh realities of reduced marketing budgets and tighter constraints on their remaining spending. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Living the Dream wins 2008 Huntington GL2S CPS! |
After a thrilling, season-long championship race involving some of the best Pro teams on Lake Michigan, Living the Dream from Grand Haven captured 1st Place in the inaugural Huntington GL2S Championship Points Series (CPS).
Living the Dream was on fire in 2008, with a 1st Place finish in South Haven, another 1st Place in Ludington, and, after using two Culls, yet another 1st Place at the season finale in Saugatuck. This allowed them to win the CPS with a perfect score of 465 points.
Captain Tony Salerno and his "Dream Team" of Andy LeClaire, Luke Triplett, and Capt. Willis Kerridge took home the $10,000 1st Place check after a final event shoot-out with perennial champs Best Chance Too who finished in 2nd. Hour Time out of Sturgeon Bay, WI and Sea Flea from Grand Haven took 3rd and 4th Place honors respectively. Dream Teammates Matt Salerno, Andy Miller, Chad Fett, Geoff Newmeyer, and of course Gary Salerno, were also instrumental in Living the Dream's success this season.
Many thanks to our title sponsor, Huntington Bank and our scoring sponsor, BIg Jon Sports for making the 2008 GL2S season a rousing success and making the Championship Points Series possible. (Click here for the Big Jon Sports CPS Scoreboard) |
| |
|
|
Huntington ODC Big Lake Classic |
|
|
|
|
Huntington Big Red Classic |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gander Mtn. Ludington Offshore Classic |
|
|
|
|
Huntington Presents the Cabela's Salmon Shootout |
|
|
|
|
Lakeside Marine/Muskegon Chronicle Women and Kids Classic |
|
The Muskegon Sportfishing Association held the Lakeside Marine & Muskegon Chronicle Women and Kids Classic Friday July 11th out of Great Lakes Marina in Muskegon, MI. Particpation was strong, with 20 Pro teams and 23 Am teams registering to compete in the 7am to 12pm contest. The contest was a 9 rod only, catch your DNR limit, but weigh your biggest 5 fish. Some very nice 5 fish catches were brought to the scales and a good time was had by most teams although 3' to 4' rollers had more then a few queasy anglers. The queasiness was not apparent as hearty appetites met at the awards presentation which included a cookout with the Knights of Columbus masterfully preparing brats and hot dogs for the competitors. Topping the Pro Dvision was Princess Bel with a nice box tipping the scales at 66.45 lbs. followed closely Run-N-Gun with 62.65 lbs. The Pro Top 5 (Click Here - Full Results) 1. Princess Bel 2. Run-N-Gun 3. Thunderduck 4. Living the Dream 5. The Saint
The Amateur Division was taken by Reel Action (Manthei) distancing themselves from the field by more then 10 lbs. with a 65.15 lbs. 5 fish box. Leek-E-Pipes took second with 53.3 lbs. and StoryTeller with 44.65 lbs. The Am Top 5 (Click Here - Full Results) 1. Reel Action (Manthei) 2. Leek-E-Pipes 3. StoryTeller 4. Chili Dog Special 5. Water Dog
A kicker competition was held for smallest fish, with one additional fish which was weighed seperately. A $200 prize for the smallest fish was donated by the Muskegon Charter Boat Association and was won by Team Impact II with a .85 lbs legal King Salmon. |
|
|
Huntington's Grand Haven Offshore Challenge |
|
Great fishing and variable weather conditions were the fare at the 2008 Huntington's Grand Haven Offshore Challenge. The tournament ended on a fantastic note with near perfect conditions of sun and flat water which followed a number of days of variable conditions which included winds, rain, thunderstorms, and more sun. All three days of events went off successfully leading with the Ladies and Kids event of Friday where 30+ plus boats went out to compete and they had to - compete with the weather which had the heaviest rain storms I've seen in some time but also had good to great fishing. The Ladies and Kids was won on the Pro side by Hot Spot followed by Reel Action and Thunderduck, and the Am side the winner was Water Dog followed by Slip Knot and In Pursuit. Click Here - Pro Ladies and Kids Click Here - Am Ladies and Kids The Pro/Am looked to be more of the same as a thunderstorm cell swept in on the competitors as they waited outside the pier heads for the tournament to start. Luckliy the weather committee had the full use of technology including Radar and Sirius Satellite Weather integrated with their Raymarine electronics to indicate that the storm was moving fairly quickly and was a small cell that had nothing behind it. The weather committee smartly chose to keep the competitors outside the piers and start the tournament on time instead of risking having the boats in the channel and being slammed by the storm in there with no room to maneuver, placing the boats at further risk. Fifteen minutes after the start the storm had moved through and wonderful blue skies greeted the competitors as they began setting up on their spots. Day one teams were required to donate their catch and that donation amounted to 3600 raw pounds of fish to the Teen Challenge for their food bank. Sunday was optional but many teams donated their fish so another great amount was donated resulting in some valuable chartiable giving from the tournament and its competitors The Pro Division was taken by Ludington's Blue Fairways with a wire-to-wire win putting up a big number on the first day following up with just enough to hold off the competition. Blue Fairways posted a winning score of 371.5, no bonus points for trout were awarded just simply ten points per fish and a point per pound, followed closely by The Edge with 369.85 in second and Best Chance Too with 368.8 in third. The Pro field was as tight as it gets with just over 10 points seperating the Top 5 (Click Here - Full Results) 1. Blue Fairways 2. The Edge 3. Best Chance Too 4. Get Some 5. Sea Flea The Huntington Championship Point Series (GL2S.CPS) had 9 boats take scores in Grand Haven and some reshuffling in the top of the series. Blue Fairways the leader of CPS after the previous event and Pro winner decided against taking a cull in Grand Haven and missed receiving the ever important first place points which allowed Sea Flea to leap into first with a total of 396 pts. The field is tight with many opportunities for movement with five events still to go. (Click Here - Big Jon Sports Scoreboard) Am Division winner Early Bird brought in two nearly identical boxes for a total of 361.35 points followed by Team Reel Deal with 357.15 and Silver Addiction with 342. The Top 5 (Click Here - Full Results) 1. Early Bird 2. Reel Deal 3. Silver Addiction 4. Squirrel Cage 5. Too Fish |
|
|
South Haven Steelheaders Big Jon Pro/Am |
|
The South Haven Big Jon Pro/Am is in the record books and after all the weather that Michigan has to offer the scores are in. Day one started with a hour delay as the tournament committee pondered weather reports, that delay turned into a cancellation of the fishing day. But as Michigan weather goes, if you don't like the weather now wait five minutes proved to be true as available weather forecasts were completely wrong and the day turned out to be fabulous and water conditions settled within a couple hours of the decision. Day 2 revealed windy initial conditions again but the forecasts indicated that the winds should tail and settle down the water. Refer back to the Michigan Rule. Those forecasts proved to be wrong again as the winds stayed on the offensive delivering consistently building seas throughout the day forcing the tournament to be called more than an hour early. Stop fishing was set for 11:30 leaving 45 minutes for boats to return to pierhead at 12:15 after that period. This early call of the tournament threw a wrench into many strategies as the offshore fishery consistently had produced good catches during prefishing and teams that were ready, willing, and able made the run some in excess of 30 miles. Those teams had to let everything hang out and take the abusive, and I don't think anyone would say abusive was an overstatement, run back in seas that had wave sets in the 10' neighborhood - perhaps more in cases. As with any strategy sometimes it works out and some times it doesn't as you'll see some negative weights as penalties of 10 points (pounds) per minute were assesed for late arrivals. The Pro Division crowned a new champ - Living the Dream - who beat it in from the offshore waters they had fished the entire week bringing an 11 fish box that weighed 94 lbs. resulting in a score of 234 points to secure first place. Second place was taken by 2007 champ Best Chance Too with a total of 206.05 points, and Manistee Mama in an extremely close third with 205.15 points. The Top 5 (Click Here - Full Results) 1. Living the Dream 2. Best Chance Too 3. Mansitee Mama 4. Hunter 5. Blue Fairways
Nine professional teams took points in the Huntington GL2S.CPS Championship Point Series for this event reshuffling the leaderboard landing Blue Fairways in the lead. (Click Here - Big Jon Sports Scoreboard). The Amateur division was split into 2 divisions for the first time with the traditional Am and the 24' and Under division. Spend A Buck did the toughest thing in tournament fishing by delivering a back to back win bringing the overall tournament wide highest score of 278.1 points and earning the travelling trophy as well as the champions trophy. Giv-n-In took second with Coho's Aim in a distant third. The Top 5 (Click Here - Full Results ) 1. Spend A Buck 2. Giv-n-In 3. Coho's Aim 4. Bonaventure 5. Therapy The Under 24' Division's innagural champion was 1/2 Time all the way from Traverse City with a score of 145.8 pts followed by Lucky Five and Rocking Robin. |
|
|