Syracuse.com - More prize money, rule change planned for Seneca River carp tourney

[HuntingNY-News]

The biggest change, Vegvari said, will be that the top-finishing team will be decided by the total weight of the team's 10 biggest fish.

Tamas Vegvari said he's been carp fishing since he was five and competed professionally in his native Hungary before coming to this country in 2001.

He confirmed today that he is taking over this spring's annual carp fishing tournament on the Seneca River in Baldwinsville, with plans to increase the prize money offered and a major rule change. He said the competition will involve 75 hours of straight fishing and be held May 21-24.

Vegvari, 40, of Solvay, said specifics are still being worked out. He said he plans a total cash payout to competitors of more than $40,000. He said he's considering paying the winning two-person team as much as $13,000 to $15,000.

Ivelin Petrov, of Yonkers, with his 27-pound carp caught on the Seneca River during last year's Wild Carp Challenge.Mike Greenlar | [email protected] 

"That's based on 40 teams entering," he said, adding he also plans payouts to teams that big the biggest common carp, biggest mirror carp and for other categories that will be announced.

He said all the specifics, including the exact prize money and information on how to register for the catch-and -release tournament, will be on a Facebook page that will set up by the end of next week.

Last year's tournament, The Wild Carp Triathlon, was run by Wild Carp Companies, a Baldwinsville-based group.

Jason Bernhardt, last year's tournament director, said he bowed out this year because of the financial toll it took on him. Competitors in last year's Wild Carp Triathlon event paid $700 (per two-person team) to compete in the team 75-hour team competition, followed by $175 each to compete in the one-day Big Carp Challenge and Big 4 (four biggest fish) Challenge.

New Englanders Robert Duprey and Dmitri Consolati, who caught 187 fish weighing nearly 3,000 pounds, won last year's team competition. They won $3,000 for their efforts. More than $25,000 was paid out to competitors in different categories.

"I'm not running this (year's) tournament, just helping Tamas to put out the word about it because I love tournament fishing in B-ville - and am looking forward to finally being able to compete in one," Bernhardt wrote on Facebook.

This year's event will only feature the team competition. The biggest change, Vegvari said, will be that the top-finishing team will be decided by the total weight of the team's 10 biggest fish. In the past six tournaments, the winning team was decided by total weight of fish caught.

Vegvari said his decision to change the rules will increase the chances that any team could win, as opposed to just a few when the fish get biting on one stretch or another.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog