Ditch Pickle Classic Fly Fishing Tournament: 2015 Pickle ReCap

Checking in

I can’t believe that we are looking in the rear view at yet another pickle that has come and gone! I think most would agree that the 2015 event was our best pickle yet!

This year we had 134 anglers on 63 teams, which was a nice jump from 117 anglers in 2014. The weather cooperated with a stellar day on Saturday, but completely fell to pieces on Saturday night into Sunday, with the heaviest rain falling right smack in the middle of fishing hours! I was really impressed with the number of anglers that, not only toughed it out on Sunday, but actually put some decent points on the board despite the harsh conditions.

We moved our awards venue to the Lakewood Barn this year and it’s a darn good thing we did! That place was perfect for the awards BBQ! We have already reserved it for next year’s pickle and we’ll be having the 2016 event catered as well.

We gave away close to $14,000 in prizes and the value of the captains bags was pushing $100 this year! Once again, the custom DPC Tunaskin shirts were a huge hit! It's always great to see guys instantly open their captains bags and throw them on!

Big'ole pile of Tunaskin

On the winners’ podium we had our first ever repeat DPC win by Jeff Faulkner and John Cooper from team Imbassiles (50 team points)! John and Jeff each took home a Rock River Rods “Lug” Pro Model and an Orvis Hydros Bass Line. John Cooper also took home the DPC trophy and Jackson Kilroy Kayak for his second year in a row with 27 individual points! Big congrats to John and Jeff on another great showing…Two great guys that deserve every bit of their success!

Second place team went to Jay Modry and Matt Dickstein of Carpe Carpium with 39 team points. These guys are also no strangers to the podium and each took home a pair of Julbo Sunglasses and Mountain Khakis gift cards. Jay Modry of Carpe Carpium also took home a Redington Voyant Outfit for taking 2nd place individual angler with 23 points(tie-breaker).

Our 3rd place team award went to James Kontos and Jeff Dybinski of Gyros & Perogies with 36 team points. These guys were awarded Orvis Hydros Bass Lines and Mountain Khakis gift cards worth $75 a pop!

Pickle Stick Production

Jeff Faulkner of team Imbassiles took 3rd place individual angler with 23 points(tie-breaker) and also went home with an Orvis Hydros Bass Line.

This year’s Big Pickle also came down to a tie-breaker of 2 largemouth bass that each measured the same 20.5”. In the end, it was Jim Anderson of team Swedish Pimples that took home the Big Pickle Pool totaling $1,240!!

In the paddle division, John Dzeidzic of Kosher Dills took home the win with 17 points and is now the proud owner of a brandy new Sunny Brook Landing Net!

Our first ever youth division winner was Cayden Theberge of River Rats. Cayden went home with an Orvis Hydros Bass Line and a Howler Bros. gift card.

Susan Bulmer of team Hope on the Rise took the smallest bass category with a less than 4” smallie! Susan won a fly box and midge assortment courtesy of Green Mountain Troutfitters.

Awards at the Lakewood Barn

Our exotic category winner was Mark Covey of Casting Coveys with a 27.5” bowfin caught on one of his son, Caleb’s flies! Nicely done!

The largest northern pike was caught by Brian Lang of team Bassking in the Sun. His pike came in at 30” and was decided by tie-breaker. Brian went home with an awesome 10 weight, Redington Predator.

The breakdown award of $50 went to Chris Gagne who had all sorts of troubles including broken fly rods, dead batteries, a boat that wouldn’t start and an impromptu stumble off the stern amidst an audience of other Picklers.

Finally, the best team name award was back this year by popular demand. The winning team, Just The Tippet took home a couple Orvis Hydros Bass Lines for their creative efforts.

I can’t thank our sponsors enough for their gracious support of this unique event! Never did we think that the DPC would grow to the size it has, yet still maintain it’s grassroots feel with such an amazing field of anglers. We promise to keep the DPC at it’s core a fun weekend on an amazing resource with great friends. We also promise to speak out as a collective voice calling for change within a resource that needs help. In a lake that sees numerous angling tournaments each year, we are the only catch-photo-release event of it’s kind. Of the 304 fish caught by our anglers during the DPC, not a single one is removed from the area it is caught! The DPC represents the future of ethical tournament angling and we only hope that other angling tournaments on the lake will follow suit and lessen their impact on the resource.

Huge thanks to Denise Smith at Friends of Northern Lake Champlain for coming out to raise awareness about her organization! We look forward to working with Denise in the future on clean lake initiatives!

Denise Lynch and Antonia Kontos volunteered their time to serve food at the event and I can’t thank them enough! The value of their help was immeasurable and beyond kind…thanks so much ladies! Also big thanks to Brian and Mark for tag-teaming the grilling scene!

Dave, Brendan and Johnnie worked their magic at the scoring table and that’s no easy task so hats off to those guys for making it look easy!

Please show the love for our sponsors and let them know how much they are appreciated by sending some business their way the next time you need something. Visit these links and soak in what they’re spilling!… Tremendous thanks to Jackson Kayak, Orvis, Nick Mayer Art, Vermont Trout Waters, Rock River Rods, Stream & Brook Fly Fishing, Redington, Green Mountain Troutfitters, Vermont Fly Guys, Whistle Pig Whiskey, American Museum of Fly Fishing, Roland’s Tie By Night, Mountain Khakis, Buff, Pale Morning Media, Howler Bros, The Fly Pack, RepYourWater, Delacroix Lodge, Southern Fly Expeditions, Cheeky, Tunaskin, Sunny Brook Nets and Pat Cohen!

Next year’s Ditch Pickle Classic is set for June 25th/26th so save the date, tell your friends and don’t miss out on some of the most fun of the year!

Best <“(((((><