“Reelin’ it in for Vets” fishing tournament to launch on Lake Chatuge

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Towns County’s Lake Chatuge Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for”Reelin’ it in for Vets,” Saturday, Nov. 2. Anglers, who are encouraged to team with a veteran, will compete for a portion of $7,500 in prize money for the top-5 heftiest catches of the day.

“The Towns County Chamber of Commerce is encouraging anglers to take a veteran fishing to thank them for their years of service protecting our country and allowing us all the freedoms we have,” Lake Chatuge Chamber President Candace Lee explained. “The event will kick-off on Friday evening, Nov. 1, with a pre-fish feast sponsored by local VFW Post 7807. On Saturday, the tournament blast-off will take place from Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds boat ramp at ‘safe light’ and weigh-in will be conducted at 2 pm from this same boat ramp.”

The entry fee is $150 for a two-man team if a veteran is onboard. A fee of $200 is required to participate if the team does not include a veteran. Veterans without a boat or teammate who wish to participate will be matched with an angler. “Do not let this stop you from fishing in this tournament,” Lee urged. “All veterans participating will be honored at the weigh-in and receive a special gift from the Towns County Chamber of Commerce.”

Pre-registration is available with on-site registration accepted on Nov. 2 until 6:30 a.m.

“When we started our Fishing Tournaments Committee about 18 months ago, we were just getting ready for the big Bassmasters Tournament,” Lee told FYN. “After that big tournament, a lot of smaller tournaments followed.  Groups started contacting us for help – both money and manual labor – to bring in large groups of anglers.  As we continued to discuss helping these other groups, a couple of the committee members suggested that we start hosting our own tournaments – not only to bring attention to Towns County and Lake Chatuge but to raise money for the Chamber and for a local charity.”

Lee explained that the chamber learned of different tournaments that honored veterans, adding that there were several non-profits whose goals were to work solely with veterans in the outdoors. “Modeling our tournament after some of the others was easy – just on a much smaller scale,” Lee said. “We knew that our local VFW was busy raising money for a new building and that this tournament could possibly help.

“Many area businesses are sponsors of this event including the main sponsor, Nelson Tractor Company, Inc. from Blairsville, GA. Other sponsors are Lake Chatuge Lodge, Northeast Georgia Board of Realtors, Mountain Realty, Towns County CVB, Hiawassee Hardware, Blue Ridge Moutain EMC, and VFW-American Legion of Towns County.”

A portion of the proceeds will be returned to VFW Post 7807.

For additional information, contact Towns County’s Lake Chatuge Chamber of Commerce at 706-896-4966.

 

FetchYourNews.com attracts over 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month with a 60,000 Facebook page reach, and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com

If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of our counties of coverage, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com