May. 18, 2009 - Onekama Marine Memorial Day Tournament To Be On National Television
Contact: Judy Ball
231-398-9355
Issued as a Service to the Manistee County Convention
and Visitor’s Bureau by the Alliance for Economic Success
For Immediate Release
ONEKAMA MARINE MEMORIAL DAY TOURNAMENT TO BE
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION
Onekama, Michigan -- Let the good times (and the camera) roll!
The 4th Annual Onekama Marine Memorial Weekend “Shake Down” Tournament, scheduled for May 22-24, 2009 will be filmed for television this coming May 22-24, 2009.
“This is a coup for Manistee County and Onekama”, said Captain Denny Blue of the Onekama Area Charter Boats. “We have known right along that Manistee County offers some of the best salmon fishing in the world. Coupled with the outstanding beauty of the area, first class entertainment, golf courses, beaches, restaurants, accommodations, marinas and campgrounds, we believe we have one of the best visitor’s destinations in the nation. We invite everyone, whether spectator or fisherman, to come and experience this fun and exciting event.
The Little River Casino is providing funding for the TV production. The Portage Point Inn is providing rooms and meals to the TV crew and Onekama Marine will be providing fuel and docks for the TV camera boats.
The television production will be done by nationally known Hunters Exchange television. With more than 90 million viewers, Hunters Exchange can be seen on over 30 cable networks as well as Versus, Pursuit Direct TV, Time Warner Sports and WPBN/WTOM NBC, it is one of the most viewed hunting and fishing shows in the mid-west.
“Onekama will be the first stop in a series of four to five fishing tournaments we plan to do this year,” said Keith Barber, President of Hunters Exchange. “We believe Great Lakes salmon tournaments have great viewer potential and we want to be in on the ground floor.”
Over the past seven years tournament fishing for salmon and trout has grown from a few local club tournaments to 16 tournaments on Lake Michigan spanning Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin for 2009. Fred MacDonald, publisher of the Tournament Trail Magazine and Director of the newly created B.L.A.S.T.T. (Big Lake Anglers Salmonoid Tournament Trail), said that his organization was established to provide professionally run, multi-faceted tournaments that offer the excitement of tournament fishing to anglers of every level from beginner to the seasoned professional.
Based on a study by Michigan Sea Grant tournament fishing brings big dollars to Michigan. In fact, spending by anglers in ports hosting the 15 Tournament Trail events in 2008 totaled over $1.8 million. These numbers don’t include impacts of spending by non-anglers, like family and friends who travel with anglers for shopping and entertainment in the host port.
The Onekama Shakedown Tournament dates and contact information are:
Ladies Tournament – Friday, May 22
(Ladies tournament captain’s meeting May 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Onekama Marine)
Two-Day Tournament – Saturday & Sunday, May 23 & 24
(Two-Day tournament captain’s meeting May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Onekama Marine)
For more information on other special weekend events or how to enter the tournament contact the Manistee County CVB 1-877-626-4783 or 231-398-9355 or visit www.visitmanistee.com, or www.tournamenttrail.net .