Author: veteransdayfishingtournament

2024 VDFT in Review

Mother Nature graced the 11th Annual Veterans Day Fishing Tournament with a beautiful day and superior fishing conditions. Boasting a somewhat different format than years past, 91 boats with at least one veteran per boat took off from Sturgeon Creek Marina under the direction of the new tournament team of Bart Staton, Rusty Powell, and Amanda Thompson, with the support of the Martin family. Sponsors such as MLT Systems, Fulton Mortgage Company, BPS/Cabela’s, Paul Henry’s Windows, Santee Trucking, Country Chevrolet, Kiesler Police Supply, and over 40 other notable companies and individuals contributed to the event. Paying out 20 spots, the team of Timmy & Frankie Sheridan took the 1st place money with 13.89 lbs. The team of Mark Tornai & Neville Green took Big Fish with a nice 4.76 lb bass. The tournament hosted 181 anglers (115 service members and 66 civilians). An amazing fact about the 2024 tournament was the veterans in attendance provided a combined total of over 1600 years of service to our great nation! Thank you to our Veterans!

For more than 300 photos taken at the tournament please check our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066927812816

2024 VDFT Update

From Amanda.

Good morning VDFT friends!! Bart, Rusty, and I recently met with Larry and discussed making a few changes for the VDFT this year. The date for this years tournament will be Monday, November 11th, with a rain date of Saturday, November 16! We will be launching out of Sturgeon Creek Marina. We are making big plans to carry on the legacy of this tournament in the best way we possibly can! 🇺🇸

Secondly, we are going to cap the tournament at 100 boats to make planning, preparation, and food arrangements as accurate as possible! 🇺🇸

Lastly, in order to really recognize, support, and show appreciation for our service members, a new requirement for the tournament is there needs to be at least one veteran fishing in each boat. While we sincerely appreciate ALL the supporters, we really want to focus on our veterans and thank them for the sacrifices they’ve made for our beautiful country. We look forward to seeing all of you in November; much more info to come!! If you have any questions or need additional information, please reach out!