In This Issue...
- President's Message
- IWFA General Species List
- Monthly and Annual Awards
- Affidavits
- Master Angler Program
- Scoring Software Program
- Events
- Election of Officers
- Conservation Corner
- Training
- New Members
- You're the Shining Star!
- Sponsors
President's Message
Instead of your typical newsletter, this is a special edition to let you know about what’s happening within the IWFA beginning on January 1, 2019.
I wish you a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to a fantastic 2019. Thank you for your membership.
Jill Gaddis
IWFA President
Species List
A few years ago, for conservation reasons, we implemented a change whereby Red Drum that falls into two size categories are measured rather than weighed. Holding fish from a lip scale can often harm the fish. Therefore, in keeping with our conservation mindset, we will follow suit with all species that fall into separate size categories. The only exception is large gamefish, such as Marlin, where we will allow for the weight to be estimated.
Where length applies, we added a cm column to make it easy for our members who use that metric of measurement. The affidavit lists both inches and centimeters.
Some of the point categories have changed and size categories have been assigned to a few more fish.
To avoid confusion when identifying and reporting your catch, the only names you will see on the IWFA General Species List are the common name and the scientific name for that species as recognized by the IGFA. We will no longer publish alternate or regionally recognized names.
The species list, now known as the IWFA General Species List is attached and will be published to the website effective January 1, 2019. Please feel free to print a copy and take it with you when you fish. We highly recommend you also download and refer to the IGFA Mobile app, which may help with species identification.
Monthly and Annual Awards
We have some new awards for 2019! A new Trout Fly Fishing Award, sponsored by Roberta Arostegui, targets freshwater trout. For our offshore anglers, we have added the Sure Olsson Billfish Award, sponsored by Lisa Everett. It will provide a new and challenging opportunity to target a number of the billfish species. Thank you to all who have agreed to sponsor annual awards in 2019 and beyond!
There has been a slight change to the Monthly Award for Honor Roll and Regular Members. Both will only compete against members in their category. No longer must an Honor Roll Members points exceed that of a Regular Member to win a Monthly Award. Therefore, a tie is possible.
All 500 Club Members will become eligible to win a new Master Angler Award in the month following receipt of their 500th Monthly Award.
A copy of the revised IWFA Awards Descriptions is attached. This information will also be available on the website on January 1, 2019.
Master Angler Program
As mentioned in the above section, there is a new opportunity for members who have reached their 500th Monthly Award milestone to win an award. The IWFA Master Angler Program is a single lifetime achievement designed to recognize a member’s ability to master the catch and release of a subset of the IWFA species, of significant size, using lighter and more challenging tackle. Those who are eligible on January 1, 2019, will soon be receiving a kit with details.
The IWFA Master Angler Program rules and species list are attached and will be published to the website on January 1, 2019.
Affidavits
The current Release Affidavit will remain active on the website through January 5, 2019, to enable members to continue to report their 2018 catches.
For 2019, there will be two electronic affidavits on the IWFA website; the IWFA General Affidavit (this is to be used ONLY for fish released on or after January 1, 2019) and the IWFA Master Angler Affidavit. Please be sure to select the proper affidavit when reporting your catch, or you may disqualify yourself from earning an award.
Scoring Software Program
The current IWFA scoring software program is antiquated, to put it mildly. Among other inefficiencies, our Affidavits Chair must take what you've entered into the electronic affidavit, manually convert some of the data, and re-enter it into the scoring program. The Board has selected a company to partner with for development and support of a new program.
We’ll keep you posted on our progress.
Events
Plans are underway for the Annual Luncheon, Meeting, and Awards Ceremony on April 7. After a three-year hiatus, we’re returning to the Sailfish Club of Florida in Palm Beach. Thanks to Lisa Everett, GenSpring/Suntrust, has graciously offered to be our key sponsor for this event. We hope you will be there and will bring a guest to help us honor our past-presidents, our award winners, our award sponsors, and our event sponsor.
Plans are simultaneously underway for a Bass tournament on Lake Okeechobee. Kickoff will take place on April 7 and fishing will be on April 8 and 9. Registration will open on January 7.
The legendary Louisiana Slam Tournament is scheduled for June 9th through the 12th.
Thanks to your survey feedback, a Funament in Oriental, NC is being planned for the fall.
Please keep an eye on your email inbox and on the website www.iwfa.org for more information and registration forms.
Election of Officers
The IWFA Nominating Committee has made its recommendation to the Board for the slate of Officers for the 2019 – 2021 term. You will receive more information and be provided with an opportunity to vote in January.
Membership Renewal
Membership renewal will begin in February and membership fees are anticipated to remain stable, thanks to the generous donation of sponsors and the Board's efforts to control and curtail expenses over the past year and a half. Please be sure to renew on or before April 30 to continue to enjoy the fun, camaraderie, conservation, and competitive culture within the IWFA organization.
Training
As the Director of Regional Reps, Kathy Gillen has been training her Regional Reps (RRs) so they can be mentors for our members. I’ve attached a copy of a recent training document that was distributed to the RRs to assist new and existing members to understand how to navigate the IWFA website.
Soon, they will be receiving a similar visual training document to help guide you through how to file an affidavit. If you’re struggling, please reach out to you RR for guidance. If you don't know who your RR is, you can find a list on the website under the Home tab.
New Members
The IWFA would like to extend a warm welcome to Kayla McGuire of Bokeelia, FL. Kayla joined the IWFA in October.
You're the Shining Star
We have a FaceBook page, an Instagram account, a website, and newsletter and we want to display articles and photos of you with IWFA members and/or your fish (alive and properly supported, please). The best ones that represent our club may even make it to the front page of our website! Please continue to send your photos with identification and a caption to [email protected] and [email protected].
Sponsors
A recently-released report from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and The Outdoor Foundation found that 49.1 million Americans went fishing in 2017—that’s 1.9 million more than in 2016. Of the new participants who went fishing in 2017, 35.8 percent were women—the fastest growing demographic going fishing. In terms of overall participants, women account for 34.8 percent of those who went fishing in 2017. Of those considering fishing, 45.9 percent were females and 44.2 percent were young females. And more women are taking their kids fishing.
This has the attention of many in the industry, specifically, companies who manufacture and distribute products. Members Melissa Littlewood and Aledia Tush have begun to tap into these types of resources. They’ve confirmed that there is interest out there to support our organization through the donation of product versus cash.
The concept of using donations from major brands to help us offset event expenses and our operating costs is new to the Board and is likely also new to our members. I’ll bet that most of you aren’t aware that the donations of shirts, awards, raffle items and giveaways from sponsors have helped our to club be financially sustainable in the past calendar year.
It is the hope of the IWFA Board of Directors that you will understand the significant role that our sponsors play in helping us keep our membership and event costs to a bare minimum. And that you will support them in many ways; being a member of their association, product purchases, raffle ticket sales, fishing photos that display sponsor clothing, products or logos, and mentioning their support of our organization at tradeshows.
Thank you to all our 2018 sponsors, including our annual awards sponsors for your support of the IWFA!
Grand Slam Sponsor
General Sponsors
Luncheon Sponsors
Tournament Sponsors
FL Insiders Fishing Report - Simms
     
   
Click on the logo to visit our sponsor websites.
If you're interested in an IWFA Sponsorship email us at [email protected]
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