The Perchmasters Classic was begun in 1999 to give the perch fishermen of Western New York another opportunity to enjoy the world-class perch fishery that we have been so lucky to enjoy for many decades in Western New York. The goal was to offer a team tournament that would be run like most team bass tournaments, where a “limit” or in this case “Largest 5” would be weighed-in by each competing team, therefore removing some of the luck involved in single fish tournaments. Our event grew for several years from having 8 boats in our inaugural year in 1999 to having 84 boats in 2005, which is more than we ever hoped for when we first put this event together. In recent years we have seen fields of 45 to 60 teams which is more than sufficient, but in interviewing fishermen who used to fish the event as well as ones that still do, the common complaints were that the same people seem to win every year, but more so the frustration of how the schools of perch in Seneca Lake are fewer and further between than ever, which results in a event where 10 or more boats try to squeeze into a spot that is only practical for one or two. We do believe there is some merit to what these folks contend and as an experiment to make the event more wide open and spread out the field, we are holding the 2010 event on Keuka and Canandaigua Lakes only. Despite the fact that the bags will be smaller, there will be no shortage of 13-14” perch brought to the scales as these lakes offer plenty of fish in that size range. This experiment will reveal once and for all the potential of these two lakes and fishermen’s desire to pursue a perch tournament there verses on the fabled waters of Seneca Lake. Despite these changes, I fully expect the best fishermen to rise to the top. That just always seems to happen in the tournaments I have observed the last 25 years… Weigh-in will as always start at 5PM at the Branchport Fire Hall which is as close to the center of the tournament waters as we could find. 99% of the fishermen I have discussed this with believe this will be a fun and interesting twist to what we have been enjoying for the past 11 years.

The Perchmasters Classic has evolved over the years and will continue to evolve as we consider the many suggestions we receive from our participants. We have changed several aspects of our event since 1999 to make this event what it is today. Allowing larger teams of up to 3 fishermen, adding Canandaigua Lake, bringing in Bass Pro Shops as a tackle sponsor, and allowing boats to be on the water and in position as early as they like all point to how open minded we are as we look for positive ideas that will increase participation. We established a cash draw prize 7 years ago to be drawn from the names of team leaders who return for the weigh in. The hope was to encourage as many teams as we can to weigh in no matter the size of their catch and also give teams that may have had poor luck that day, an opportunity to still walk away with a decent prize. We wish every team would weigh-in five fish and maybe someday it will happen. There’s no shame in weighing in 10-11 inch perch and this could definitely be the year where five 13” perch win the event! Despite suggestions to allow fishing to begin earlier than 7AM, we do not foresee going in that direction. Encouraging a lot of boat traffic in pre-light hours is not safe and no other one day tournament allows it for good reasons. We feel 9 hours of fishing is more than sufficient and is above the average for what events offer.

Finally, we decided two years ago to incorporate the use of a polygraph in our format to add integrity to our event. The constant suspicions / accusations of other fishermen regarding the entering of fish that were not caught the day of the tournament OR the pooling of fish by multiple teams was not uncommon. This on top of the known ease of keeping fish alive in the colder months of the year led us to add this accurate method of verifying the winning team’s catch. In an attempt to control administrative costs, we choose to only test the designated leader of the winning team. Beginning in 2009, we took the liberty of selecting a random member of the winning team at the conclusion of the weigh in. If that individual was to fail his or her test, their team would be disqualified and all teams would move up one place. There would be no subsequent tests. The decision to include this testing has been very popular and will be a fixture from here on.

We would like to thank Warczok’s Whitetail Farm for getting this annual event off the ground and continuing to support the existence of the website. We would also like to thank Bass Pro Shops for once again being the exclusive tackle sponsor of the Perchmasters Classic. Tackle donated from their store in Auburn will be given out using a raffle system following the selection of the Cash Draw Prize winner. Once again, Team Leaders must be present to be eligible for these merchandise awards.

I would personally like to thank each and every person who has either participated in one of our events and to those who have contributed with suggestions, which have helped us make the Perchmasters Classic what it is today.

Take care and good fishing!