Today is the first day for the New Orleans Fly Fishers "Big Year" contest, the Kisatchie Fly Fishers "Mixed Bag" contest, and the Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club's CPR Challenge. All three are months-long, members-only, CPRE (catch-photo-release encouraged).
The NOFF and KFF events are different in that, unlike most tournaments, size doesn't matter. It's about catching the most different species. Modeled after the birding community's "Big Year" contests, the NOFF Big Year and KFF Mixed Bag have no entry fee. There's also a prize for one lucky member drawn from all participants who didn't win. To submit an entry, the photo should be taken "on site" (no driveway pics) and include the fish, the event token, and the fly in the photo.
The LKFC CPR Challenge has a $10 entry fee for the first time. However, the prizes have been seriously upgraded for 2018. There are divisions for Conventional and Fly. Fly entries need to have the kayak, the fish on a measuring board, fly and fly tackle, and token in the photo. Submissions are made online using the Kayak Fishing Series portal.
Over the next 8 weeks, the following events will have fly fishing contests: New Orleans City Park Big Bass Rodeo and Fishtival (kayak and fly), Lake Athens Fly Fishing Festival and Big Bass Contest, Fly Fishin For the Mission tournament (Pointe-aux-Chenes), and Bass On The Fly (Lake Fork). If you love a little friendly competition, the season is here!