Saturday Pro-Am
Friday’s draw brought 14 teams into the Pro-Am competition. Two of those teams were staked by Webmaster Cory Stansbury and a group of boosters, were in the running. Two time winner Rob Kolanda drew Bill Hanson who was thrust into the limelight when another Carp Slam birth kept Dzifa Glymin out of the event. A group of returning Colorado guides were itching to unseat Kolanda and prevent a three-peat.

Saturday dawned clear and bright with a volunteer force decimated by family issues on the eve of the event. Thankfully Gaspar Pericone and Andrew Green stepped in at the last minute to complete the crew. After check in and an appearance by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper the teams departed for the river. With flows at 280 cfs, the fish were harder to find. To say the carp were “selective” would be an understatement. All the teams sighted fish, but catching them was another thing altogether. The morning session ended with a 29” carp caught by Reynolds/Clark in first place and a nice 16” smally taken by Chris Crosby at South Unlimited. Congressman John Salazer and Jeff Shoemaker of Greenway Foundation addressed the crowd over a pasta and sausage lunch on efforts to enhance the metro Platte. Ashley Grosh presented a check on behalf of Wells Fargo for $6,000 dedicated to restoration projects.

The afternoon session was a challenge. The team of Luna/Beranto landed a 29” carp to match the winning score. Lots of alternate species were caught in the south beats. Most of those were smallmouth bass. The most unique scorecard was reported by the team of Anset and Aaron. They landed a 16” trout and a Snapping Turtle described as “big”. I was at a loss as to how to score the amphibian. Teams repaired to Fuel for BS and general anesthetic. Music was provided by Gary Morse and the crowd made short work of beers donated by Wynkoop Brewery. The final results were:

First Place- Phil Beranto (am)/ David Luna (pro) $1,000 Cash
Second Place – Justin Clark (am)/ Barry Reynolds (pro)
Third Place- Tony Kay (am)/ Chris Galvin (pro)

Sunday Open
Sunday’s format allowed two man teams to fish anywhere in the metro area.
Winners of the event were:

First Place- Tyler Kendrick/ David Luna
Second Place – Matt Nery/Kevin Nichols
Third Place- Barry Reynolds/Jake McKittrick

The Denver Chapter has joined forces with South Suburban Parks and Recreation (SSPR), The City of Littleton (COL) and The Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CCTU) to move forward with design/construction work to enhance aquatic and riparian habitat on the urban Platte River. [Read More]

Click on the image to the left to watch a video about the South Platte Project.