Before the full Holiday Madness begins I would like to take a moment or so to write a letter of thanks to all the wonderful NCKFA members.
During 2011 we had both fun, new ideas, improvements and growing pains. We saw lots of smiling facing both at events/meetings and online pic's. The addition of Hawg Through Measuring boards and wrist bands as Identifiers (which everyone loved and will return in 2012). Out of all the events we only had 5 anglers DQ'd for not having the ID"S in the photos and all of them understood and took it with a smile/lesson learned. We also had, which happens when you get more members...SPAMMERS!!!! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!! The new website in 2012 should (fingers crossed) take care of that. To end the review on a good note though the NCKFA gave away 10 Kayaks in 2011 with untold numbers of other raffle items/2nd/3rd place items.
I always like to thank all the wonderful sponsors who made 2011 possible and the anglers who spend time and money to come out and support the NCKFA. Myself and the NCKFA board members worked very hard to try to run the events smoothly and fairly. You deserve it.
2011 also saw the NCKFA grow to almost 1000 members and host 5 events which 293 anglers participated in.
Which if you do the math, and the NCKFA board did, leaves about 700 NCKFA members "lurking" out there who may have come to the meetings/trips but not the events. We asked ourseleves why that was and how to get those anglers involved. We think we have something in 2012 that will do just that...A ONLINE 8 MONTH TOURAMENT!!! There will be monthly winners and, at the end, a NCKFA ANGLER OF THE YEAR!!! You can choose to compete in only the monthly events or the 8 month long event..or BOTH! Details are being worked out over the Holidays and will be posted soon. NCKFA members have been asking for this for a while so please take advantage of it.
The 2012 Calendar is up for all 5 events (Battle in the Boro, Midnight Madness Catfish, Smallmouth Slam, Fall Classic and Specs/Spots ) and the dates are either the same as last year or close to them so please plan ahead as we want to see you on the water often in the New Year.
Have a safe and happy Holiday Season.
mark patterson

I'll toss one other thing out there - most fishermen do not want to participate in tournaments. But they do want to fish. Perhaps consider having a few more non-tournament outings where you do some on-the-water seminars or guided trips. I think you might be pleasantly surprised at the turn out for those type of things.

Otherwise, I think you did a great job this past year. I know everybody seems to be having a good time here. In the end, that's what it's all about.

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Tom Kirkman
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You never hurt the resource when you return a fish to the water.

The fish you remove from the water today is one you can't catch again tomorrow.

Carry a camera - a photo of a fish lasts a lot longer than a fish does.

I think a few meet and great type get together would be fun. (I'm a beach guy...lol) This upcoming year I plan to try my best to hit all the tourneys. I went to my first one at Spots and Specs and had a blast. This got me hooked on doing more! Now I'm set and ready for more. Thanks for a great site and all the work you guys do. The wife loves to fish with me and I'm going to try to get her out on the yak this upcoming year. I also have a brother who saw my luck with the Specs at OKI this year and called me as soon as we got home to ask if I still had my old kayak so he can go next time.
Must say glad I found this place and now can't wait for next year!

Kind words and great imput, we will consider all ideas.

Thank you for letting us reap the rewards of all your hard work. Only did the Fall Classic this year, but had a great time, especially considering it was a tournament.

If you want to add to the calendar Mark, I'm planning for the Fort Fisher Meet and Greet to be on June 23rd. Also, I will be giving kayak fishing seminars on February 11th for the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation and March 13th at the Pine Knoll Shores "Get Hooked Fishing School".

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Great Outdoor Provision Company
Wilderness Systems Kayaks Pro Staff
Werner Paddles
Stohlquist Waterwear
St. Croix Rods
Marsh Works Inshore Tackle

Mark,

I just wanted to thank you for all your hard, tireless, work in keeping NCKFA going. I just joined this year, introduced both sons, and my wife, to kayak fishing. I attended the smallmouth slam and the Specks and Spots. I learned a lot and enjoyed the outings tremendously. We made some new friends along the way and always look forward to learning tips given by the many members. I agree that we could use some seminars on the water to learn more first hand, this could also bring more members out. We look forward to next year.

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"tightline"

Scott Seffels
Native Manta Ray 12

Very kind words. Drummie, please PM or post the actual addresses and I will put them up on the Cal. no problem!