Casting For Caring

Each year the Rochester, N.Y. chapter of the American Red Cross holds a fishing tournament called Casting for Caring.  Local charter captains take out sponsors and Red Cross donors in search of big fish. Prizes are awarded for each category – salmon, lake trout, brown trout and steelhead. The boat that weighs in the largest fish is awarded $1,000.

There are two events for the day (morning and afternoon).  It's a very casual derby with lots of food and prizes for everyone.

This year I had the pleasure to mate for a good friend and fellow charter captain Jerry Snyder. His boat Dandy Eyes was ready to go by 5:30 a.m. Our clients wanted to catch a lot of fish so we decided to work the "skinny" water for brown trout. In just 3 1/2 hours we boated 16 fish. The largest brown was 9 pounds.

After the luncheon and morning award ceremony, we were ready for the next group. We left the dock at 12:30 and decided to fish for king salmon to see if we could get the big fish of the day. Straight out in front of the Genesee River we found some good-colored water. We only hooked up a few times, but our group managed to land a 19-pound, 4-ounce king.

At the weigh-in, we watched boat after boat come shy of our big fish. With only a few minutes to spare we were sure to be the winner – until the last fish was weighed in.  At the buzzer, a 26-pound slob king was entered. We lost out on the cash, but still had a great time meeting new people and supporting a great cause.

The Greater Rochester chapter of the American Red Cross assists an average of 345 families a year who've been victims of a disaster. Sometimes a fire takes their home and belongings. Sometimes a flood destroys their property. Here in Monroe County alone, over 47,000 people were trained in lifesaving skills or disaster preparation, and over 49,000 units of blood were collected. Nearly every day, a service-member is connected with their family during major life events. Proceeds from this tournament helped support these vital services.

Capt. Lou Borrelli learned to fish with his grandfather and now owns and operates Get The Net Charters out of Rochester, N.Y. Capt. Lou runs trips along the south shore of Lake Ontario from Wilson to Fair Haven, N.Y. Visit GTNFishing.com or send him an email at captainlou@gtnfishing.com.