October is here and in the fishing world that brings to Central Florida a few things. Fall arrives and the daylight continues to get shorter it also brings cooler air and water temperatures getting the fish moving and biting! It also means that the 12th Annual Central Florida Shad and Crappie Derby is coming November 1st! With the crazy year it has been to date we are hoping for the biggest year in terms of numbers of registered anglers. Since fishing is one of the best ways to social distance and stay away from crowds it this should be a stellar year for the Derby. The last few years we had more 1,100 anglers register and fish, checking with the local fishing tackle stores they have never been as busy as they are now. Several mentioned that due to the many issues the virus has brought to most all business, the tackle industry is having a hard time keeping up with demands of the huge number of anglers that are now going fishing.
We are excited to announce that our 12th Annual Shad & Crappie Derby will start on Sunday November 1st at safe daylight and continues until Sunday February 28th at Sundown. For the hard core anglers who want to be fishing on Nov. 1st we are having an “Early Registration” event at 6:30 pm on Tuesday October 27th to be hosted at Celery City Craft Beer Garden in downtown Sanford, located at 114 Palmetto Avenue, Sanford, 32771. This will be an outdoor event and very casual as always. All anglers are required to have the Photo-Token in their pics they submit to our site and to measure their fish on the official Derby ruler. For the anglers that joined us for our Awards Event last season this is the same host location. Also for the Craft Beer lovers this place needs to be added to your best brew locations!
Thanks again to our Sponsors and our many sign-up locations. Once again Dick’s Sporting Goods has stepped up to be our Presenting Sponsor and they are stocked up on crappie gear. The support in the past been huge to the success of this great “FREE” community event. We are always looking for product sponsors to give away to our winning anglers. If you or some company you know wants to get involved please contact us. All of the prizes we give away come from both local businesses and fishing industry partners. This year we are awarding over $5000 in product and gift certificates to the Derby champs. Last year the winners walked away from the awards event with huge smiles on their faces and more stuff than they could carry in one trip. So tell your friends and family to come and join us for a fun start to this fall fishing season because, The Derby is Coming!
