Dear Fishing Tournament Customer,

In 2018 we began testing a new program for fishing tournaments. In the past, we have required groups to obtain a permit, pay for the permit, and schedule all tournaments with our Permit and Rental Services Section. Fishing tournament rules have not been strictly enforced and the cost of enforcement would require an increase in permit fees.

Rather than increase fees and enforcement, which wouldn’t benefit anyone, we are going to go the opposite direction. We will no longer issue permits or charge a fee for fishing tournaments. We will create a sharable calendar and still collect dates from all groups. The shareable calendar will only contain dates, reservoir, number of vessels, and club name, but will not contain contact information. When you call or email us to schedule dates, we will be able to share a link to the schedule so that you can schedule around what is already booked. We will then add your dates once we receive them.

The goal of the calendar is to ensure that you can all see when big events or regattas are taking place and to avoid having 2+ tournaments trying to launch at the same time. It will also continue to allow us, Watershed Management, and Columbus Police to know when larger events are taking place. A major reason for the permitting process was to ensure the public maintains access at the ramps and if we were to have 4 tournaments launching simultaneously, the ramp would essentially be shut down for an extended period of time and inhibit casual reservoir users. We are hopeful we can still eliminate this concern by having everyone provide dates and cooperate with the new process.

The launch locations for fishing tournaments will remain the same. Griggs will be the Trabue Murphy Ramp, O’Shaughnessy will be Home Road, and Hoover will be Walnut Street. We have maximum tournament restrictions of 40 boats at Hoover and O’Shaughnessy and 30 at Griggs. These restrictions were determined based on available parking. We can host multiple tournaments at these locations as long as the combined totals are under the above numbers. We will leave an hour in between launch and return times to prevent congestion at the ramp. Please also remember that Hoover Reservoir has a 10 horsepower limit.

We hope to continue receiving dates from all of you to help manage reservoir use. We are also hopeful that everyone will appreciate the elimination of fees and paperwork. As long as everyone continues to cooperate and follow the guidelines in this letter, we will continue this program in its new state. If there are a number of groups that choose not to cooperate and follow the rules or tournament use of the reservoir has a negative impact on the parks or other users, we will have to look at stepping up enforcement which will necessitate an increase in permitting fees.

If you have already paid for 2018 permits, your payment will be refunded but your dates will remain on the calendar. If you have any questions or would like to schedule your dates, please contact Stanley Bulejski at 614-645-3340 or srbulejski@columbus.gov. We look forward to working with you in 2019 and beyond and hope this new program is successful and easier for all!

Sincerely,

Columbus Recreation and Parks