Marine
Spicher, Jennings capture individual championships at Pennsylvania’s Little Juniata Fly Fishing Classic
SPRUCE CREEK, Penn. (June 24, 2008) – Bill Spicher and Delores Jennings were the top male and female winners in the Little Juniata Fly Fishing Classic June 20-22. But the real winners were those who hope to cure Cystic Fibrosis: approximately $73,000 was raised at the event, all proceeds that benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).
The Classic is part of the Redbone@Large Celebrity Tournament Series, and is one of approximately 30 Redbone Celebrity tournaments that are held each year, with all proceeds benefiting the CFF. Redbone events raised $1,568,000 in 2007 alone, and have raised more than $11 million in 20 years. Mercury Marine is the official outboard engine of the Redbone events.
Spicher, the men’s champion, earned 464 points at the event, and Jennings captured the women’s top honor with 57 points. Spicher also won the casting competition, with Bill Simpson finishing second.
In addition to his individual effort, Spicher teamed with Bob Montler to take top team honors with 586 points. The runner-up team of John Noesen and Mike Rothman finished with 504 points, and the third place team consisted of Jim Novinger and Tony Pascotti.
The largest rainbow was caught by Alan Carothers (26 inches) and Simpson snared the largest brown at 25 inches. Carothers won the lunker award.
Financial support from the Redbone events has allowed tournaments such as the 2008 Little Juniata Fly Fishing Classic help CFF make tremendous progress in the field of cystic fibrosis research and care. The median age of survival for a person with CF has improved from early childhood in the 1950s to 36.8 years today. Cystic fibrosis continues to be a critical health matter, however, as most individuals with the disease must battle chronic lung infections for their entire lives. At least one person dies from CF each day.
CFF’s mission is to assure the means to cure and control the genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 children and young adults in the United States.
Redbone founder Gary Ellis and his wife, Susan, have supported CFF for two decades, not only because of its innovative and effective research efforts, but also for a very personal reason: their daughter, Nicole, was diagnosed with CF as an infant in the mid-1980s. Nicole is now thriving in the corporate world of international marketing, and she has witnessed - first hand - the advances made in the treatment of the disease.
The seeds for the 2008 Little Juniata Fly Fishing Classic were planted in 1988, when anglers, fishing guides and sports celebrities organized a tournament in this Florida Keys village. The ground rules were simple – to win, the angler must catch and release at least one redfish and one bonefish.
The inaugural Islamorada event was a huge success, and spawned the “redbone” moniker. The current format of the individual tournaments includes freshwater, offshore and flats fishing.
The environments in which the Redbone events take place have played a critical role in their success. The Florida Keys, for instance, contain miles of clear flats with acres of turtle grass and marl, features that create a welcoming habitat and a diverse fishery that includes bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish and snook. Tournaments are also held in such diverse locations as Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Costa Rica, Pennsylvania, Ohio, the Bahamas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Louisiana.
Mercury Marine began its support of the Series in 1992, and for the two decades of Redbone’s existence, the collection of events has drawn the attention and support of big-name celebrities such as the late baseball great Ted Williams, baseball stars Mike Schmidt and Wade Boggs, football legends Boomer Esiason, Jim Kelly and Ken Stabler, and the late broadcasting icon Curt Gowdy.
For more information on the Redbone@Large Celebrity Tournament Series and/or the 2008 Little Juniata Fly Fishing Classic, visit on-line at www.redbone.org or call 305-664-2002 or 1-877-5-FISH-CF.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization committed to finding therapies and ultimately a cure for cystic fibrosis, and to improving the lives of those with the disease. For more information, visit www.cff.org.
CONTACT:
Steve Fleming
Communications Director
Mercury Marine
Phone: 920-929-5340
Fax: 920-926-2346
Email: steve_fleming@mercmarine.com
or
Gary Ellis
Redbone Foundation
Phone: 877-5-FISH-CF or 305-664-2002
Email: gredbone@bellsouth.net
