8th Annual Musky in the Mountains Tournament, presented by Bondy Bait Co.

 


WOW , 8 YEARS!!! 

WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE

THE 8th ANNUAL MUSKY IN THE MOUNTAINS TOURNAMENT,

Presented by
Bondy Bait Company 


 

Dates- Oct 5 & 6, 2024

REGISTER AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE:

We have made the decision to drop the entry fee from $320 to $250. We thought this was a good call with the current economical situation with everything costing more, especially fuel. So hopefully this will help all the teams out and encourage more teams to fish. The entry fee is now $250 Per Boat. The final cut off date to register will be September 30, 2024. 

TOURNAMENT CODE

As of 7:30PM October  4,  2024 the  bump board sticker location will be named just below. * You should receive 3 Red October Stickers in the mail. You will use 2 Saturday, and 1 more Sunday.  Saturday will have a sticker location, and Sunday will have a new sticker location:

Sticker locations is on the bottom of the board,  covering the  __"___ inch ___"______ inch marks. Save the other sticker for Sunday. 

FISHING HOURS:

7AM-5PM Saturday. 

7AM- 1 PM Sunday. 


 

We are also proud to partner with the following sponsors to make this tournament a success here in the mountain state. A BIG THANK YOU to:

 

(RULES & REGS below, check out all of the tournament sponsors and then keep scrolling!) 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

                  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

  

 


 

 

 

 

 

  


 

 


 

 

 


 

 

 

2017 Musky in the Mountains winning fish. 1st Place & Big fish. 

Angler: Jason Ritchie   Net Man: Darrel Seasor

* Caught on a Bondy Bait Co. original jig

 

2018 BIG FISH Winner, Tim Sylvester II 

Amber & Hayes Lilly headed to the banquet in 2018. Hayes 1st MITM! 

 

Joel Miller with 2019 BIG Fish, also 2nd Place finish. 

2019 Top 5 Finishers

Check back for more details and updates as we get closer to the tournament.  

Here is a look at what this event will look like
Lengthy, but please take the time to read this: 

Rules and Regs -








2 anglers max per boat. 2 Rods/2 baits in the water at one time per boat. No umbrella rigs or any other creative way to run multiple baits on a rod. You can have other rods in the boat, but only two active rods in the water. You can fish solo, but you will be against the teams. Anglers can fish from the bank, a kayak, a boat etc. But the team members must be together while fishing. That is the reason for  the shared bump board. We are just doing everything we possibly can to keep everyone on a level playing field, and fair as possible. This would keep teams from possibly using 2 boats and covering twice the water. 
  • One bump board shared per team. This is important later, as we will be mailing out a sticker that goes on each bump board, and on a specific inch mark of the board. The placement and color will be announced Friday October 4,   between 7:30-8:00 pm. You need to BRING YOUR bump board with you to check in Sunday, especially if you think you have placed top 5. Sticker color and placement will be sent out via email, posted to the Figureight Musky Gear Facebook Page, IG, and also posted here on the website at the very top of this page. 
  • The Bump board- The bump board must have one end closed off for the muskies nose to be against. It can be a homemade board, (We recommend a board from Muskie Bumper or order a custom F8 board here on our site which is made for us by Muskie Bumper.) Again you do have to bring the board to check in with you. (If you decide to do an electronic check in, we will post details on how to confirm the bump board being true measurements.) We will look for the sticker and measure your board to confirm it is 100% legit. We like to think most are honest, but people do crazy things when money is involved. Note- * If you have Muskie Bumper or similar folding board, make sure it is completely flat for the photo. Any board that is "kinked" in the photo, that fish will be docked minus 10 points. The reason for this is, if the board is accidentally kinked some at the "fold" in the board, that gains you about an inch or more. So just be aware of this rule. Any kink at all, and it is minus 10 points. 

THE TWO THINGS THAT WILL DQ YOUR TEAM:

  • PHOTO #1 - of the angler with the musky and the angler together. No code this year in the hero photo.  NO EXCEPTIONS made. Example below:

  • PHOTO #2 - of the fish on the bump board with bump board stickers visible. and musky visible from head to tail. NO EXCEPTIONS made. Tail pinch is legal. ALL of the musky and the stickers visible in the photo. *We have changed the rule this year, just the stickers in the bump board picture. No code necessary in the bump board photo. This is so we can get quicker photos and a quicker release.  If ONE INCH of the muskies head or tail is not in the photo, it is a DQ on that fish. NO exceptions. Period, this rule WILL NOT be flexible at all. We are trying to make the rules clear to avoid any issues. Example below:

  • So in short- 2 photos of EACH musky. One on the board with the stickers visible.  Another photo of the angler with the fish.
  • Casting and Trolling are both allowed. No live bait. Again, ONLY 2 RODS in the water at any time, trolling included. 
  •  Scoring will be on a points system. 10 Points for a 30 inch musky. For every 1/4" after the first 30 inches, you will get 1 additional point.. Example, a 35 inch fish would yield 30 points. A 35 1/4" musky would yield 31 points. Size matters, example 44" = 66 points, 50" musky = 90 points!  So at the end of both days, the points will be calculated. The teams with the most points will win and so on down to 5th. Big fish award is for the single biggest musky landed. Any water in West Virginia is open for fishing. You DO NOT have to be a WV resident to enter. Make a road trip and come fish the Mountain State! * In the event of a tie, the fish time stamped the earliest will be the tie breaker. 
  • You do have to be INSIDE the state lines of West Virginia. We are getting several inquiries about the Potomac River. The Potomac makes part of our state line, so that section would be legal, or any section that runs inside of the state. To insure everyone stays in state lines, please have your "location services" turned on your cell phone settings. This should stamp your location on all photos taken. This will only be reviewed if you place and will only be seen by the judges.  Again, we think 99% of people are honest, but we are just trying to cover all bases to avoid any issues or unnecessary drama.
  • Saturday fishing hours:  7AM - 5PM.  Sunday Fishing hours:  7AM - 1PM. (All photos must be time stamped during fishing hours each day.)
  • Check in and banquet will be at Stonewall Resort at Stonewall Jackson Lake. 

 

  • A call in/text photo is how we will be logging fish in. The photo must be time stamped within legal fishing hours of the tournament   Please Text photos to 304.673.8291 
  • CALL IN YOUR MUSKY ASAP - 304.673.8291 At the end of fishing day 1, if your team caught a legal musky/muskies, you must call/text in your day  catches. This needs done by 6PM on Saturday October 7. (Photo must be time stamped by 5:00PM) If you fail to do this, your fish will not be registered/scored.Same thing goes for Day 2, CALL/TEXT in your photo by 2PM. (Photo must be time stamped by 1PM) Here is the BEST BET. As soon as your team catches a fish, take two minutes and call 304.673.8291. We will log it in for you immediately. Then you can text the photo once you hang up. If you don't have service, just be sure to do it before the cut off times. 
  • Lets talk cash money! (See next bullet point for final payout this year.) We like to be transparent and open. Here is the money breakdown. 80% paid back to the anglers. The remaining 20% is used to host the best tournament and banquet that we possibly can. Feeding hungry musky hunters is not cheap, plus venue, banners,  trophies, supplies, etc. We do not host tournaments to make a bunch of money,  but we are a business and do not want to go in the hole on a tournament either. Cash payout and trophies to top 5 Teams. 

 

  • 2024 payout will be announced 09/30/24. 2023 Payout looked like this: We ended up with 21 teams this year, down from last years 30. We also lowered the entry by $70 this year, but the payout is still strong and very similar to 2022. This year we will only pay 3 deep. Here is the payout for October 8,2023:  1st Place- $1600  2nd Place- $1400  3rd Place- $1200      - Big Fish is $200 this year. F8 pays $100 and Rick Hoover of RedMan Builders pays another $100. Top 5 will receive trophies., but again only paying 3 deep due to the team entries being down. The angler with big fish, will also receive a trophy. 
  • FOOD is still being determined, but we will be feeding you.  We are leaning on using the BBQ cater from 2021 & 2022.  We will have coolers with soda and water.  Feel free to bring your own cooler if you would like an adult beverage. We are unable to serve any due to liability reasons. Looks like we will be at the picnic shelter area right on the lake. (Same as the last 4 years) This is just across from the main resort. It is about a 5-6 minute walk if you take the foot bridge just outside the front door. If you are facing the front door from outside, this would be over to your right. You will see the bridge to cross the water. Or coming from the front gate, you just hang your first right after the guard shack. Huge parking lot over there so boats will easily fit. We will have sponsor banners up as well. 

We are going to try and do a bait raffle table this year! Time to bring that puppy back, it will be the first one since Covid. 

We are getting a large box of Bondy's and Red Octobers, anyone who makes it to the banquet will receive baits. If you do not make it, I will ship them to you if you contact me and cover the shipping cost which would be about $7. 










We are going try and run on this time schedule:  

Please feel free to arrive anytime after 1PM. 
  • 2:00 -3:00 , eat, share war stories. 
  • 3:00- 3:30- Awards Top 3 teams &, Big Fish

 

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE AS OF SEPTEMBER 30

Enter the tournament with link below, PLEASE make certain you enter both team members full names in the comment section when you checkout. 

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at The 8th Annual Musky in the Mountains Tournament, presented by Bondy Bait Company.  Tight lines and may the musky find their way to your bags! 

-Brandon, Amber, Hayes, & Shay Lilly 

 

 

8th Annual Musky in the Mountains- Registration
8th Annual Musky in the Mountains- Registration
$ 250
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