Santas fish to benefit Toys for Tots

Santa has traded in his sleigh for a fishing boat. And he brought some friends along.

A group of 300 fisherman gathered at Lake Norman in North Carolina to set a world record and benefit a great cause all at the same time. The anglers all dressed up as Santa Claus in the first ever Ugly Stik World’s Largest Santa Claus Bass Tournament benefiting Toys for Tots.

Fishing rod company Ugly Stik posted about the tournament on their Facebook page. They said, “Fun fact: Santa Claus loves gettin’ after some Bass before Christmas time!”

Participants in the tournament donated an estimated $15,000-plus worth of new toys to Toys for Tots. The donations will help make Christmas possible for area children, the company said.

Jon Schlosser, Ugly Stik vice president of marketing, told 3 WBTV this event was important to help get people in the Christmas mood in the middle of a pandemic.

“This year especially, we felt people needed an event like this one,” he told the news station. “It’s hard to see so many Santas in one place and have a bad time. We’re excited by the turnout and proud to own the world record but we’re even more excited to help bring Christmas to so many kids who might not otherwise have one this year.”

Anglers Scott Hamrick and Roger Hoover won top Santa and took home a $5,000 prize with a 15.07-pound bag of bass, the company said on Facebook. They thanked everyone who came out dressed as Santa to support a great cause.

If you like this idea and want to host a tournament similar to this one, you can use Connect Leaderboard, our fishing tournament management software. It provides a great platform to fit all your needs.

Connect Leaderboard allows users to create and host tournaments quickly. The innovative software comes with everything you need to get started.