CHEROKEE, N.C. – A total of 332 anglers registered for the Tim Hill Memorial Fish Tournament on July 8-9 in Cherokee, N.C. and turned in 111 winning tags totaling $4,350 in prizes. Jeffrey D. Meyer, of Statesville, N.C., and Michael Hepp, of Asheville, N.C., both turned in white tags winning $500 each.
Jeffrey D. Meyer, of Statesville, N.C.; Tim Hill Memorial Fish Tournament $500 tag winner (EBCI Fisheries & Wildlife photos)
Michael Hepp, of Asheville, N.C.; Tim Hill Memorial $500 tag winner
A total of four blue tags ($100) were turned in as follows: Lonnie Byrd, N. Wilkesboro, N.C.; Gary Chaney, Rural Retreat, Va.; Allen Hubbard, Marion, Va.; and Derek Staton, Gainesville, Ga. Thirteen yellow tags were turned in at $50/each and 92 red tags were turned in at $25/each.
EBCI Fisheries & Wildlife Management officials said, “Firstly, congratulations to our winners! We want to thank all our anglers for joining us in celebrating the life of Tim Hill by entering this annual fish tournament. Tim was a long-time resident, and former employee of the EBCI Tribal Hatchery who left us too soon, and this tournament was named to honor his life, hard work, and dedication to the fish program.”
“The EBCI fish program begins scheduling the next years events in November each year and it takes months of planning and challenging work of dedicated staffing hours to provide the annual tournaments for anglers to enjoy and hopefully take home some cash prizes. Included is the planning, coordination of, and scheduling of weekly stocking routes and sites of all enterprise waters by the tribal hatchery staff.
“The Tribal Hatchery staff is like family, and they work year-round, no matter the weather, to raise and care for the famous trout Cherokee is known for and stocked within the 30 miles of rivers, streams, and ponds of the Qualla Boundary. Regardless of whether it is freezing outside in the winter months, sweltering hot in the summer, or cool and pleasant during spring and fall, the hatchery staff are out there daily and dedicate themselves to providing this great service to all of us. Tim was part of that family and will be remembered fondly.”
The next tagged fish tournament is set for Aug. 28-29. To register, visit fishcherokee.com.
- EBCI Fisheries & Wildlife Management release
