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posted in: General

April 1, 2015

Critter Madness highlight reel: Fur, fins and feathers will fly

This is it. The field is set. After 32 species have scratched and clawed their way through three rounds, we have our four regional champions.

After edging out a crowded field that included the mallard, the pheasant, and the sharp-tailed grouse, the wild turkey emerged as our avian representative in the Final Four. The elk easily steamrolled the competition in the first three rounds and has emerged victorious as the big game hunting champion. The brook trout continues to shock the world, upsetting the rainbow trout and writing another chapter in its underdog story. And the chinook salmon outmuscled the yellowfin tuna to claim its place atop the saltwater fishing division.

> > Click here to play Critter Madness! < <

Now, these heavyweights, unencumbered by divisional foes, face off in unfamiliar habitats. What happens when bird meets beast? Will the elk continue to dominate, or will the battle-tested gobblers emerge as America’s favorite hunt?

And how brackish will things get on the aquatic side of the bracket? The brook trout has certainly fought in a heavier weight class before, but can it hang with the King?

To celebrate each of our divisional champions, we’re giving away another prize. Congratulations to Dee Jolley of Colorado Springs, Colo., the proud new owner of an Abu Garcia Orra SX Low Profile baitcasting combo.

At 12:01 AM Eastern on Friday, April 3, the winners advance, and we’ll give away our Final Four prize: a Yeti Tundra 45 cooler, customized with the TRCP logo. So don’t miss out. Enter to win, vote for your favorite game animal or fish, and see which two species make it to the championship.

Want other updates from the tournament? Check out our round 1 recap here and our round two recap here.

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by:

posted in: General

Critter Madness highlight reel: Fur, fins and feathers will fly

This is it. The field is set. After 32 species have scratched and clawed their way through three rounds, we have our four regional champions.

After edging out a crowded field that included the mallard, the pheasant, and the sharp-tailed grouse, the wild turkey emerged as our avian representative in the Final Four. The elk easily steamrolled the competition in the first three rounds and has emerged victorious as the big game hunting champion. The brook trout continues to shock the world, upsetting the rainbow trout and writing another chapter in its underdog story. And the chinook salmon outmuscled the yellowfin tuna to claim its place atop the saltwater fishing division.

> > Click here to play Critter Madness! < <

Now, these heavyweights, unencumbered by divisional foes, face off in unfamiliar habitats. What happens when bird meets beast? Will the elk continue to dominate, or will the battle-tested gobblers emerge as America’s favorite hunt?

And how brackish will things get on the aquatic side of the bracket? The brook trout has certainly fought in a heavier weight class before, but can it hang with the King?

To celebrate each of our divisional champions, we’re giving away another prize. Congratulations to Dee Jolley of Colorado Springs, Colo., the proud new owner of an Abu Garcia Orra SX Low Profile baitcasting combo.

At 12:01 AM Eastern on Friday, April 3, the winners advance, and we’ll give away our Final Four prize: a Yeti Tundra 45 cooler, customized with the TRCP logo. So don’t miss out. Enter to win, vote for your favorite game animal or fish, and see which two species make it to the championship.

Want other updates from the tournament? Check out our round 1 recap here and our round two recap here.

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posted in: General

March 30, 2015

Critter Madness fan prediction: Yellowfin for it all

Image courtesy of Brett Fitzgerald.

Brett Fitzgerald from West Palm Beach, Fla., was selected as the second-round winner in our Critter Madness bracket challenge, and we sent him a shiny new pair of Costa shades to wear the next time he goes out fishing for snook. He knows a thing or two about Atlantic Coast fish—Brett is the southeast regional director for the Snook & Gamefish Foundation, where we’re lucky enough to work with him on conservation policy—but will his beloved saltwater species represent in the final round of Critter Madness?

TRCP: Brett, what did you think of the upset action in the first two rounds?

BF: You know, I really thought one of the bass would take the whole tournament, just because they have the broadest appeal. And I figured that people who fish for both would probably favor the smallmouth. But since the brook trout beat them both, it’s hard to say how things will turn out. This isn’t like picking a college basketball team—this is important stuff! For what it’s worth, I remember the first brookie I ever caught more than 40 years ago. It was tiny, I used a fly out of my grandpa’s flybox, and I’ve probably told the story a hundred times. I can’t say that about my first bass.

TRCP: Do you think the brookie will win it all?

BF: I do think the winner will be a fish, but the yellowfin tuna is going to pull it out. It’s an underdog, too.

Congratulations to Brett, and best of luck to his Critter Madness picks for the Final Four.

Vote now for your chance to win prizes from Abu Garcia, Remington, and Yeti.

Check out some other fan predictions here.

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posted in: General

March 26, 2015

Critter Madness Highlight Reel: Gobblers strut to a win

Make no mistake. Round two of Critter Madness 2015 was a nail-biter. Three of the eight matches were decided by only a handful of votes.

Yellowfin v. tarpon went down to the wire, with the tuna barely advancing with 52.5% percent of the vote. The mallard narrowly escaped an upset scare at the hands of the sharp-tailed grouse and advanced to the field of eight with 53.4% of the vote. And, after a match-up with record turnout and multiple lead changes, the wild turkey outlasted the pheasant in a true knock-down, drag-out fight.

Ali vs Fraiser. Lakers vs Celtics. USA vs the Soviets. And pheasant vs turkeys.

Of course, it wasn’t always close. After taking down the largemouth bass, the smallmouth bass was no match for the brook trout’s Cinderella run. Chinook salmon easily upset our saltwater fishing favorite, the blue marlin, 71.6% to 28.4%. And while we know westerners love their mule deer, it’s pretty clear that they love elk even more.

Now, it’s time for America to determine its regional champions. By the end of the day on Monday, we’ll know America’s favorite big game species, game bird, and saltwater and freshwater fish.

On the terrestrial side, we have a match-up of heavy-weights. Two staples of North American game, the whitetail and the elk, will lock antlers to see who will take home the title of America’s favorite big game species. The mallard and the turkey will face off, beak-to-beak, for the chance to be the avian representative in the Sportsmen’s Four.

While favorites have dominated on land, the aquatic bracket is wide open. Will the brook trout continue its Cinderella story to be our freshwater champion or will the rainbow trout leave the upset bid in its wake? In a matchup of two of America’s hardest hitters, will king salmon or yellowfin tuna emerge as your favorite saltwater game fish?

The stakes are higher now so we’re upping our prizes. Brett Fitzgerald of Florida won our second round prize, a brand new pair of Costa Sunglasses. For the round three, we’re going even bigger. On the March 30, we’ll draw our next winner and they’ll go home with a Abu Garcia Orra SX Low Profile baitcasting combo.

Choose America’s favorite game animal AND win this cool stuff? Now that’s what I’m talking about…

We’re giving out trophies soon, and as American sportsmen and women, you’re on the selection committee. What will you decide?

Log on to crittermadness.org today, cast your votes, and register to win some great prizes.

Looking for updates from earlier in the tournament? Check out our round one recap here or check out our tournament preview here.

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posted in: General

March 25, 2015

Critter Madness fan prediction: Elk will go all the way

Josh Grieser from Colorado Springs, Colo., was selected as the first winner of our Critter Madness bracket challenge, and we sent him some great gear from Orvis, Buck Knives, and Berkley. He plans to use his prizes on his next trip to Eleven Mile Canyon on the South Platte River, where he’s pictured here fishing for brown trout.

Josh Grieser fishing the South Platte River.

TRCP: Josh, which species do you see going all the way in our Critter Madness Tournament?

JG: I think Critter Madness is a great idea, and I think that elk are going to take the whole thing. I’d definitely like to see steelhead make it pretty far, because I’m originally from the Pacific Northwest and grew up fishing for them, but elk are high on every hunter’s list. I bet, across the country, almost everyone who likes to hunt would love a shot at a big bull at least once in their lifetime.

TRCP: Does that include you?

JG: Oh, yeah! My wife and I recently got into bowhunting for elk, and we’ve got a pretty intense off-season training regimen going, so we’ll be prepared to stalk in close. I love that, especially with archery, you really have to work for it and put in the miles. We’re also planning to put in for our first mule deer tag this year.

Congratulations, Josh, and we hope you have great hunting and fishing this year!

Vote now for your chance to win prizes from Abu Garcia, Remington, and Yeti.

Want to read more fan predictions? Check out Brett Fitzgerald’s picks here.

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