Tournament luring anglers in the fight against hunger
DANVERS — Six years ago, Leo Almeida decided to start a striped bass fishing tournament to benefit area food pantries.
He died Aug. 10, 2003, at age 69, less than a month before the first line in the tournament was cast, his widow, Betty, said.
"So my kids were going around like crazy," she said, "trying to get everything lined up."
Leo Almeida's daughter, Amy, is back again running the Leo Almeida Memorial North Shore Striped Bass Tournament this Labor Day weekend in memory of her father. Leo was not only an avid fisherman who taught his kids and others to fish, but a longtime Finance Committee and Town Meeting member.
Donations have allowed the tournament to tackle its main mission of fighting hunger, Amy said, by taking care of the prize money.
"All proceeds from entry fees go to local food pantries," she said.
The pantries being helped are the People to People Food Pantry in Danvers, the Cape Ann Pantry in Gloucester and Our Neighbor's Table in Amesbury. The tournament has raised $19,000 to fight hunger in five years.
"This year, (the pantries) are going to need the help more than ever," Amy said.
Adults fishing from boats or from the surf/shore can each win a first prize of $500 for the heaviest fish and $300 and $150 for second- and third-place entries.
There is a youth prize of $100, and there are at least 30 raffle prizes in all.
Anyone who bests the tournament record for netting the largest fish will get an extra $100.
Anglers can fish in the waters off Essex County from the New Hampshire border to Lynn and Nahant.
Their stripers will be weighed at various weigh stations. About 750 people in all have participated over the past five years, Amy said, and about 300 people cast for striped bass in the tournament each year.
