Hello from Wachapreague!

As I type this letter, the Eastern Shore is experiencing some of the coldest days we have had in at least a couple of years. Although it is not unheard of to have days in the “teens”, it certainly doesn’t make for an enjoyable time outdoors unless, like me, you love duck hunting!

A couple of notable projects here at the restaurant include putting in a bulkhead across our boat ramp and creating nine smaller boat slips along with an all-new floating dock on the south end of our marina, further enabling us to host small and mid-sized boats, providing easier ingress and egress for boaters. We are very excited to offer both transient boats and year-long slip holders a new and better option for docking! Contact Debbie (formally Shrieves- yes, she got married!) Fisher at 757-710-2817 for details on slips available both for the tournament and annually if you are a local to the Eastern Shore.

With 428 anglers registered last year, the tournament went very well and we look forward to having you all back this year.

Our tournament pay-outs this year include a $5000 top prize. Second place will pay out $1000, and third place will bring in $500.

As in years past, we will be offering a $500 “Junior Angler” prize for the heaviest fish caught by a participant 12 and under. If you know of any kids you can get into the sport of fishing, we would love to see them come out for the tournament! In addition, we will be awarding a $500 prize to the heaviest fish caught by a female participant. Furthermore, if you are a resident of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, we will be awarding a “Locals” award of a $150 Island House Restaurant gift card to the heaviest fish caught by a local. Of course, if any of the winners in these sub-categories also catch the heaviest overall fish for the tournament, then it simply sweetens the tournament for them. Our goal is to reach out to and promote fishing to as many potential anglers as possible while also reaching out to the next generation of anglers.

If you have three generations of anglers participating in the tournament and come into the restaurant to eat, we would like to continue offering a 15% discount to your family each time you dine with us during the tournament.

We will also be doing our cookout in the parking lot on the first Saturday of the tournament again this year. In the event of weather or an off-premise event prohibiting us from doing the cookout on the first Saturday, then we will try to let everyone know when they pick up their shirts. The cookout is free for entrants and $10 for non-participants. Wristbands for the cookout will be handed out to tournament participants when you come get your t-shirt.

All of us at The Island House Restaurant and Trident Tackle in Wachapreague appreciate EVERYONE who makes our annual flounder tournament a priority for them each year, and we look forward to seeing you on April 27th.