The 2015 El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament was GREAT!

The 2015 El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament is in the books!  Lots of drama for this year’s event but in the end, Allen Hodges and crew took home the grand prize of a 2015 Carolina Skiff JVX 18 center console with a 60 horse Mercury motor on a Magic Tilt trailer and various other prizes by weighing in a 9.49 pound Sheepshead.  Second place went to Corey Williams with a 9.29 pound fish. Corey won a Carolina Skiff JV 15 TH with a 25 horse Mercury motor on a Magic Tilt trailer.  3rd place was taken by Kongphet Saysavanh with a 9.25 pound fish.  He won a 15’ Gheenoe with a 4 horse motor on a galvanized trailer. Alton Robey took 4th place honors and won a week-long vacation in Costa Rica plus $1,000.00 cash.  His fish weighed 9.2 pounds.  Rounding up the top finishers, Louis Joseph took 5th place and won $750 cash with a 9.19 pound fish.  Cash prizes were ordered through 15th place.  A total of 352 boats were entered in the Tournament with 90 of them weighing fish.
In the Junior Angler Division, Garrett Vilett took top honors with an 8.14 pound fish.  Ryan J Miller took second with an 8.11 followed very closely by Dalton Conner in third place with an 8.09 fish.  Prizes for the juniors were also awarded through 15th place.  A total of a 109 junior anglers fished with 26 of them weighing in.  
A potential tournament record-breaking 13.42 pound Sheepshead was weighed but later disqualified for violation of Tournament rules.

The El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament presented by the Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing Club is held annually the last full weekend in February and is one of the most popular fishing tournaments in the Southeast with its family friendly atmosphere, low cost entry fee and amazing price structure.  For more information, please check out our Facebook page at ‘El Cheapo’ or the Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing Club’s website at www.jaxfish.comWelcome to the “World’s Largest Sheepshead Tournament” and one of the largest Fishing Tournaments in the Nation! — the 15th annual  El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament!

Through a strong commitment from the entire community that supports what the J.O.S.F.C. is all about, and the dedicated efforts of many club volunteers, we’ve been able to put together an incredible prize structure again for this year’s event.  Boasting combined purse and prizes of over $100,000.00 and paying out 15 places in both the General and Junior Angler division, this truly has become one of the best fishing tournaments in the entire South.

The Tournament was held on February 21, 2015.

This year’s grand prize was a Carolina Skiff JVX 18 Center Console with a 60 HP Mercury 4 stroke on a Magic Tilt trailer.  

Prizes will also be awarded through 15th place in the Junior Angler Division.

Be sure to check back here or on our Facebook page (El Cheapo) for updates, sponsor announcements, photos and more!

I look forward to seeing all of you at the tournament next year and thank you for supporting the J.O.S.F.C. and making the el Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament such a great event.

Frank Joura
El Cheapo Tournament Director

Prospective Sponsors

The Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing Club’s 15th Annual “El Cheapo” Sheepshead Tournament out of the Mayport Public Boat Ramp at Mike Scanlan Park will be held on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015.

This event is the major fundraiser for our organization for the year.  Through the tremendous support of our sponsors, this tournament has become the “Largest Sheepshead Tournament in the World” and one of the largest fishing tournaments in the United States!  Over the past several years, the tournament has grown to nearly 2000 visitors at the tournament site with over 450 participating fishing teams at the 2 day event.  The Junior Angler Division features over 150 kids participating.  The appeal of a family friendly low cost tournament has created a huge following of participants and supporters.  We have received extensive positive regional and statewide media coverage, as well as internet exposure that extends far beyond the local fishing community.

There are 5 levels of sponsorship that drive this event:
Presenting Sponsors; 3 boat, motor and trailer packages, then cash for a total of 15 prizes.
Junior Angler Sponsors; 15 prize items and cash of any amount specifically earmarked for the Junior Angler Division.
Platinum level; over $500.00 in cash, merchandise, or equivalent value.
Gold level; $250.00-$500.00 in cash, merchandise, or equivalent value.
Silver level; under $250.00 in cash, merchandise, or equivalent value.

We are presently soliciting merchandise or cash donations that will be used for prizes, trophies, and raffles during the weigh-in and awards presentation.  The money raised from the event will be used for various activities throughout the year that our club facilitates, including artificial reef management, educational, boating, and safety seminars.  The J.O.S.F.C. is a 501(c)(7) non-profit organization.  Portions of the proceeds of this year’s event will be donated to the City of Jacksonville Reef Building Program, Mayport Magnet Elementary Coastal Science Academy, T.I.S.I.R.I. Reef Building Project and the Hook the Future Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to help kids through fishing.  

As a sponsor, we promote your business in several formats.  Your business name will be on the 5,000 brochures we distribute prior to the event as well as on our “on-site” banners at the Tournament.  Your name and logo will be on our “sponsor’s page” of the J.O.S.F.C. website and will be linked directly to your website.  The sponsor page stays up year round.  Last year our website received over 225,000 unique hits.  The Tournament and its sponsors are also promoted on Facebook – we’ve got over 1,300 ‘friends’ who get updates and tournament information on a regular basis from December through the end of February.  We also stuff 500 Captains bags and 200 Junior Angler bags and will gladly insert any promo items or informational flyers or brochures you may have for your business.  There are other promotional opportunities as well including on-site displays, additional banner placement and more.

The link to our website is: www.jaxfish.com  You can also find us on Facebook by searching ‘El Cheapo’.  I’d encourage you to take a few minutes and browse through the albums of the captains meeting, fishing action, weigh-in, and awards ceremony to get a feel for the event and an idea of the exposure our sponsors receive.

I would be more than happy to discuss with you further the sponsorship and promotional opportunities available and answer any questions you may have regarding the tournament.  Please contact me at (904) 465-4552, or E-mail at:  FJoura@bellsouth.net.  We appreciate your generosity and support.
    
Sincerely,

Frank Joura
El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament Director