Annual Gabby Camp and Tournament Postponed
“The Gabby Hayes Memorial Trout Fishing Tournament,” one of the longest-running fishing camp tournaments in Potter County, if not the state of Pennsylvania, has been postponed indefinitely over concerns about the COVID-19 virus.
Every year since 1975, members of the Gabby Hayes Camp have pitched tents on state forestland in Kettle Creek Valley and fished Kettle Creek on the opening weekend of trout season. The Gabby tournament debuted in 1976, when a trophy dedicated to Gabby Hayes was first awarded for the largest trout caught by a Gabby Camp fishermen on opening day. This year would have been the 45th annual, invitational tournament. Usually, about a dozen to 20 Gabby Guys turn out.
In a statement announcing the postponement, Gabby Founder Dane Konop wrote, “We are taking this unhappy but necessary step to safeguard the health and well being of all Gabby Guys and our families, as well as our year-round-resident friends in Kettle Creek Valley.”
The Founder’s recommendation to postpone was based on advice from last year’s champion Mike Ondovik and the Gabby COVID-19 Response Team, among others.
The Gabby COVID-19 Response Team included Founder Emeritus Dr. Paul Phillips, Acting Chief of Gabby Camp Emergency Medical Services Michael Shanks, GabbyHayes.net Webmaster Mark O. Bedont, Gabby Elder Byron M. Anderson, public information consultant Keith Robinson and senior, active law enforcement advisor Drew Rose.
The Elder Anderson may have summed up best the determination to keep the Gabby spirit alive through this terrible pandemic. He wrote, “The Gabby bond is an uncommonly strong one. It’s in many ways a familial one. We’ll get through this Covid Gabby. Then we’ll fish.”
“The Gabby Hayes Memorial Trout Fishing Tournament,” one of the longest-running fishing camp tournaments in Potter County, if not the state of Pennsylvania, has been postponed indefinitely over concerns about the COVID-19 virus.
Every year since 1975, members of the Gabby Hayes Camp have pitched tents on state forestland in Kettle Creek Valley and fished Kettle Creek on the opening weekend of trout season. The Gabby tournament debuted in 1976, when a trophy dedicated to Gabby Hayes was first awarded for the largest trout caught by a Gabby Camp fishermen on opening day. This year would have been the 45th annual, invitational tournament. Usually, about a dozen to 20 Gabby Guys turn out.
In a statement announcing the postponement, Gabby Founder Dane Konop wrote, “We are taking this unhappy but necessary step to safeguard the health and well being of all Gabby Guys and our families, as well as our year-round-resident friends in Kettle Creek Valley.”
The Founder’s recommendation to postpone was based on advice from last year’s champion Mike Ondovik and the Gabby COVID-19 Response Team, among others.
The Gabby COVID-19 Response Team included Founder Emeritus Dr. Paul Phillips, Acting Chief of Gabby Camp Emergency Medical Services Michael Shanks, GabbyHayes.net Webmaster Mark O. Bedont, Gabby Elder Byron M. Anderson, public information consultant Keith Robinson and senior, active law enforcement advisor Drew Rose.
The Elder Anderson may have summed up best the determination to keep the Gabby spirit alive through this terrible pandemic. He wrote, “The Gabby bond is an uncommonly strong one. It’s in many ways a familial one. We’ll get through this Covid Gabby. Then we’ll fish.”
