Official Rules - Take a Friend Fishing Contest

These rules (the “Official Rules”) govern your participation in the “Take a Friend Fishing” Contest, which awards prizes to “mentors” (“you” or “entrant”) and new or former anglers (“mentees”) who they take out fishing and share their experience with a photo and brief message. Please read these Official Rules carefully before submitting your entry. If you do not agree to the terms of these Official Rules, you should not enter. Participation constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and DEEP decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest.

Eligibility:

The “Take a Friend Fishing” Contest (the “Contest”) is being held by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Fisheries Division (“DEEP”) 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106.

The Contest is open only to anglers who commit to safely mentoring an eligible new or former angler in Connecticut from April 11, 2020 to February 28, 2021.  Mentoring for this Contest must include taking the mentee fishing at least once.

The mentor must also submit one digital image from their experience along with a narrative of 100 words or less written by the mentor or mentee.  The image must be original, but does not have to include the mentor, mentee, or fish. Top candidates will include a photo/narrative that inspires mentors and mentees alike with a unique perspective and authentic, engaging words.

Mentors must be at least 16 years of age or older at the time of entry and must hold a valid 2020 Connecticut fishing license (the “fishing license”). Mentors must have had a Connecticut fishing license before the start of the contest.  Mentees must also be 16 or older at time of entry and hold a valid 2020 Connecticut fishing license. Mentees must also either have:

1) Never had a fishing license until 2020,

2) Not had a fishing license in the past five consecutive years (i.e., since 2015).

Both individuals must follow Connecticut fishing rules and regulations; this includes possession of all appropriate licenses. Employees of DEEP and their immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee, are not eligible.

No purchase necessary to enter. A purchase or payment of any kind will not increase chances of winning.

Contest Duration:

Registration opens April 11, 2020 and will remain open until midnight February 28, 2021.

How to enter:

To enter the Contest, you first must register online. To register, participants (both mentor and mentee) must provide first and last name, email, phone number, and CID number (printed on all Connecticut fishing licenses). Mentors can enter as many mentees as desired during the Contest duration, but are eligible to win only one prize.  

Winner selection:

Photo/narrative submissions will be reviewed and winners chosen three times during the Contest. The selection times are: July 31st, October 31st, and February 28th. All eligible submissions will remain in the Contest until February 28th unless selected as a winner. All winners will be notified by email or phone by March 31st, 2021.

Prizes:

Prizes will be awarded after each selection period to winners of the photo/narrative competition. Below is a working list of sponsors that have committed to donating a prize.

All Winners: A free fishing trip with rod and reel rental on the Black Hawk, a $50 Cabela's gift card from the East Hartford Cabela's store, and a family fishing package (five rods and reels, lures, PowerBait, and a copy of the "Pictorial Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Connecticut") from the Connecticut DEEP Fisheries Division's CARE Program. 

July 31st Winners: Two four-hour fishing kayak rentals from Blackhall Outfitters and two Orvis Hats and Silipints from the Orvis Darien Store.

October 31st Winners: Private two hour fly casting/fishing lesson for two from FFI certified instructor Ray Ramos of Brackish Waters Fly Fishing.

February 28th Winners: Full Reddington fly fishing outfit (rod, reel, backing, fly line, and leader) from The Compleat Angler and a private two hour fly casting/fishing lesson for two from FFI certified instructor Ray Ramos of Brackish Waters Fly Fishing.

All prizes are non-transferable. No substitution may be made except as provided. The winner is responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use

General rules:

1. Winning is contingent upon compliance with these Official Rules, including rules regarding eligibility for participation. Potential winners may be required to sign and return to DEEP, within 10 days of the date notice is sent, an affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release in order to claim a prize.
2. DEEP reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest if necessary for any reason, including but not limited to non-compliance with these Official Rules, fraud or technical reasons including computer viruses, bugs, tampering, or any other technical failures. DEEP assumes no liability for lost, late, illegible, incomplete, or misdirected entries or for any problem with internet connection or technical problems that might hinder the ability of any person to enter the Contest. DEEP is not liable for typographical errors in these Official Rules or other promotional materials relating to the Contest.
3. In the event of a dispute, the holder of the established email account with the account registered with DEEP shall be deemed the entrant. If the potential winner cannot be contacted by email or phone, or does not respond within ten (10) calendar days, or a notification is returned as undeliverable due to invalid email and/or phone number, such potential winner forfeits all rights to any prize, and an alternate winner may be selected.
4. DEEP does not provide any warranty with respect to the prize. If a prize becomes unavailable for any reason, DEEP may substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Winners are solely responsible for reporting and payment of any taxes on prizes.
5. By accepting a prize, you consent to DEEP’s use and publication of your name, hometown, likeness, photograph, voice, and statements in any media without further compensation or other consideration. Such use may be for editorial, public relations, promotional, or advertising purposes, or any other legal purpose as deemed reasonable by DEEP.
6. An entrant is not a winner of any prize, unless and until entrant’s eligibility and compliance with the official rules have been verified and entrant has been notified that verification is complete. DEEP will not accept screen shots or other evidence of winning in lieu of its validation process. Any entry that occurs after DEEP’s computer system has been compromised or failed for any reason is deemed a defective entry, is void and will not be honored. Participants are verified by the DEEP confirming the mentor and their mentee have a valid 2020 fishing license and that the mentee meets eligibility rules.
7. By entering the Contest, you release and hold harmless DEEP, prize providers, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property or technology, arising out of participation in the Contest, including the receipt, use, or misuse of any prize.
8. Entrant shall defend, indemnify and hold DEEP, its officers, directors, agents, employees, affiliates, and customers harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, costs and damages (including attorneys’ fees) arising from or in connection with any breach of these Official Rules, and agrees that DEEP will have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, or damages due to entrant’s acts, omissions, or breaches of these terms. In no way and no event will DEEP be liable for any indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages with respect to any and all claims arising from or related to Entrant’s participation in this Contest.
9. The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors, or errors in equipment or programming used in association with the execution of the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; or (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries. If for any reason an entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Contest. If it is not possible to award another entry due to discontinuance of the Contest, or any part of it, for any reason, DEEP, at its discretion, may elect to hold a random drawing from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered herein. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In the event that production, technical, seeding, programming or any other reasons cause more than the stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, DEEP reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes among all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims.
10. These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of the Contest will be resolved in the state and federal courts, and all parties consent to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of such courts.
11. For winner information, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to “Attention: Take a Friend Fishing Contest, CT DEEP Fisheries Division 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106”.
12. All intellectual property used by DEEP in connection with the promotion and/or administration of the Contest, including, without limitation, all trade-marks, trade names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source code, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned (or licensed, as the case may be) by the DEEP and/or its affiliates. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any such intellectual property without the express written consent of its owner is strictly prohibited.
13. The information you provide will only be used to contact you in correlation with the Contest and if you are a potential winner and otherwise in accordance with DEEP’s privacy policy. Entrants should be aware that DEEP is a public agency, and personal information provided to DEEP may be disclosed in accordance with public records laws.

Content last updated January 2020