The Lindsay Sale-Tinney Awards
Tell Your Fishing Tales for Cash Prizes in the Lindsay Sale-Tinney Awards Contest for Youth
Storytelling is our way of preserving history and passing along entertaining and educational information to others, and the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame wants to encourage young people to learn the craft. Youth between 12 and 15 years old who like to fish are invited to write about one of their most memorable fishing trips of the year and submit it to be judged for cash prizes in the Lindsay Sale-Tinney Awards.
General Rules
Open to youth between the ages of 12 and 15, inclusive. Limit one entry per person. By submitting a story, entrants give the permission to publish the winning entries online and in various publications within one year of the contest deadline without additional payment or royalties. All entries must be the work of the entrant. Parental consent to enter this contest is required. Due to limited resources, only the first 30 stories received will be judged. All submissions must be received by January 10, 2026, and the winners will be announced by May 15, 2026 and the stories will be published in the Spring issue of SPLASH.
Prizes
1st Place: $300
2nd Place: $200
3rd Place: $100
Story Guidelines – Most of your story should be about your experience of preparing for and fishing during the specific trip you’re writing about, but it should also include a little bit about you and why you like to fish. It may also include content about traveling to the water, flats tires and picnics along the way, memories made, and lessons learned from the experience, and more.
Stories need to be between 200 and 500 words long (approximately one-half to one full page, single spaced, 12 pt. font). Longer stories are not eligible for this contest. Entries will be judged by qualified outdoor journalists, photographers, and/or educators using the following criteria:
(1) Clarity – The entry should be presented clearly and logically so that it is readily understandable to its audience.
(2) Impact – The entry should affect its audience in some way, either by educating, inspiring, and/or moving them in some way.
(3) Mechanics – The entry should be free of fundamental grammatical and/or technical errors.
Stories must be submitted using the form below.
Stories must be original compositions without the use of AI.
* Required