The 2017 “20 Days in September” Contest Starts Today!

Last year’s winning photo, by Joey Roberts (left), and the previous winner, Andy Bennett.

In 2014, I had a tough summer during which I hardly fished at all, so to make up for it, I set myself a goal: to go fishing 20 days during the month of September. Thus was born the “20 Days in September” Project. I had so much fun—and enjoyed my time on the water so much—that the next year, we opened the Project to everyone and turning it into a photo contest on Facebook.

The month-long event has grown every year, and participants have sent us countless emails and messages about how much fun they’ve had and how they ended up checking out local waters they’d passed by for years. So we’re hoping to have even more participation in 2017. And if you check out the prize list below, I think you’re going to want to give the contest a try this year.

Here’s how it works:

1. Make an honest attempt to get on the water 20 times during September. Of course, these don’t have to be full or even half days of angling. Just 10 casts are enough to count on any given day. So steal time whenever you can: before work, at lunchtime, after work, or . . .(ahem) during work. On weekends when your schedule is full, get in a few casts around soccer or football games.

2. Take pictures of your fish, the water, your fellow anglers, the flies you’re using, or anything else.

3. Post your photos to the Orvis Facebook page with the hashtags #orvisflyfishing and #20sepdays.

At the end of the month, we’ll go through all the photos posted as part of the project and pick 10 finalists. Then we’ll let you vote for the winners! (Check out all of last year’s finalists here.)

Here are the prizes:

First Place: A Helios 3 Fly Rod of your choice.

Second Place: A Mirage Fly Reel of your choice.

Third Place: A pair of Orvis Made-in-the-USA Nippers.

We’ll also give a pair of nippers to one randomly selected voter at the end of the contest.

You don’t have to complete your 20 days to be eligible to win, but we will have a Roll of Honor for those who do manage to complete the Project. So you have one month to get ready to make September all about getting on the water.

Last September was a good month: I finished my 20 days with plenty to spare and missed just eight days total.
Photo by Phil Monahan