XVIII Recap
Thank you all so much to everyone who donated to our fundraising efforts for the restoration of the Denver South Platte River. We truly appreciate it. This year’s tournament was a record breaking success, raising over $60,600 for the future of the river. It is the most DTU has ever raised in a single CarpSlam! We couldn’t have done it without you.
Your donations have helped us fund numerous projects and restoration efforts on the DSP. Most recently, a filing of an administrative appeal, that challenges aspects of the Suncor refinery’s Clean Water Act discharge permit. DTU & EarthJustice argue that the permit, which was issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Water Quality Control Division, sets a PFAS limit which is too high, has inadequate PFAS monitoring requirements, gives Suncor far too long to come into compliance, and fails to prevent groundwater seepage of benzene and PFAS into Sand Creek and the Burlington Ditch.
Thanks again for all your help.
Tournament Recap 2024
– 446.50″ of total Carp caught
– 243.50″ caught by the “Slamateur” class and 203″ caught by the Pros
– 16 total carp caught (ties record for tournament high – has happened 3x in last 4 years)
– 6 carp over 30″ caught in 2024
– 6 different species caught, including 11 smallmouth, 5 rainbow trout, 4 largemouth,
2 walleye, 1 white sucker and 16 carp (1 mirror)
2nd Place – Luis Bejarano & Ryan Poquette – 62″
3rd Place – Jack Borthwick & Delaney Chapman – 55.75″
1st Place – Russ Miller & Ruven Stein – 78″
1st Place team took home prizes generously donated by: Orvis Helios 4D 9ft 8wts, Cheeky Spray 400 reels, RiverSmith Convoy Gear Rolls, Scientific Anglers Fly Line, & Stranahan’s Whiskey
Ruven caught the most total inches of fish out of anyone in the tournament. He individually landed 78” of fish length in his first year competing!!! (51.25” of carp, 8” largemouth, 18.75” rainbow trout)
2nd Place – Luis Bejarano & Ryan Poquette – 62″
2nd Place team took home prizes generously donated by: St. Croix Evos Rods, RiverSmith Convoy PackOuts, Scientific Anglers Fly Line, & Stranahan’s Whiskey
Luis also caught the biggest fish of the tournament at 33.5″
3rd Place – Jack Borthwick & Delaney Chapman – 55.75″
3rd Place team took home prizes generously donated by: Echo Boost Fresh 9ft 8wts, Urban Anglers USA RiverRat Recycled Racketnets, Scientific Anglers Fly Line, & Stranahan’s Whiskey
Fundraising
While we are all out on the river competing to win the fishing tournament, CarpSlam is first and foremost, a fundraiser for the future of the Denver South Platte River. 2024 brought in record donations for an all-time high of over $60,600 in donations.
1st Place Fundraiser: Bill Bianco w/ $3,901
Bill’s efforts won him a custom 1 of 2 Abel Reel with this year’s CarpSlamXVIII artwork laser engraved on the reel. He also won a GoPro Hero 12 and Locke+Co Whiskey
2nd Place Fundraiser: Nate Mccord w/ $3,150
Nate won prizes generously donated by Yeti, GoPro, TurtleBox and Locke+Co Whiskey.
This was Nate’s second consecutive year with the 2nd most funds raised for the DSP.
3rd Place Fundraiser: Patrick Mapes w/ $3,000
Patrick won prizes generously donated by Yeti, TurtleBox and Locke+Co Whiskey.
This was Patrick’s fifth straight year placing in the top 3 for most funds raised for the DSP.
– Over $10,000 raised by our top 3 competitors alone
– Over $30,000 raised by our Slamateurs (most all-time)
– Over $10,000 donated by our top sponsors (Anglers All, 25 on the Fly, Orvis, & Abel)
(1 of 2) Donated by Abel Reels 
Big thanks Yeti & TurtleBox
Carp caught
16 total carp were caught in Carp Slam XVIII. Great weather & excellent conditions still led to some pretty picky fish throughout the city.
$1,000 Carp
The CarpSlam $1,000 Carp (biggest carp over 30″ by a Slamateur) was claimed & split by Blake Struhs and Ryan Harry with both competitors catching exactly 30″ carp! This is the 3rd (and technically 4th) time that the $1,000 carp prize has been paid out since 2020!
6 of the 16 carp caught in CarpSlamXVIII were over 30″
Sponsors – CarpSlamXVIII
Big thanks to all of our sponsors who made CARPSLAM XVIII possible: Anglers All FlyShop, Orvis, 25 on the Fly, Abel Reels, RiverSmith, Yeti, Umpqua, Echo Fly Rods, TurtleBox Audio, LidRig, Fin River Gear, Orsic Creative, Denver Trout Unlimited, Fish Print Shop, River North Brewery, Urban Anglers USA, Epic Western Cocktails, Farmer’s Engraving, American Carp Society, Nervous Water Flies, Cheeky Fishing, Locke + CO, Stranahan’s, GoPro, MFC, TukTuk, St. Croix Rods, OnWater App & Scientific Anglers
Abel donated prizes to our Top Fundraiser and our Award Ceremony Raffle 
Controller Aaron Myler won the main raffle that brought in over $3,000 for the DSP
After the fundraiser and raffle brought in $55,000, 25 on the Fly and Orvis paired up and surprised everyone again by donating $5,000 to Denver Trout Unlimited and CarpSlam XVIII, officially putting it over the $60,000 mark. Our biggest fundraiser ever by far! We can not thank you enough. The future of the DSP is in good hands.
Photo Recap – CarpSlamXVIII
Check out Carp Slam highlights on Instagram stories HERE
In Memory
This year at CarpSlamXVIII, we had a moment of silence for long-time DTU Board Member, John Covert, who we lost earlier this year. He would be absolutely blown away and so proud of this year’s fundraising efforts for the DSP.
John was a dedicated conservationist, passionate advocate for the environment, and his legacy is woven into the fabric of the Denver South Platte River, the treasured waterway that he worked tirelessly to protect and restore.
John played a very important role in our chapter and community, building relationships with key stakeholders at the city and state level and across the many organizations in Denver that are working to improve our river. He was incredibly effective at finding ways to get our small chapter into the rooms where big things happen, expanding and leveraging our impact through these partnerships. His knowledge of water issues related to the South Platte, and of the community of people involved in those issues is irreplaceable.
Swag – CarpSlamXVIII
A limited amount of CarpSlam swag is available HERE.
100% of your purchase is donated to Denver Trout Unlimited.
Thanks again for everyone’s help, support and donations. We couldn’t do this with you. Cheers to the future of the DSP.
If you have any interest in joining DTU, please attend any of our open meetings or next events. Schedule available here.
