The 20th anniversary event brought anglers from Colorado, Montana and Canada to Denver for a weekend of fishing, fundraising and celebration on the South Platte.
Denver Trout Unlimited celebrated the 20th Carp Slam on Saturday, September 19, with 15 teams fishing the Denver South Platte. Competitors traveled from as far as Montana and Canada and raised a record level of support for the river.
Carp Slam XX generated approximately $110,000 in combined fundraising, sponsor support, raffle proceeds and donated prizes. Before the Saturday night raffle, the event total stood at roughly $106,000. The raffle at River North Brewery added another $4,000 in cash.
The money raised through Carp Slam supports Denver Trout Unlimited’s work on Our Home River, the Denver South Platte. Current projects include the chapter’s cleanup partnership with Protect Our Rivers, trash boom installations at strategic drainage and tributary points to keep trash from reaching the main river, adoption and restoration work at Phil Milstein Park, and $50,000 committed to ongoing work involving pollution permits.
Volunteers working through the DTU and Protect Our Rivers cleanup series have already removed more than 16,500 pounds of trash and litter from the Denver South Platte in 2026. During Saturday’s awards ceremony, DTU announced another $10,000 for the 2027 Denver South Platte cleanup series with Protect Our Rivers.
Abel Reels is proud to continue its longtime support of Carp Slam and the work being done to protect the Denver South Platte.
The Weekend
Carp Slam XX started Friday, September 18, with the annual pre-party and team and beat draw at River North Brewery’s Washington Street taproom. Slamateurs, Slambassadors and controllers found out who they would be fishing with and where they would spend their morning and afternoon sessions.
Controllers met again at CSU Spur early Saturday morning for the mandatory rules and measuring meeting before teams headed to their first beats.
Fishing began at 9 a.m., with the morning session running until noon. After an hour for lunch and travel, teams moved to their afternoon beats and fished from 1 to 5 p.m.
Everyone reconvened at River North that evening for dinner, the raffle and the awards ceremony.
A Good Day on the South Platte
The biggest difference this year was the water.
After a low-snowpack winter and a long, hot summer, the South Platte was running low, but it was also exceptionally clear. The morning Trico hatch was huge, with clouds of mayflies over the river and plenty of activity underneath them.
That clear water made it easy to see what is often missed on the Denver South Platte. Crayfish were under nearly every rock, schools of baitfish packed the shallows, free-swimming leeches moved through the water, and young-of-the-year bass were everywhere.
For a river that is easy to judge by its rough edges, the amount of life in it was hard to miss.
By the end of the tournament, competitors had landed 11 carp totaling 314.75 inches, along with smallmouth and largemouth bass throughout the day.
Hall and Poquette Win Carp Slam XX
Nic Hall and Ryan Poquette won Carp Slam XX with 83.5 inches of carp.
Hall, a past president of Denver Trout Unlimited and this year’s third-place fundraiser, teamed with Poquette, who traveled from Montana to fish the tournament. Their three scoring carp measured 28.5, 29 and 26 inches.
Natasha Blayney and Aaron Myler finished second with 58.5 inches. Blayney landed a 28-inch carp during the morning session, and Myler added a 30.5-inch fish in the afternoon.
Brittany Nickolas and Jackie Myler finished third with 32 inches, coming from Nickolas’ 32-inch carp. Her fish was also the largest carp caught by a woman during the tournament and the largest carp landed by a Slambassador.
Aaron Myler’s 30.5-inch carp earned the $1,000 Carp award for the largest qualifying carp caught by a Slamateur.
The Real Winners
Steve Maldonado, First Place Fundraiser
Long before anyone made a cast Saturday morning, Carp Slam competitors had already spent months reaching out through their networks, bringing new people into the event and building support for Our Home River.
Those fundraisers are the real winners of Carp Slam.
Steve Maldonado led the way with $10,055, setting a new Carp Slam record for the most raised by one competitor in a single year. Bill Bianco finished second with $7,675, and Nic Hall finished third with $6,785.
Together, the top three raised $24,515 for the Denver South Platte.
The three were recognized Saturday night with custom Carp Slam XX Abel reels, Scott Fly Rods and prize packages donated by event sponsors.
For Abel, we’re proud to play a small part in recognizing the anglers putting in the work for the river and to continue supporting an event that has spent two decades bringing the fly fishing community together around the Denver South Platte.
20 Years of Carp Slam
The final presentation of the evening was a surprise to the event organizers.
Dr. Fred Miller, who came up with the original idea that became Carp Slam and is the namesake of the Fred Miller Carp Slam Trophy, gave a short recap of the tournament’s history and how it has changed over its first 20 years.
Denver Trout Unlimited President Sam Voncannon then announced the creation of the Carp Slam Hall of Fame, with Dr. Fred Miller, Patrick Mapes and Rick Mikesell inducted as its inaugural class.
Miller, the longest-standing DTU board member, was recognized for the original idea behind Carp Slam and his role in getting the tournament started. Mapes, a past Denver Trout Unlimited vice president and longtime Carp Slam Commissioner, has led much of the tournament’s design, administration and organization for years. Mikesell, Denver Trout Unlimited’s current vice president, was recognized for his work with Carp Slam and his continued advocacy for DTU and the Denver South Platte.
The Hall of Fame will continue in future years to recognize people who have made lasting contributions to the tournament.
Twenty years in, Carp Slam continues to bring together anglers, volunteers, sponsors and supporters around Our Home River.
Carp Slam XX drew competitors from well outside Colorado, set a new record for support and closed out another memorable weekend on the Denver South Platte.
Abel Reels is proud to have continued our longtime support of Carp Slam and Denver Trout Unlimited for its 20th anniversary.