Fishing: Tourney is good medicine for kids with cancer Austin Clark, 11, helps release a walleye caught by anglers at the 2003 Catch a Cure for Cancer fishing tournament at Starvation Reservoir. Clark and his family came to thank anglers for raising money for Camp Hobe, a nonprofit camp for children with cancer. Clark had cancer in his lymph nodes but has been cancer-free for about a year. (Brett Prettyman/Tribune file photo) Brett Prettyman Salt Lake Tribune Columnist Anglers know well the healing powers of wetting a line. Carri and Jerry Schlief took fishing as medicine one step further when they created the Catch a Cure for Cancer tournament four years ago. Annual bass and walleye competition has not only become one of the favorite brag fests of the year, but a way to give children with cancer a sense of the outdoors. Catch a Cure raised more than $22,000 during three previous events. That money was used to help pay for kids with cancer to spend a week away from the hospital. Camp Hobe is held each June in Tooele County's Settlement Canyon, where children gather to watch deer, take a dip in the pool and share the stories of their treatment with people their own age. It took only one trip to the camp to convince the Schliefs that all the stress that comes with setting up a tournament is more than worth the hassle. "Every year the kids make a little trip to a nearby hill and plant a flower for their friends who were not able come back. That really gives you something to think about," Carri Schlief said. Registration fees -- $100 for either the bass or walleye divisions, or $200 to enter both -- and individual donations make up the bulk of the charity money raised. One of the most impressive things about the tournament is that the winners have started a tradition of handing their prize money back to the Schliefs. The top 10 teams in last year's event turned back $1,500 in prize money as $10,400 was raised for Camp Hobe. Many anglers use the tournament as a way to give something back by doing something they love and entering Catch A Cure with their children and grandchildren. This year's tournament is June 26 at Starvation Reservoir. There is a tournament boat limit of 50 and the Schlief's hope they will have to turn anglers away this year. For more information on the tournament, visit http://www.catchacureforcancer.com or call the Schlief's at 801-446-5256. bpretty@sltrib.com