It all started back in 2022 when MFCC member Bruno Demir asked if I would be interested in hosting a spring event at his Mitsubishi dealership in South Yarmouth.
We called the event "Cod and Coffee" and we had over 50 people join us for a panel discussion of charter captains and other experts. It turned into a really fun morning of presentations and discussions.
For the 2023 spring event we upgraded to a small conference room that could accommodate 75 people. That event went well but I left feeling like we could have done it bigger.
This year I decided to step it up a notch and see if we could fill a room with 200+ people.
The 2024 Kickoff | How it Came to Fruition
I felt as if I was taking a little bit of a risk when I reserved a much larger conference room that could seat 210 anglers. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure if we'd be able to fill the room!
So starting this past January I began mentioning this year's Season Kickoff Event in my emails and even making a post on social media to help get the word out...
Despite my initial hesitation, tickets began selling like hot cakes, and before I knew it we had completely sold out!
With 210 tickets sold and an additional 30+ people attending as speakers and vendors, I knew this had a chance of turning into a special event for the Cape's fishing community
The one thing everyone had in common at this event was enthusiasm and excitement for the start of the fishing season.
If you missed the Season Kickoff, then you can get a feel for how it went by watching this highlight video from my friend Mike of @tackletothepeople.
A Terrific Panel of Speakers
The main draw of the event was our excellent lineup of guest speakers. From surfcasting to tuna fishing, our speakers shared loads of tips and advice with the audience.
The format that the speakers followed was also unique. For the most part, each speaker had around 20 minutes, and we also fielded live questions from the audience.
Certain speakers showed slides and video, while others demonstrated equipment, or simply answered questions and discussed hot topics.
MFCC member Bruno Demir of Cape & Islands Mitsubishi and my cousin Kevin Collins (who runs the My Fishing Cape Cod Podcast) did a great job of helping to keep the presentations and discussions flowing.
Thanks again to all our speakers!
Speaker Video Recording
Now if you missed the Season Kickoff Event, then I'm happy to report you can watch the majority of the presentations (nearly 3 hours worth!) in the following video.
Unfortunately the audio quality of the video (especially at the beginning) is not the greatest and captain Tyler Macallister's tuna presentation got cut off at the end due to the camera dying. 
However the audio gets better the further you get along in the video, and overall it came out ok.
If you'd like to watch, then simply click play below.
Awesome Vendors & Giveaways
Going into this event I thought it would be challenging to fill all the booth spaces, so I was happily surprised at how quickly all the vendor spots filled up!
Plymouth Coffee Co. even provided free coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and other beverages!
I was really enthused by the interest vendors had in participating. Our vendors and sponsors also provided generous discounts and giveaways.
Included in the free giveaways we had:
I owe a big shout out to all the companies listed below who either donated their services, helped to cover costs, provided giveaways or had tables.
Networking with Anglers
Another benefit of attending was the opportunity to network with anglers meet one another face-to-face. I saw quite a few people from My Fishing Cape Cod that I haven't seen in a few years.
In this day and age we do so much online communication that I feel in-person opportunities for the fishing community to get together are more important than ever before.
The room was buzzing with energy from start to finish!
Teaming Up with Local Non-Profits
Since starting My Fishing Cape Cod over a decade ago I've always tried to say yes to sponsoring charitable events and making donations to groups that are doing great work. It's honestly the least I can do when I think about how much has been given to me over the course of my life.
I'm happy to report that all profit from this event ($4,000) was donated to local non-profits that are supporting veterans in the community.
The Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center has been connecting veterans, their families, and the Cape and Islands community through comprehensive, life-sustaining services and support since 1983. Fishing for the Mission 22 and Rifles to Rods both focus on providing a therapeutic approach to help heal veterans through fishing.
Special thank you to Brooke from the Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center and Harold from Fishing for the Mission 22 for attending. Keep up the great work.
Looking Ahead to Next Year
The 2024 Kickoff Event really set the tone for the phenomenal fishing year to come ahead.
This would not have been possible without all of your support and excitement, so I also want to give a big thank you to each and every one of you.
With that said I am already starting to think about next year!
Our venue for this event (the Hyport Conference Center) has another room that can fit 500 people, so I think it only makes sense to reserve that space for next year.
Stay tuned for more details, but right now I am eyeballing Saturday March 29th for the 2025 Season Kickoff Event. Hopefully I will see you there!
Tight lines 
About the author
Thank you for sharing the video link! I am looking forward to watching the whole three hours since I was unable to come in person.
My pleasure. I hope you enjoyed the vid!
I just wanted to drop a quick note to say thanks to you and Lauren for presenting such a professional, informative and entertaining Kick-Off meeting.
As a new member of the MFCC family, I was very impressed and enjoyed the experience. As for the speakers, I found them all very interesting and issues specific to their expertise. The charter captains were great. And Calvin was very much a polished speaker that I found very easy to follow. Chris was interesting to me as someone who used to do a lot of fly fishing and of course the Master of the Podium Tyler!
It was great having you there Richard! Thanks for the kind comment.
Just wanted to say thanks for putting on a great event! I know these events take a lot of planning and time and effort and you guys nailed it! Met some new anglers (younger and older) and enjoyed the presenters and range of material. Always something to be learned…
Hope you have a great season!
I hope you have a great season as well Carle. Awesome having you at the kickoff!
Had a great time on Saturday with y’all. I’ve been slacking on my fishing last few years. After the event I’m pumped to get back into it! I just need to find a fishin buddy for safety sakes. Tight lines!!
Roger that Aaron. Be sure to post in the forum this year. A lot of members in the forum meetup and fish together. 👍🏻
Four of us from the Fishing Club at the Pinehills drove down for the Hyannis season kickoff affair.
We all thought it was the best “local” fishing event so far! For a first time (and hopefully will be repeated again) it was well organized and professionally done!
We learned a few new things, snacked, met a few new boat captains to charter for my grandkids, spoke to fishermen from other areas, got a speaker for one of our club meetings, helped Lauren “make change” to sell a cap.
The coffee was good! It was countered by a great mix of fruits, pastries and bagels provided by one of our favorite places, Fishermen’s View.
Always great having the Pinehills crew in the house!
The 2024 Kickoff was awesome. Thank you to all on the panel of speakers, and thanks for sharing all that knowledge you have with all of us – it is well appreciated. Thanks Ryan and Lauren for setting this up, fantastic job, and all the charities that were helped. Thanks to all the vendors and all the others that helped with this Kickoff. Amazing job well done!!! 🎣
Absolutely enjoyable and informative!! Proud to be a part of this MFCC group!! Tight lines all in 2024! God bless and stay safe! 🎣 🎣 🎣
Timing was off for me… missed this one. Sounds like a great event.
In the spirit of tho… I’m looking forward to connecting more this season. I may be getting back into boating as well, and renting our place less, so we are there more.
Thanks to all the panel members for enriching me with a wealth of fishing knowledge, much appreciated. I’ve got to give a shout out to Bruno Demir for MC’ing much of the discussion. Bruno’s inside knowledge of many of the panel members and his delivery made this my favorite MFCC event to date.
If you made it to the kickoff then you were part of a happening event in the world of local fishing. The panel members did a great job of introducing a rather different way of presenting information to the general audience.
My “Armenian Cousin” did a a very nice job of guiding the discussion which evolved during the times allowed for each presenter. The camera and screen worked well and for the most part it all came off rather fluid.
You can see all of the hard work that went into it, all of the prep work, the nice food set up, and the coffee was great.
The venues that were able to set up for this seminar had excellent items and articles for display and sale as well. Ryan and his bride also worked very hard to make this a happening event.
The best part is that those who served our country will become the recipients of this hard work along with those who helped to make it happen .
For those that came from our sister state of Rhody, a special thank you goes out to you for making the drive down the Cape.
I saw a lot of young adults in the audience and I hope that you all gained little more incite into the sport of fishing. The older folks perhaps got a reminder or two about as much as fishing changes, it remains the same.
More to come I am sure. Peace and Prayers
Hey Carl, I totally agree! The 2024 Season Kick off was incredible! I thought all the speakers were VERY interesting! Bruno did a great job MC’ing much of the day! I thought he was hilarious at times! You could tell all the work that Ryan and Lauren put in to the event. They both were working through out the event as well. We had an incredible amount of knowledge and information passed on to us.! The icing on the cake was the charitable donation to our veterans! Thank you for your info on angler safety! Excellent! The vendor booths were great as well! I went home with 2 sweet lures from Cousin Eddy, Monomoy Tackle!