On Wed, 11 Oct 2006 22:15:49 GMT, "Tom Littleton"
wrote:


well, shoot, this Bass Fishing thing may be stirring enough to drop out of
my Fantasy Curling League!!

Um, virtual brooms?

As for the actual Marlin Tournaments, I was in Ocean City,MD at a dockside
bar last year for weigh-in after day 2 of the OC White Marlin Open(same kind
of ungodly prizes for White, Blue Marlins and Sharks). It was sort of an
exciting process, but after a couple hours of beers and steamed shrimp, my
threshold for excitement was somewhat low........I certainly didn't plan my
trip to the Eastern Shore around it, nor would I, personally.

We're just finishing up the "Rodeo" season (although the various
Tournaments are still hoppin' along), and IMO, the all-species open
"rodeo"-type things are a lot more fun for the spectators than the
high-dollar limiteds unless someone really shatters a record. First,
there tends to be much more to do dockside/pavilion, but also, once
you've seen the second (the first, up close, is certainly something)
7-800 lb big blue gal, white or tiger, they tend to become "another big
fish" for those not into that type of fishing. And frankly, I wish the
big, high-dollar pelagic limiteds would go to strictly catch-and-release
OR have a kill fee/boating penalty (vs. release points). There's not a
person in one that hasn't hooked up on a bunch of honkers, so the
mandatory killing of one for weigh-in doesn't sit all that well with me.
Granted, some are doing _some_ CnR, but not enough. And I know it ain't
gonna happen anytime soon...

TC,
R
Tom