Post by chilidog on Jun 20, 2008 16:28:37 GMT -5
SHOCKER!!
Chilidog finishes out of the money
2008 LCI International Fishing Derby
Saturday
Chapter One, The "A Team"
It was with high hopes that the "A Team" (relatively speaking) started Saturday's event. Working like a well oiled machine, the mates efficiently had Tunami provisioned; all bait, tackle, ice, food, drink, spare clothes, safety equipment were safely stored and dock lines were cast off. 2008 Big Money Tournament here we come. GAME ON!!
In an attempt to conserve energy and warm up the tournament muscles, the crew agreed to the "start small and work up to the bigger fish" strategy. The plan worked beautifully as RD swung a trophy Atlantic Salmon smolt on board as the mates scrambled for a camera to capture this once in a lifetime event!! Photographing a salmon that is actually smaller than the lure it tried to eat had never been done before!!
...start small....the strategy had worked well for the "A-Team" off of Cape Cod on Striped Bass...
...as well as Blue Fin Tuna...
...and this spring in Costa Rica on Sailfish...
...and Mahi Mahi...
This crew knew how to land fish, there was no argument there! The Salmon bite turned on and the mates hooked fish after fish. For a while, the bay looked like a vanilla milk shake as the cart wheeling Salmon whipped the water into a white frothing mess. One of the crew had misplaced the measuring tape, we slid a couple hogs into the livewell anyway, anxious to take our rightful place on the leader board.
After high fives and another fresh round of ice cold Labatt's, the crew prepared to continue claiming the early morning Salmon bite centered around the big yellow buoy a half mile from the yacht club. Shortly after 9 AM, as 57 fully powered up sailboats bore down on Tunami, the crew firmly held course. Apparently the LCI officials had once again failed to inform all sailboaters that Lake Champlain belongs to the fishermen on Fathers day Weekend!! The Schyler Island Regatta MUST be moved to another weekend if we are to avoid an altercation out on the waters of Lake Champlain that will make the battle of Plattsburgh look like a rerun of "Laverne and Shirley."
Not only do these wind powered, eco-friendly crafts crowd the beautiful views up and down the lake, they actually have the right of way, which is a bunch of bullsheet if you ask me!!!
Tunami held her own and jockeyed for trolling space in the middle of the fleet while pulling four rods on the downriggers and two flat lines 150 feet straight out the back from the outrigger positions. Bang, fish on! Back in the cockpit, Capt 'dog pinned his knees under the gunwale and prepared to wrestle a slimy 8 pound Lake Trout to the deck. The sail boaters shouted words of encouragement and congratulations while sipping their mimosas, skillfully keeping their strawberries from rolling off their fine breakfast platters. Bravo, bravo, they squealed!
The sailboat race was getting ready to start and the traffic was like Taft's Corner on the day after Thanksgiving. The pressure on the crew was building. The thought of losing a brand new $3.99 Huckleberry Muffin Needlefish on a sailboat keel with no hope of ever recovering it, or worse yet, the idea of actually ramming into one of these overpriced fiberglass toys was unbearable. That's it, the crew steamed eastward leaving the knot of sailboats off the stern.
The crew made north along the Eastern shore, past the Dolphins and into the corner all the way to diving cliffs of Red Rocks. Nothing.
Hoping to cash in on the two monster Atlantic Salmon now swimming safely in the batiwell we rocketed to the Shelburne Shipyard "official LCI weigh in station." The re-capture of the two energetic salmon from the round baitwell offered good entertainment for onlookers as the crew got a free shower compliments of the Salmon sisters. After draining the tank of water the unruly girls were finally scooped into a bag filled with water, then into a larger tank. The tournament official would then score the fish and get us in the money!
Dreams of being on the leader board and all hope of winning a fresh case of Quaker State Motor oil in the daily raffle were quickly snuffed out as the first fish hit the measuring tape. We held our breath as the BIG ONE measured only 20 7/8" The rules clearly state that the minimum length to enter a Salmon in the contest must be a minimum of 21 inches. The fish were then sent back into the bay to grow up a bit and they promised to "bite me" next year. The mates felt bad for the Salmon, obviously the fish had been banged around pretty hard on the bumpy ride in, enough to compress their vertebrae at least a good 4".
The man at the weigh in station was a biologist, pretty interesting guy. The Capt. bought a tape measure from him for a dollar. He was giving away "Slim Jim's" to contestants, they were HUGE! The mates stuffed their pockets with the tasty meat sticks. Back on deck we put the new tape measure on the Slim Jim, it was just shy of 21", like our fish.
The crew needed a change of scenery so we washed the Slim Jim's down with Canadian beer and a turkey sandwich chaser and steamed northeast for "the Humps." The area was crawling with boats. The crew counted 15 fishing boats all circling on top of a one acre shoal in 60' of water. It looked like the last lap of a NASCAR race at Bristol. We opted for the southern spot with NO ONE on it and on the first pass with the baits running at 40' and 50' we slid off the shelf into 140' of water. Bang, bang doubled up...SWEET. The first fish was netted and released, without incident. The second fish was not coming up easy at all! RD reared back on the rod to drag the fish up. It was a miracle the Browning graphite didn't detonate and the entire crew. After five minutes we saw a flash of silver, here comes the Derby winning 15 pound Lake Trout!! No, wait a second, on second thought here comes an 8 pound lake trout hog-tied in the main line and the cheater, with two spoons sticking out of him...and RD is reeling him in sideways! It looked like one of those expensive Italian salamis all wrapped up in a string.
After cutting the hog-tied trout free from a tangled mess, mates RD and the Coach heft an 8 pounder.
Notice pectoral fin clipped, this was a stocked fish from the Vermont Hatchery Program, not a cheap Japanese import.
The Coach didn't catch this Lake Trout, but he wish he had!
Sunday
Chapter Two, "the B Team"
In a classic start to Sunday's early session, the Capt. knew he was in for another challenging day on the water driving the "Special Ed Bus." As the mates sheepishly made their way down the dock one asked "do you want the good news first or the bad news?" After some giggles and rolling of eyes, the question was then rephrased to "well we actually don't have any good news."
The "B team" then boarded the vessel with virtually NOTHING in hand;
No bagels
No Sausage McMuffin breakfast sandwiches
No thermos of hot coffee
No lunch
No BEER!!! (two mates)
No sunscreen
No favorite lures
No hat (one mate)
No shorts, long pants only, forecast for the day 82 degrees, (two mates)
No fishing licenses (two mates)
If the crew were to cash in on a $27,000 Salmon it would have to be done quickly as we would certainly starve to death with the lack of provisions on board. The Captain was then informed that even if the mates had landed an All Universe Record Salmon of 462 pounds, there would be no $27,000 prize to claim as the crew would be disqualified on more than one count.
The tournament rules are very clear, this is big money!!!
- All persons aboard the same vessel/boat must be registered in the LCI Father’s Day Derby.
- In order to affirm the integrity of the catch of each fish offered in the LCI Father’s Day Derby, there MUST BE A REGISTERED AFFIRMING WITNESS TO EACH CATCH.
- CONTESTANTS and AFFIRMING WITNESSES must complete a weigh-in form furnished by the Lake Champlain International Board of Directors at the weigh-in station.
- Each contestant who offers a prize-winning fish, and all registered affirming witnesses, must submit to a polygraph (lie-detector) examination upon request of LCI Derby Officials.
These particular mates had never been strong on paperwork. 66% of this bunch had left their fishing licenses back at home where it would be safe and dry. ALL of the mates somehow actually failed to register for the big money tournament prior to the deadline thinking instead to wait and see if we catch any big fish, then we'll register.
Lack of sleep the previous night combined with a near death alcohol poisoning at "Hooters" not 48 hours earlier nearly rendered Prettyboy a "no show" for Sunday's blistering action. If it weren't for the Canadian's undying commitment to their friendship along with his greedy appetite for entertainment, he would have been left at home cashing in his annual Father's Day bonus on the home front.
Prettyboy on a better day.
The Salmon bite in the bay from the day before was O-V-E-R, water warmed 4 degrees overnight with the south wind. After a few small salmon that rivaled RD's smolt sensation from the day before, Tunami made for the western edge of the bay, dropped the riggers, cut the speed back and hunted for Lake Trout. As we rolled over a monster cloud of bait in 70 feet of water the starboard rigger popped and the fight was on. The Flatlander grabbed the rod to give us a demonstration on how they fight big fish "mid-western style." The Capt assisted in re-setting the drag which in hindsight probably got screwed down a bit too tight in the heat of battle.
The big trout finally came to the surface, it's gaping maw looked like a coffee can. With less than 10' of line to go, the laker made a vicious roll and one last ditch effort to get back to Davey Jones locker. The rod man reared back, "mid-western style", the ensuing 102 decibel SNAP signaling a successful and spirited long distance "catch and release." The crew agreed that to protect the eyesight of all aboard, mates should be issued approved safety glasses after Capt 'dog tightens any drags.
It was then back to the hump, where we entered the "last lap at Bristol" and eased our way into the mess of circling boats. The "B Team" took notes as one boat landed two nice Lakers in less than 10 minutes just off our starboard side. They were pulling horizontal flashers in front of the bait and running so close to us that I could have thrown a Slim Jim into their livewell. After only half a lap, Tunami slid off the hump to the south east, marked a monster fish on the bottom which the Canadian pounded... and he was tight. He showed the mates how it was done "Newfie style" and successfully boated the crew's biggest fish for the weekend, 9 1/2 pounds of Lake Champlain fury!
...Newfie Style Laker...
The catch total for Tunami in the LCI Tournament weekend was an impressive 63 Lake Trout and 49 Salmon. Consistent with the rest of the liars that fish this and all derbies, the catch total was tallied using common "Fisherman's Math." This generous system allows any cane pole toting, nightcrawler drowning redneck like Capt 'dog to feel like a tournament pro.
The rules state;
Any fish lost while a mate has the net in hand scores as a fish landed.
Any fish that hits the net and is brought on board actually scores as 3 fish.
Any fish netted by any boat within 50 yards of your previous or anticipated troll, count. "Hey, that was MY fish!"
Any hooked fish, counts.
Any time you THINK you hooked a fish, count one.
Any downrigger release counts.
Beer bonus---When the crew loses count and/or cannot agree upon the day's total, the highest number of estimated fish is rounded up to the nearest 10.
This beautiful salmon was caught by a guy next to us.
Fortunately, with this years liberal "Fisherman's Math" we included in our total!!
Awesome fish!!
Looking forward to some recreational fishing, this tournament stuff is just too stressfull. Applications for the 2009 LCI aboard Tunami will be limited.
Congrats to "Laker Lords" and my buddy 'Zini on the winning the Team LT for the LCI and the Rotary this year...hey you been following me?
Special thanks to the two guys that actually won something in the LCI derby last year and donated their pictures.
Chilidog finishes out of the money
2008 LCI International Fishing Derby
Saturday
Chapter One, The "A Team"
It was with high hopes that the "A Team" (relatively speaking) started Saturday's event. Working like a well oiled machine, the mates efficiently had Tunami provisioned; all bait, tackle, ice, food, drink, spare clothes, safety equipment were safely stored and dock lines were cast off. 2008 Big Money Tournament here we come. GAME ON!!
In an attempt to conserve energy and warm up the tournament muscles, the crew agreed to the "start small and work up to the bigger fish" strategy. The plan worked beautifully as RD swung a trophy Atlantic Salmon smolt on board as the mates scrambled for a camera to capture this once in a lifetime event!! Photographing a salmon that is actually smaller than the lure it tried to eat had never been done before!!
...start small....the strategy had worked well for the "A-Team" off of Cape Cod on Striped Bass...
...as well as Blue Fin Tuna...
...and this spring in Costa Rica on Sailfish...
...and Mahi Mahi...
This crew knew how to land fish, there was no argument there! The Salmon bite turned on and the mates hooked fish after fish. For a while, the bay looked like a vanilla milk shake as the cart wheeling Salmon whipped the water into a white frothing mess. One of the crew had misplaced the measuring tape, we slid a couple hogs into the livewell anyway, anxious to take our rightful place on the leader board.
After high fives and another fresh round of ice cold Labatt's, the crew prepared to continue claiming the early morning Salmon bite centered around the big yellow buoy a half mile from the yacht club. Shortly after 9 AM, as 57 fully powered up sailboats bore down on Tunami, the crew firmly held course. Apparently the LCI officials had once again failed to inform all sailboaters that Lake Champlain belongs to the fishermen on Fathers day Weekend!! The Schyler Island Regatta MUST be moved to another weekend if we are to avoid an altercation out on the waters of Lake Champlain that will make the battle of Plattsburgh look like a rerun of "Laverne and Shirley."
Not only do these wind powered, eco-friendly crafts crowd the beautiful views up and down the lake, they actually have the right of way, which is a bunch of bullsheet if you ask me!!!
Tunami held her own and jockeyed for trolling space in the middle of the fleet while pulling four rods on the downriggers and two flat lines 150 feet straight out the back from the outrigger positions. Bang, fish on! Back in the cockpit, Capt 'dog pinned his knees under the gunwale and prepared to wrestle a slimy 8 pound Lake Trout to the deck. The sail boaters shouted words of encouragement and congratulations while sipping their mimosas, skillfully keeping their strawberries from rolling off their fine breakfast platters. Bravo, bravo, they squealed!
The sailboat race was getting ready to start and the traffic was like Taft's Corner on the day after Thanksgiving. The pressure on the crew was building. The thought of losing a brand new $3.99 Huckleberry Muffin Needlefish on a sailboat keel with no hope of ever recovering it, or worse yet, the idea of actually ramming into one of these overpriced fiberglass toys was unbearable. That's it, the crew steamed eastward leaving the knot of sailboats off the stern.
The crew made north along the Eastern shore, past the Dolphins and into the corner all the way to diving cliffs of Red Rocks. Nothing.
Hoping to cash in on the two monster Atlantic Salmon now swimming safely in the batiwell we rocketed to the Shelburne Shipyard "official LCI weigh in station." The re-capture of the two energetic salmon from the round baitwell offered good entertainment for onlookers as the crew got a free shower compliments of the Salmon sisters. After draining the tank of water the unruly girls were finally scooped into a bag filled with water, then into a larger tank. The tournament official would then score the fish and get us in the money!
Dreams of being on the leader board and all hope of winning a fresh case of Quaker State Motor oil in the daily raffle were quickly snuffed out as the first fish hit the measuring tape. We held our breath as the BIG ONE measured only 20 7/8" The rules clearly state that the minimum length to enter a Salmon in the contest must be a minimum of 21 inches. The fish were then sent back into the bay to grow up a bit and they promised to "bite me" next year. The mates felt bad for the Salmon, obviously the fish had been banged around pretty hard on the bumpy ride in, enough to compress their vertebrae at least a good 4".
The man at the weigh in station was a biologist, pretty interesting guy. The Capt. bought a tape measure from him for a dollar. He was giving away "Slim Jim's" to contestants, they were HUGE! The mates stuffed their pockets with the tasty meat sticks. Back on deck we put the new tape measure on the Slim Jim, it was just shy of 21", like our fish.
The crew needed a change of scenery so we washed the Slim Jim's down with Canadian beer and a turkey sandwich chaser and steamed northeast for "the Humps." The area was crawling with boats. The crew counted 15 fishing boats all circling on top of a one acre shoal in 60' of water. It looked like the last lap of a NASCAR race at Bristol. We opted for the southern spot with NO ONE on it and on the first pass with the baits running at 40' and 50' we slid off the shelf into 140' of water. Bang, bang doubled up...SWEET. The first fish was netted and released, without incident. The second fish was not coming up easy at all! RD reared back on the rod to drag the fish up. It was a miracle the Browning graphite didn't detonate and the entire crew. After five minutes we saw a flash of silver, here comes the Derby winning 15 pound Lake Trout!! No, wait a second, on second thought here comes an 8 pound lake trout hog-tied in the main line and the cheater, with two spoons sticking out of him...and RD is reeling him in sideways! It looked like one of those expensive Italian salamis all wrapped up in a string.
After cutting the hog-tied trout free from a tangled mess, mates RD and the Coach heft an 8 pounder.
Notice pectoral fin clipped, this was a stocked fish from the Vermont Hatchery Program, not a cheap Japanese import.
The Coach didn't catch this Lake Trout, but he wish he had!
Sunday
Chapter Two, "the B Team"
In a classic start to Sunday's early session, the Capt. knew he was in for another challenging day on the water driving the "Special Ed Bus." As the mates sheepishly made their way down the dock one asked "do you want the good news first or the bad news?" After some giggles and rolling of eyes, the question was then rephrased to "well we actually don't have any good news."
The "B team" then boarded the vessel with virtually NOTHING in hand;
No bagels
No Sausage McMuffin breakfast sandwiches
No thermos of hot coffee
No lunch
No BEER!!! (two mates)
No sunscreen
No favorite lures
No hat (one mate)
No shorts, long pants only, forecast for the day 82 degrees, (two mates)
No fishing licenses (two mates)
If the crew were to cash in on a $27,000 Salmon it would have to be done quickly as we would certainly starve to death with the lack of provisions on board. The Captain was then informed that even if the mates had landed an All Universe Record Salmon of 462 pounds, there would be no $27,000 prize to claim as the crew would be disqualified on more than one count.
The tournament rules are very clear, this is big money!!!
- All persons aboard the same vessel/boat must be registered in the LCI Father’s Day Derby.
- In order to affirm the integrity of the catch of each fish offered in the LCI Father’s Day Derby, there MUST BE A REGISTERED AFFIRMING WITNESS TO EACH CATCH.
- CONTESTANTS and AFFIRMING WITNESSES must complete a weigh-in form furnished by the Lake Champlain International Board of Directors at the weigh-in station.
- Each contestant who offers a prize-winning fish, and all registered affirming witnesses, must submit to a polygraph (lie-detector) examination upon request of LCI Derby Officials.
These particular mates had never been strong on paperwork. 66% of this bunch had left their fishing licenses back at home where it would be safe and dry. ALL of the mates somehow actually failed to register for the big money tournament prior to the deadline thinking instead to wait and see if we catch any big fish, then we'll register.
Lack of sleep the previous night combined with a near death alcohol poisoning at "Hooters" not 48 hours earlier nearly rendered Prettyboy a "no show" for Sunday's blistering action. If it weren't for the Canadian's undying commitment to their friendship along with his greedy appetite for entertainment, he would have been left at home cashing in his annual Father's Day bonus on the home front.
Prettyboy on a better day.
The Salmon bite in the bay from the day before was O-V-E-R, water warmed 4 degrees overnight with the south wind. After a few small salmon that rivaled RD's smolt sensation from the day before, Tunami made for the western edge of the bay, dropped the riggers, cut the speed back and hunted for Lake Trout. As we rolled over a monster cloud of bait in 70 feet of water the starboard rigger popped and the fight was on. The Flatlander grabbed the rod to give us a demonstration on how they fight big fish "mid-western style." The Capt assisted in re-setting the drag which in hindsight probably got screwed down a bit too tight in the heat of battle.
The big trout finally came to the surface, it's gaping maw looked like a coffee can. With less than 10' of line to go, the laker made a vicious roll and one last ditch effort to get back to Davey Jones locker. The rod man reared back, "mid-western style", the ensuing 102 decibel SNAP signaling a successful and spirited long distance "catch and release." The crew agreed that to protect the eyesight of all aboard, mates should be issued approved safety glasses after Capt 'dog tightens any drags.
It was then back to the hump, where we entered the "last lap at Bristol" and eased our way into the mess of circling boats. The "B Team" took notes as one boat landed two nice Lakers in less than 10 minutes just off our starboard side. They were pulling horizontal flashers in front of the bait and running so close to us that I could have thrown a Slim Jim into their livewell. After only half a lap, Tunami slid off the hump to the south east, marked a monster fish on the bottom which the Canadian pounded... and he was tight. He showed the mates how it was done "Newfie style" and successfully boated the crew's biggest fish for the weekend, 9 1/2 pounds of Lake Champlain fury!
...Newfie Style Laker...
The catch total for Tunami in the LCI Tournament weekend was an impressive 63 Lake Trout and 49 Salmon. Consistent with the rest of the liars that fish this and all derbies, the catch total was tallied using common "Fisherman's Math." This generous system allows any cane pole toting, nightcrawler drowning redneck like Capt 'dog to feel like a tournament pro.
The rules state;
Any fish lost while a mate has the net in hand scores as a fish landed.
Any fish that hits the net and is brought on board actually scores as 3 fish.
Any fish netted by any boat within 50 yards of your previous or anticipated troll, count. "Hey, that was MY fish!"
Any hooked fish, counts.
Any time you THINK you hooked a fish, count one.
Any downrigger release counts.
Beer bonus---When the crew loses count and/or cannot agree upon the day's total, the highest number of estimated fish is rounded up to the nearest 10.
This beautiful salmon was caught by a guy next to us.
Fortunately, with this years liberal "Fisherman's Math" we included in our total!!
Awesome fish!!
Looking forward to some recreational fishing, this tournament stuff is just too stressfull. Applications for the 2009 LCI aboard Tunami will be limited.
Congrats to "Laker Lords" and my buddy 'Zini on the winning the Team LT for the LCI and the Rotary this year...hey you been following me?
Special thanks to the two guys that actually won something in the LCI derby last year and donated their pictures.