Two weeks left to win money and lots of bragging rights

As of this date (Nov. 13), The Ormsby Sportsmen's Association (OSA) of Carson City has exactly two weeks remaining in its annual fishing contest.

That yearly contest began way back on Tuesday, Jan 1, and will end at sundown on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 27). And, also as of this date, there are a total of 36 OSA members in the contest.

The contest rules are fairly simple and straightforward:

Only paid-up OSA Adult Members ($5 a year for annual dues), Junior Members ($2.50 a year for annual dues ), paid Life Members and Honorary Lifetime Members are eligible to enter the contest.

Most importantly, to avoid any skullduggery, a person must be entered in the contest by at least the day before entering a fish (that effectively stops some people from cheating, who would like to catch a nice fish and then enter the contest after the catch).

The entry fee is $10 per person (that effectively eliminates most of the "Cheapo's" in a hurry).

The fish can only be caught in the State of Nevada (Hey, Doug Busey, that means you can't enter fish caught in Arizona).

Only first place winners will receive a pro-rated share of the total moneys collected.

If you finish in second place or lower, you lose. It's that simple.

The winners will receive their cash prizes at the OSA annual banquet to be held at the Carson Nugget on Saturday, Dec. 6. And, they will be expected to buy drinks!

That means you, Norm Budden.

Here are the seven categories for the fishing contest:

1. Mackinaw (Lake) Trout): The California side of Lake Tahoe is acceptable for this category.

2. Cutthroat Trout or Bowcutt Trout or Cuttbow Trout.

3.  Rainbow or Brown Trout: The Calif. sides of Lake Tahoe and Topaz Lake are acceptable.

4. All other trout such as: Eastern Brook - Golden - etc.

5. Northern Pike or Striped Bass.

6. Largemouth Bass or Smallmouth Bass or White Bass or Walleye or Wipers.

7. All other warm water game fish such as: Catfish, Crappie, Bluegill, etc.

The rules include:

The fish must be taken legally (that really stops a lot of cheating).

The fish must be weighed before freezing. (It's a giant "No-No" to soak the fish in water, stuff it into a freezer, let it freeze solid and then be weighed).

The length must be measured from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail (with a reliable tape measure, and even more importantly, an even more reliable measurer).

There must be at least one witness to the catching of the fish (please note that the rules do not state that it must be a reliable witness, just a witness). Hmmm.

A photograph of the fish is optional but not mandatory.

Any contestant found guilty of cheating will forfeit his/her winnings (and, probably be run out of town, tarred and feathered, by everyone else in the contest).

These are the current OSA leaders, by category:

Mackinaw (Lake Trout):

1. Phil Grow: 13-pounds, 2-ounces, 34 inches

2. Scott Wick: 7-pounds, 8-ounces.

Note: Those are the only two entries, to date.

Cutthroat - Bowcutt - Cuttbow:

1. Kurt Redmond: 12-pounds, 32 inches.

2. Rich Bachle: 7-pounds, 5-ounces, 27.5 inches.

3. (a two-way tie): Scott Wick: 6-pounds, 4-ounces.

3. (a two-way tie): Kerry Kilgore: 6-pounds, 4-ounces.  

Rainbow - Brown Trout:

1. Norm Budden (Rainbow): 5-pounds, 7-ounces.

2. Norm Budden (Brown): 5-pounds, 6-ounces.

3. Jeff Nowling (Brown): 5-pounds, 5-ounces.

All other trout such as: Eastern Brook - Golden - etc.

There are no entries, to date.

Northern Pike - Striped Bass:

There are no entries, to date.

Largemouth Bass - Smallmouth Bass - White Bass - Walleye - Wipers:

1. Kurt Redmond (Wiper): 7-pounds, 23 inches.

2. Norm Budden (Walleye): 5-pounds, 8-ounces.

3. Norm Budden (Walleye): 4-pounds, 8-ounces.

All other warm water game fish such as: Catfish, Crappie, Bluegill:

1. Norm Budden (Catfish): 11-pounds, 3-ounces.

2. Norm Budden (Catfish): 5-pounds, 11-ounces.

Note: These are the only two entries, to date.

Finally:

There you have it: The current leader board with only two weeks left in the contest.

If you are interested in participating, all you have to do is join OSA (for a mere $5), enter the fish contest (for another $10), go fishing somewhere in Nevada and try your hand at winning.

If you would like to enter, call Bob "Slick" McCulloch at 882-6810. He is the Chairman of the fishing contest and has done so for many, many years. Remember there are only two more weeks.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon

Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you how many times the chairman (McCulloch) of the contest has won in all those years.

If he grins, takes a deep breath and says, "Slick has never won, even once, in all the years that he has run the contest, and it conclusively proves several things: Slick is either an honest soul or a poor fisherman or both," he could be one of the other 36 fishermen in the contest.