Heeee?s back! The “he” is Diamond Jim, the singular sought-after striper and quest of 1950s big bucks fishing tournaments. Actually the fish is not back, but the big bucks state fishing tournament returns, June 3 through September 4 (Labor Day).
It is bigger and better than the “1st Annual . . .” last year, which included only the Chesapeake Bay, and only tidal fish were tagged for prizes.
This year there is the possibility of winning $1 million or perhaps a 20-foot center-console boat/trailer, an 18-foot Tracker Nitro boat/trailer or one of two Toyota Tacoma 4X4 pick-up trucks. Product-prize sponsors include Boating World, Bass Pro Shops and Maryland Toyota dealers.
Officially, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources? contest has the cumbersome but financially interesting title of “2nd Annual Maryland $1,000,000 Fishing Challenge: The Return of Diamond Jim.”
Tagged fish released throughout the state include stripers, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Atlantic croaker, white perch, crappie, sunfish, walleye, trout and catfish. A catch of any of the hundreds of tagged fish means automatic entry into a September drawing for the above-mentioned prizes.
The contest works like this:
There are approximately 1,000 green-tagged fish, a catch of which anytime during the 13-week contest gets you into the fall product and cash drawing.
Yellow tagged stripers ? five per week ? are being released into the Bay, of which one per week has a tag worth $25,000. Catch the right one during the release week and win $25,000 plus a chance for the fall prizes. After the week in which it is released, it is a “plain” tagged fish but still worth a shot at the big September prizes.
Some tagged fish have additional prize values of $250 or more through individual business sponsorships. You might get a gift certificate, fishing trip, tackle, who knows! Marty Gary of the Department of Natural Resources is busy lining up business partners and can be reached at 410-260-8289.
Find out what you have won ($25,000 for the special tagged striper or a business-sponsored prize) by calling the number on the tag, 410-693-7706.
You can remove the green tags from fish to allow catch-and-release fishing, but you must keep the yellow tag on the striper.
There are no fees, entry forms or restrictions other than being a legally licensed angler. So start checking gear, changing line and sharpening hooks. Where else can you have so many chances of winning money and prizes along with the fun of fishing?
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on hunting, fishing and the outdoors, and he has more than 20 books to his credit. He can be reached at [email protected]
