Saturday special for hunters, anglers

Steve Griffin, Midland Daily News 09/22/2005

(content edited – ADMIN)

A DIFFERENT KIND OF HUNT takes place on Sanford Lake Saturday. The Michigan Muskie Alliance will hold its Jay's Fall Muskie Shootout, an open-to-the-public, total release tournament, with fish released immediately where they're caught.

Here's how it works, according to tournament director Don Bomba of Birch Run: Competitors are given a list of cell phone numbers and marine radio channels so they can contact one of a dozen or so official boats to get a witness. Or they can visually summon any other tournament angler –who must come over, or be disqualified.

The fish, meanwhile, is kept in the water in a large muskie net or special cradle. When the witness arrives, the fish is carefully lifted onto a ruler-like "bump board," measured and released.

At day's end, the longest fish wins.

Last year, 23 boats caught a total of nine muskies, the two largest being 45 1Ú2 inches long. Those are 30-pound-plus fish, especially in fall, fattened up for winter.

Bomba, who fishes Sanford Lake regularly, calls it "tough fishing. It gets better every year, thanks to the planting. But there's so much cover, and so much forage available to the fish."

Think you can catch a big one? Entry is $50 per two-person team, and you're vying for gift cards from Jay's Sporting Goods of Clare, sponsor of the event. The event begins and ends at Sanford Lake Park, which opens at 5:30 a.m. for registration from 6 to 6:45 a.m. Fishing is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can register the day of the event.

For more information, phone Bomba at 989-213-2428.

©Midland Daily News 2005