One by one the teams come to weigh in the days walleye.
A line of live wells keep the fish fresh as they move
up on their way to the scales while the tension builds
for the contestants and crowd. Since extra points are given
to released fish, all the contestants take great care
keeping them alive. There were about 10% that did not make
it back to the lake. I personally put these on ice and delivered
them each day to The Northern Michigan Hospital Hospitality
House in Petoskey Michigan.
The Hospitality House supports the families of patients receiving
treatment at the hospital that could not otherwise afford the care.
Director, Steve Berchem, thanked the MWT for the fish fry
that is sure to brighten up someone's day. He also noted they were
nice looking walleye. That they were and as he asked me to
join them for the dinner I could already taste it.
I just need to figure a way to get Slammer in the door.
Almost time for the winning announcement!
It was close and with one team left to weigh in Tom & Rob Harlukowicz
were holding on to first place and showing signs of anxiety.
The last basket lay on the scale, the numbers
flashing up and down for a moment. Finally, with a lot of crossed fingers,
the five fish settled on 9.83lbs
and gave us the winners of the 2000 MWT Inland Waterway Championship!
«- The team of Jerry Fox & Jerry Fox Jr. had won by 0.93 of a pound
and became ten thousand dollars richer. Here you have the first smiles
starting to appear when they found out. There would be many more to follow.
|
