Standings 2019 Cat Contest

[Piscophilic]

Hmm, it appears to be after dark in that picture. It must be coincidence[]

Thanks for sharing!
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[SkunkedAgain]

Here's what it looks like from the side view, not as impressive, but still a big cat.. I think they said it was caught just after 10:00 PM and I think it was in the early spring time too...

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[Piscophilic]

Another fun picture! He does seem to be dressed for "cool" weather.
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[ice_sled]

Thanks Lynn. But if history is correct I will hit a point that the bump up fish are impossible to get. Frustrating to catch 29” cats and not help your situation! What happened to the days that I would be very happy with a cat like that. I love competition. Makes things fun. But sometimes it sucks.
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[catchinon]

I totally know what you mean about it going down to the wire. Last year I was languishing in the middle of the pack with three 26.5s and then at the end of September I caught a 29, a 28, and a 29.5 to boost me way up in the standings. It will be a long haul again this year and so much fun watching the fish roll in for everyone. I still think John might hit 100 points. That would just take two 33s and a 34!
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[SkunkedAgain]

That is the hard part of this contest, you never know which day will be your big day when the big one will bite. So it’s too tempting to want to fish as many as possible. That’s what gets me in trouble with my wife I get too obsessed. Probably try to not go over the top so much this year and hope when I do get out, it will be a good day. I really had fun last Friday so I’d like to get more days like that minus the sunburn.

I agree I think 100 points is possible, but I expect it will be hit when someone pulls in a 37” fish plus two others just over 30. The likelihood of three over 33 isn’t very good. We have only had one fish in six years that was bigger than 32.5”. So shoot for the new catch and release record and you may break 100. As for me that 90 point level is my hope and goal. Later J
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[catchinon]

My stretch goal this year is 88 points and it will be a tough one to reach.

About being obsessed: after a 14-hour fishing trip yesterday I want to get out this afternoon for the catfish but my wife has other ideas [].
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[Tin-Can]

Probably to keep out the skeeters too....[]
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[Piscophilic]

That makes sense. I'll have to remember that if I ever get that far north.

Thanks!
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[SkunkedAgain]

Craig I'll bet you can hit 88 this year, that's only 1.5" more than last year for you... BTW you had an outstanding rookie score, took me five years to get to that level, to do it the first year is very impressive to me, you're a fast learner...Congrats and good luck for this year... later Jeff
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[Jig-fisher]

I had a few goals this year. 1st was to beat last year's total, which happened pretty fast. 2nd was to beat my personal best cat, which was 27". I have beat that mark 4 times this year. 3rd was to finish in the top 10 of the contest , which remains to be seen. I never imagined I would be sitting so close to 90 pts at any point during the contest.

Now I will just enjoy the ride. I can only get out maybe once a week for a few hours so I try to make the best of it. I have so many other obligations that it is hard to spend much time pursuing my passion for fishing. I have sure enjoyed the ride so far. Good luck to everyone!
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[SkunkedAgain]

Man that is pretty crazy to hit one of the elite fish of the contest on a time constrained fishing budget... Congratulations to you... If you look back over our six years of the contests, we have only had 9 fish that have been 32" or better and that is with a lot of hours dedicated towards catching big fish.. I'd put that as a pretty great accomplishment... especially for a sophomore with limited time to fish.... also I would say your top ten finishers is a lock, typically a score of 89 will put you in the top five for the year, but I can't guarantee it, every season is different, but your well on your way to the varsity club and a letter's man jacket... We have a big clump of higher than usual scores for this point of the contest, so we may get more 90's this year, but even so I think you're well on the way to a great ending.. Great job and good luck at finding at least one more inch to get a 90 and who knows maybe even challenging the champ for the title... Good luck.. J
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[catchinon]

Everything Jeff said and more. You kinda make it look easy. Way to go.
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[Tin-Can]

I think last year I caught my first Contest Cat the day of the Willard Flotilla. Maybe that's why I have had no luck yet this year.
Sure would make me happy to "poach" BLK's 36 incher out of UL next Saturday at the UL LB Flotilla...[sly]

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[SkunkedAgain]

Hey Forest I think you'll get a cat on the board next week, not sure it will be 36", but I bet it will beat 27"... Good luck... Jeff
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[SkunkedAgain]

[#0000bf]Wow big flux of fish yesterday and they were good fish too.... So for Craig we now have a tie for the top 20 fish and the south has filled the 20 too, so this is a dead heat race.... [#00bf00]North still holds on to the top 10 lead, but only by a full inch a fish at this point... [#ff0000]Too many individuals making big moves, but check the top five positions there were a lot of fish added also keep an eye on Mrs J, she's making an impressive Freshman year run towards the top... Well think I need to go fish so here's your scores...[/#ff0000][/#00bf00][/#0000bf]

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[SkunkedAgain]

Sorry the computer is coughing up a hair ball and I can’t get the chart added. Will get it as soon as I can. J
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[SkunkedAgain]

[#0000bf]Wild weekend of scores.... Love this time of the season with tons of new big fish coming in... So when the dust settled after the weekend this is what I have for results... North still in the lead on the big board top ten, Ahi still on top individually, [#ff0000]but the south has gained some ground and now leads the top 20 and overall length categories... I'm sure Craig will like that... Here's the scores for you to check and see if I made any mistakes or missed anything that should be there... Let me know if I did... Thanks all... J[/#ff0000][/#0000bf]
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[SkunkedAgain]

[#0000ff]Better Check Out this one.... Ahi was just tied by jigfisher..... yup it's really true... [#ff0000]Few other fish found their way onto the charts and the south increased it's lead for the top 20 fish... [#00bf00]North maintained a lock on the top 10 fish and it's looking like a great contest... Here's the updates... J[/#00bf00][/#ff0000][/#0000ff]
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[SkunkedAgain]

[#00bf00]Couple new fish on this one... Sorry Josh didn't mean to cut you off, but I'm not on the big screen today and I couldn't fit all the entries on this screen shot... Anyway just an update before the weekend wildness gets started... Later J[/#00bf00]
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