ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service announced yesterday that six lucky anglers caught qualifying tagged fish during week five of the 2nd Annual Maryland $1,000,000 Fishing Challenge: The Return of Diamond Jim. Sixty-five-year-old Paul Wolf of Cumberland was one of them. “I may never catch another tagged fish in my life so I’m saving it,” said Paul Wolf. “If I win anything I’m going to mount the fish and hang it on the wall.” Wolf, who only has one leg, says he does not let his disability get in the way of being an avid angler. He caught a tagged rainbow trout in Rocky Gap Lake on July 2.
Wolf and 94 other anglers are now qualified to win one of five grand prizes in the Fishing Challenge, including a chance to win $1 million. When asked what he’d do with all that cash, Wolf said, “I’ve always had to struggle for every dime, so if I win a million dollars, I’m going to throw a big party for all of my fishing and hunting buddies and decide later what to do with the rest.”
The following is a list of anglers who caught qualifying tagged fish during week five of the Fishing Challenge:
o Charles Howard, Washington D.C.: croaker, Point Lookout in the Chesapeake Bay (July 1)
o Jeff Smith, Westminster, MD: largemouth bass, Piney Run Lake (July 2)
o Jay Danielski, Takoma Park, MD: rockfish, Point Lookout/St. Mary's County (July 2)
o Paul Wolf, Cumberland, MD: rainbow trout, Rocky Gap Lake (July 2)
o Kevin Wagner, Waldorf, MD: largemouth bass, St. Mary's Lake (July 2)
o Leon Collins, Frederick, MD: largemouth bass, Cunningham Falls (July 4)
Below is a list of additional anglers who caught qualifying tagged fish during weeks three and four of the Fishing Challenge.
o Ben Gusciora, Williamsport, MD: largemouth bass, Rocky Gap Lake (June 18)
o Greg Flynn, Gaithersburg, MD: largemouth bass, Rocky Gap Lake (June 20)
o Tony Dawson, Hyndman, PA: two rainbow trout, North Branch of the Potomac River (June 22)
o 14 year-old Victor Seredich, Williamsport, MD: largemouth bass, Greenbriar Lake (June 23)
o 10 year-old Kevin Farris, Hancock, MD: red-eared sunfish, Rocky Gap Lake (June 24)
o Larry Powley, Fishing Creek, MD: rockfish, at buoy #72A on Chesapeake Bay (June 29)
o Allen Weinbrenner, Frostburg, MD: smallmouth bass, Rocky Gap Lake (June 30)
o Kurt Merkle, Ellicott City, MD: largemouth bass, Centennial Lake (June 30)
o Thomas Dewitt, Frederick, MD: largemouth bass, Cunningham Falls (June 30)
DNR Fisheries staff released the sixth Diamond Jim striped bass on wednesday in the mid Bay, south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridges. The $25,000 fish becomes eligible at 5 a.m. Saturday, July 8 and expires midnight Friday, July 14. The first person who catches a winning Diamond Jim will win a pair of one-half karat (0.50) diamond earrings courtesy of Zachary’s Jewelers in Annapolis. The Fishing Challenge ends September 4.
RELATED INFORMATION:
Information about the prizes, rules and where to fish:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fish4cash/