ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service today announced the first winners in the 2nd Annual Maryland $1,000,000 Fishing Challenge: The Return of Diamond Jim.
Nine anglers from four states caught fish with tag numbers coded to prizes such as rounds of golf and $100 gift certificates. The nine lucky winners, along with more than 121 other qualifiers, are still eligible for grand prizes to be awarded at the Fishing Challenge closing ceremony on Saturday, September 16, at City Dock in Annapolis.
The “fish-level” prizes just awarded came from a pool of 275 prizes sponsored by 34 business and organizations. Legendary outdoor writer Bill Burton randomly selected the prize-winning tags from among the 1,500 tags on fish that were released this summer. Anglers who caught one of the more than 1,500 tagged fish qualify for the grand prizes.
Each week since the start of the contest in June, one tagged fish called “Diamond Jim” worth $25,000 has been released in Maryland waterways. No one has landed the prize so far, but the final Diamond Jim is still at large and available to be caught until the end of the contest at midnight, September 4.
Grand prizes include:
* A chance at $1 million cash, sponsored by Boater’s World
* Two 2006 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pick-up trucks sponsored by Toyota Maryland
* A 20-foot center console Sailfish 206CC motorboat and trailer sponsored by Boater’s World
* An 18-foot, 7-inch Tracker Nitro 591 motorboat and trailer sponsored by Bass Pro Shops
Following is a list of the “fish-level” winners and their prizes:
- Charles McElwain, Sr. of Annapolis, MD caught a striped bass with tag #2280 and won a $100 Gift Certificate from Fishbones Bait and Tackle Shop.
- Aubrey Trigger of Coles Point, VA caught a striped bass with tag #2500 and won a $100 off a charter boat trip with Captain Jim Brincefield.
- Brandon Kendell of Hyndman, PA caught a rainbow trout with tag #3065 and won $100 off online store merchandise from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
- Clyde Fields of Berkley Springs, WV caught a sunfish with tag #3090 and won a free round of golf at Rocky Gap Resort.
- Samuel Daughtery of Odenton, MD caught a sunfish with tag #3161 and won a free round of golf at Rocky Gap Resort.
- Tom Pohuski of Marriottsville, MD caught a largemouth bass with tag #3274 and won a free overnight stay at Rocky Gap Resort.
- Harold Fogleman of Rising Sun, MD caught a largemouth bass with tag #3476 and won a $100 off a charter boat trip with Darlene II Charters.
- Michael J. Nyalko, of Glen Allen, VA caught a largemouth bass with tag #3335 and won a free round of golf at Rocky Gap Resort.
- Steve Murray, of Edgewater, MD caught a striped bass with tag number #2372 and won a special ? day family oriented fishing trip and viewing of historical sites off a charter boat trip with Capt. Tom Hughes.
For more information about the prizes, rules and the closing ceremony, you can visit http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/fish4cash/.