The real perk of being chief judge in the annual fish story contest isn't that I get extra treats. No sir. It's sneaking into the vault for a quick peek at the stories sent in by our fish story scribes.
My cat butler keeps them under lock and key here at fish story central, but I whip out a lethal claw and pick the lock. Fishing is exceptionally good this spring and that must have our authors excited. We've received more stories than usual so far in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette annual contest.
We'll have a look-see at a few of them in a jiff. First, here's how to get in on the fun and enter this fine literary contest for true fish stories.
Email your story to [email protected]. Type "fish story contest" in the subject line. Or, send your story by postal mail to Fish Story Contest, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2560 N. Lowell Road, Springdale, Ark. 72764.
Be sure to include the town you live in or near and a daytime phone number so we can call you if you win. We'll accept entries through May and announce the winner here in NWA Outdoors sometime in June. They can be stories from yesterday or yesteryear, from waters near or far.
Such a high-tony contest demands a great prize, and we've got the goods ready for our winner. First prize is a fine selection of fishing lures courtesy of Keith Brashers over at War Eagle Custom Lures in Rogers and Mitch Glenn at Arkie Lures in Springdale.
Our champion will bask in fish story fame by having his or her story published right here front and center. We'll also run as many of the stories as we can fit into the section.
Aspiring scribes of the angling kind have their work cut out for them. Defending champion Elaine Holloway of Rogers has submitted her story, hoping for a back to back win. Elaine enclosed a nice note saying the lures she won last year helped her catch a bunch of fish during a float trip on the Current River in southeast Missouri.
It's obvious that our authors are sending in true fish stories. You can't make this stuff up. Let's peek at a few. Here's a fine story about a fish's revenge. A fish on the hook leaped high out of the water and hit the author right in the kisser.
We like hand-written stories and here's a good one. Talk about being up a creek without a paddle. This fish story writer watched her dad get his favorite lure caught in a tree. When he climbed a limb to get it, well, we won't spoil the ending, but he was in a sticky wicket.
Here's one about another dad who upgraded from a little john boat to a modern bass boat. Turned out the new boat was nothing but trouble on its maiden voyage, but the day ended well when they welcomed an 8-pound largemouth bass into the boat.
It's easy to see our trio of fish story magistrates will have tough duty judging the contest. Our judges this year are Anita Overbey at Hobbs State Park-Conservation, Beaver Lake angler extraordinaire Jon Hobson, and me, Boat Dock. I look good in a black robe.
So get out there, catch some fish and get your story in for the contest. Good fishing and good writing.
Boat Dock is feline outdoors columnist at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. His column appears when he feels like writing one. Write to Boat Dock on his Facebook page.
Sports on 05/17/2016