The 'Men's NetWork' Fishing Tournament Hooks More than Fish
 It seems that pitting man against fish for some summertime angling fun definitely caught on for fishermen in this summer's First Annual Men's NetWork North American Fishing Tournament. The contest, which ran from June 1 through Aug. 30, netted 188 anglers. Of these, 124 had not been on the Men's NetWork (MNW) Web site before, 16 have become new MNW subscribers, and 80 are now signed up to receive the weekly e-newsletter.
And all under the banner of fishing—who would've imagined?
Indeed—and there were a few fish taken, too. Joining the perennial freshwater favorites of largemouth bass and crappie hauled in were the likes of channel cat, salmon, walleye, perch, bluegill, northern pike, freshwater stripers, and trout—to name a few. Oh, and lest we be remiss, a fine example among the "strangest non-fish thing caught" was a very nice 15-lb. patio umbrella—a rare and lucky catch for one proud Missouri angler! In all, fishermen from 28 states and one Canadian province submitted fish for the contest.
The prize for biggest fish of the tournament goes to Roger Elke, who landed a 25 lb. freshwater salmon from Lake Michigan—a lake he successfully plied on more than a few occasions for tournament catches.
Most welcome among the many submissions the MNW received was a lively stringer of positive feedback and hopeful comments that we'll do it again next year. For those wetting lines, sometimes there was also the discovery of a haven they may not have tapped into before. Seth Kaiser, fishing an Iowa farm pond, hauled in a 4 lb., 9 oz. largemouth that made his day. "First time on this pond," Kaiser wrote. 'With fish like this, it won't be the last!"
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