Outdoors with Don Q: Enter a fish contest, catch a nice fish and win money

This is my annual reminder that if you like to fish in the State of Nevada, you might be interested in entering the 2013 Ormsby Sportsmen’s Association (OSA) fishing contest.

This annual contest is inexpensive, you can have fun fishing during the year and you might even win some nice cash, just before Christmas. If you’re interested, here is all kinds of information on that contest:

Ormsby Sportsmen’s Association
OSA is a local sportsmen’s organization for hunters and fishermen, with 220-plus paid-up members last year.
It meets the third Tuesday of the month for the months of January through November at 6:00 p.m. at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office on Musser Street.

Those meetings are pot luck dinner meetings featuring a guest speaker.
Then, on the first Saturday night of December, the club holds a traditional end-of-the-year banquet.
All OSA meetings, functions and activities are family-oriented, free of charge (except the banquet), and open to all club members and to anyone else who is interested in hunting, fishing, camping, etc.
The OSA annual dues are $5 for an adult and $2 for youngsters who are under the age of 16. Those prices are amazing in this day and age.

Annual Fishing Contest General Information
Only paid-up adult members, paid-up junior members, Honorary Lifetime Members and Paid Lifetime Members are eligible to enter the contest. The entry fee is $10 per person.
You must be entered in the contest the day before you enter a fish.
The contest is now underway and ends at sundown on Thanksgiving Day.
Then next year’s contest (2014) begins on the day after Thanksgiving.
If you are entered in the contest and if your fish is the largest in its category, you will be awarded a cash prize at the annual banquet in December (you do not need to be present to win).

Fishing Contest Categories
There are seven categories in the contest for fish caught only in the State of Nevada, with two exceptions as listed below:
1. Mackinaw (Lake) Trout (California side of Lake Tahoe is acceptable).
2. Lahontan Cutthroat, Bowcutt Trout (a hybrid cross breed between a male Rainbow Trout and a female Cutthroat Trout) and Cuttbow Trout (a hybrid cross breed between a male Cutthroat Trout and a female Rainbow Trout).
3. Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout (The California sides of Lake Tahoe and Topaz Lake are both acceptable).
4. All other Trout species, such as Eastern Brook, Golden and Tiger.
5. Northern Pike (found only in Eastern Nevada) and Striped Bass.
6. Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Walleye and Wipers (a hybrid cross breed between a White Bass and a Striped Bass).
7. All other warm water fish such as Bluegill, Catfish, Crappie, Perch, etc.

Cash Winners
1. Only first place winners will win cash prizes.

Fishing Contest Rules
1. The fish must be taken legally.
2. The fish must be weighed before freezing.
3. The length of the fish must be measured from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail.
4. There must be at least one witness to the catching of the fish.
5. A photograph is optional but not mandatory.
6. Anyone found guilty of cheating will forfeit his or her winnings.

Joining OSA and Submitting Fish
To join OSA or for information about the organization call Past President Bob McCulloch at 882-6810 or Treasurer LaNora Clyde at 841-5758.
To submit an entry in the fishing contest, you must submit the required information to Bob McCulloch.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you who won and in what categories in the OSA fishing contest for the year 2012.
If he grins, takes a big breath and rattles off the following information, you will lose this bet:
Mackinaw (Lake) Trout:
Elaine Quilici: 11-pounds, 8-ounces at Lake Tahoe.
Note: This was the fourth year in a row that she has won this category.
Cutthroat Trout:
Don Quilici: Pyramid Lake in Washoe County.
Rainbow Trout:
Norm Budden: East Walker River in Lyon County.
Northern Pike:
Don Quilici: Comins Lake in White Pine County.
Brook Trout:
Catali Quilici: Steptoe Creek in White Pine County.
Other Categories:
There were no entries in the other categories in 2012.

— Writer Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com