Posted on 03/15/2009 7:56:04 AM PDT by SandRat
Eric Maninno, professional angler, looks his catch in the eye after battling to reel him in through a patch of reeds in one of the canals during Operation Catch Fish on Camp Slayer, March 7. Photo by Spc. Eric Glassey, 13th Public Affairs Detachment.
CAMP SLAYER — Servicemembers and civilian employees gathered here at Slayer Lake, in the shadow of Victory over Iran Palace, to try and reel in the big one during the second annual Operation Catch Fish competition,
March 7.
Professional anglers Sondra Rankin, Eric Maninno and Joe Mercurio were on hand to host the event. Rankin is a country music singer as well as the star in her own TV series, “Turn up the Bass.” Maninno hosts his own show as well as being co-host of Operation Catch Fish with Mercurio.
Servicemembers enjoyed a few hours off from their normal work to enjoy a fun and relaxing day of fishing. “It is nice to get out of the office and relax,” said Master Sgt. Betty Rupp, who won second place in the female division with a catch of 3 lb., 15 oz.
Gifts were handed out to all the participants while the top winners received special prizes like fishing reels and watches. Jason Sparkman, the first place male winner, won a TV for his fish weighing in at more than 13 lbs.
Taking first place in the woman’s division was Pfc. Ariadna Lee, with a catch weighing in at nearly five lbs. She was awarded a watch and a bag full of various fishing lures and hooks.
“I love it [Operation Catch Fish],” Rankin said. “We are giving the troops an opportunity to get a day off and win a few prizes.”
(By Spc. Eric Glassey, 13th Public Affairs Detachment)
Very Cool!
Trying to decide what kind of fish that guy is holding....definitely has bass characteristics but not the typical markings of an American bigmouth bass. American largemouths do not have pronounced spots like that.
My first thought was that it is a carp.
Beat me to it! L0L
Scales give that carpy look, but I’d like to see the head. Definitely has the bassy head. Might be one of these....
http://www.briancoad.com/main.asp?page=TitlePage_Iraq.htm
I’m guessing that if it had a bass head, he would’ve lipped it instead of going in the gill. I say some kindda carp.
Lord, what is that thing?
good on them!!! but next thing you know, we'll hear from I-PETA or something about the poor fish, and if we feed them to hungry Iraqi's, they'll say the water is polluted or something... looked like a carp to me tooo.
I don’t know, actually. But it would probably be a lot of fun to catch.
That is a carp. My question is what type of fish are in that lake besides carp?
I always tell PITA-minded folk that I’m doing fish a favor. I’m kind of a fish oriented oral surgeon. They come to me with sore mouths, and I fix em and let em go.
Aren’t some American’s just wonderful. I love these stories.
Bring over more pro fishermen and some bass boats too. This looks like a real morale booster. Bring in some Iraqi fisherman too and see how they stack up
Note the dorsal fin conforms to the picture at the start of this thread.
Maybe we could fry one and put it in PITA with slaw and a chipolte dressing?
Head’s flatter and more elongated than the carp I’ve seen in my neck of the woods. But definitely has that same fat body and big scales.
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