“Wow! I knew this was going to be fun, but this was even more fun than I thought it was going to be,” said Gary Sperl team sponsor, and caster on the Zane Grey Marina team. “I had a great time…we all had fun,” commented Jamie Platt of the Quarterdeck Restaurant team. Those sentiments seemed to be shared by all the participants in the Budweiser Weekly Fisherman Marathon Casting League’s first week of competition at Porky’s Waterfront Restaurant.
Competition takes place each week over two casting lanes, with all the teams in the league playing an opening match. After the completion of the opening matches there is 20 minute half-time. Following the half time the winners from lane 1 play the winners of lane 2, and the loosers from lane 1 play the loosers of lane 2. *This week’s opening matches were two teams short, due to family matters far more important, Big Time Bait & Tackle. Also, the Gary’s Pub team was on a model shoot for Casting League Magazine…
This week’s first match pitted the Quarterdeck Restaurant team against the Porky’s Restaurant team on lane 1. Now, both of these teams had what looked to be strong line ups…and based on their match both teams looked strong. Porky’s finished round 1 of the match with a slight lead, 170 to 130 pts. However, Jimmy G. got his Quarterdeck teammates fired upwith a final round connecting on 3 of his 5 casts, scoring 40 points. Following Jimmy’s lead, his teammates went on to post some equally good numbers. Subsequently, the Porky’s team didn’t quite get off to the start they had hoped in the 2nd round, and just couldn’t seem to find the touch they had in the opening round. Porky’s finished the 2nd round with 80 points, added to their first round score of 170 giving them a total of 250 points. The Quarterdeck team followed their opening round score of 130, with 170 point performance in the closing round, thus giving them the win over Porky’s with 300 to 250 score.
Lane 2’s opening match featured the Zane Grey Marina team against the Tackle Box team. The Tackle Box was recently purchased, and the new management put together a nice team for the league. Zane Grey jumped out to a big league in the opening round with 160 to 70 point score performance. Although they didn’t get off to hot start, the Tackle Box team featured the only girl in the opening night competition, Jessica. Jessica sparked her team’s performance in round 2, but on this night, Zane Grey had the hot hand and went on to win 290 to 160.
In other first week opening action, the World Class Angler team ran up against a buzz-saw, the AM Electric group. Team AM Electric started off hot, as Ed Hanna posted an opening round score of 60 points. His teammates continued the good casting with scores of 30, 50 and 70, giving them a score of 210. Team World Class Angler didn’t fair as well in the opening round, they posted 80 points. However, Lieutenant Larry Kelly and his fellow teammates bested their first effort with a 110 point effort in the second round. AM Electric fizzled a bit in the final round; however, based on the great opening scores, they defeated World Class Angler, 290 to 190.
2nd half action featured Zane Grey against Quarterdeck. The Quarterdeck continued their good casting topping Zane Grey 310 to 250. Also competing in the 2nd half, World Class Angler took on Tackle Box. Again, the Tackle Box group ran up against a tiger! Posting the highest game total thus far in the league, the World Class Angler team scored an impressive 410 points! Monroe County’s finest, Lieutenant Larry Kelly posted an incredible 130 point total himself. Kelly scored bull’s-eye shots on his first and final cast!
In closing, week two promises to be even more exciting as the teams become more familiar with the casting rings and distances. Be sure to stop by and check out the action. There will be opportunities for those not on a team to cast for prizes during the half time.