The champions of The Press 2009 Bent Rods Fishing Contest were published last Saturday, but there were other significant entries that did not earn prizes.
Fred Kisby of Northfield caught the heaviest fish in this year's contest. The 490-pound thresher shark taken 20 miles off Atlantic City on June 27 topped the previous mark of 459 that went back to 1993 and took the Offshore division.
Ronald Leider of Ocean View had the next-biggest fish, a 373-pound mako shark July 7 at the Elephant Trunk. Brian Cummings of Egg Harbor Township got a 191-pound bluefin tuna at the 28-Mile Wreck on Aug. 4.
The Youth Saltwater division was topped by a 175-pound bluefin entered by Greg Merrill of Malvern, Pa.
Several other quality fish were entered by young anglers.
Matt Fazen, a freshman at Middle Township High School from Woodbine, was the Youth Division winner in the Spring Segment of The Press contest with a 59-pound black drum. Ricky Frank of Margate hooked a 125-pound blue shark 10 miles off Ocean City on June 13. Quinn Overcash of Cape May Court House caught a 42.13 pound striped bass Nov. 7 in Delaware Bay.
Gabriel Eberly was an active young angler this season. The Ocean City resident caught and entered a 13.5-pound sheepshead, and 6- and 4.71-pound tautog. Some other nice catches by youth: Will Ruszkowski, Ocean City, 12.14 bluefish; Joey Weeast, East Hampton, 11-pound, 7-ounce flounder; Eian Donati, Galloway Township, 9-pound weakfish in the surf at Brigantine; and Kyle Cooper, Egg Harbor Township, 1.57 white perch.
In the (overall) Freshwater Division, John Wood of Galloway Township had a 6.10-pound bullhead catfish. Bullheads are not among the largest catfish. This one was identified and verified by Ray Slemmer at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center. Wood was ineligible for contest prize consideration because he is a pressman for The Press. There is a 13-pound bullhead catfish on record in The Press Fishing Contest.
Frank Verna of Elmer caught an 8-pound, 8-ounce American eel Nov. 19 in Flat Creek behind Sea Isle City. Dan Bonner got a 2.65-pound Spanish mackerel at Sea Isle Ridge on Aug. 14. He is from Doylestown, Pa. Joel Block, a resident of Wrightstown, Pa., entered a 2-5 smooth puffer caught on The Keeeper in the Margate back bay June 22.
A lot of nice white perch were caught this season. Egg Harbor City's Terry Rotellini got one of them. It went 2 pounds, 4 ounces, which is 8 ounces under the contest record of 2-12.
The Bent Rods contest started April 1 and continued to Nov. 30. The winners receive $50 and a trophy. The contest is also divided up into three season segments for spring, summer and fall with separate prizes of $150 gift certificates provided by area bait and tackle shops. The fall winners were published Dec. 12 and can be found on The Press' Web site: