Want to make a bet?

Written by Craig Nyhus

Wednesday, 23 January 2008

Wagers, fishing tourneys often go together. Before dropping the first line in the water, fishermen usually discuss the rules of the bets in the boat. From “a dollar for the first,” to “a dollar for the biggest,” most anglers can’t help but to have something on the line. But the action doesn’t stop with just the weekend anglers — it extends to the highest levels of professional fishing. To really find the big boys on the betting scene, head to the blue water — where billfish tournament anglers pay hefty entry fees and bets are nearly as much a part of the activities as the event itself. “The crews in the billfish tournaments are mostly private boat owners who hire a boat captain,” said Tops-N-Towers’ owner Bobby Byrd, who has fished in marlin tournaments since age 13 when he started as a deck hand for his father and grandfather. “The entry fees are $5,000 to $10,000, the boats run $1 million to 5 million, and they burn 140 gallons of diesel per hour.” It’s the Calcutta events at the tournaments that bring out the big bucks. “The big stories come out then, too,” Byrd said. “I might announce a crew and tell about how they have been catching marlin from the Bahamas all the way through the Gulf to Texas. The crew might get an opening bid of $10,000.” The betting and storytelling goes on from there. “At the bigger tournaments like Poco Bueno (where Byrd and his father won in 1970), the bids have gone as high as $17,000 for the crew to buy just half of their boat,” Byrd said. “And if you don’t, someone else will buy it.” One might think the bass pros — with all of their TV presence — would be the big betters. But a beanie baby is the largest wager for many of them. BASS pro Zell Rowland of Lake Conroe, who was found breaking in his new Yamaha outboard, said not much betting goes on in the bass tours. “Most of the guys are too focused on what they are doing,” he said. “They fish against the entire field — not just one guy. “Some guys have a beanie baby and they pass it around to the loser. He has to carry it until the next guy loses.” A few bets do take place. BASS pro Mark Menendez used to share a room on the tour with Fish Fishbourne. “Whoever made a check had to pay the hotel bill — if we both got checks we would split it,” Menendez said. “I paid more than my share.” Menendez also emcees the Jacob Duga Memorial Tournament. “It has a Calcutta,” he said. “The winning team gets around $1,200 and the event organizers give the fishermen some of the cash, too.” Away from the tournaments, the wallets do come out, especially when the odds are stacked in their favor. Rowland especially likes to “fun fish” with his brother from Austin. “He is wealthy and I bet him $100 per fish,” he said. “He has never won. When he gets about $700 in the hole, he usually quits.” On the redfish circuits, pros operate in teams, which can lead to a more competitive environment both on and off the water. “No one bets on practice days because everyone will lie to you,” said Greg Watts, who with his twin brother, Brian, has multiple Redfish Cup wins. “There’s really no major betting,” he said. “Just little games to make it interesting. But there is a group of teams that have a little Calcutta at the events. It’s usually dinner or a small cash pot, or sometimes they just all make a cash pot and the winner takes all.” But get the pros off the water and all bets are on. “We have more bets on the golf course on the days we aren’t allowed to fish,” Watts said. “It’s hard because you don’t know how good the guys are — they might sandbag you. “And when we’re rained out, it really gets crazy at the bowling alley.” But no tour can keep up with the blue- water boys. “Those blue-water guys are in a different field,” Rowland said. “Us BASS guys can’t compete with them.” While side bets are rare on the other tours, they are the norm in blue -water fishing. “There are side pots and brown bag deals,” Byrd said. “It’s not $100 or something like that — it’s big money and big gambling.”

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 January 2008 )

 

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