Spearfishing Recap and a Name Change

The second event of 2006 at Pontiac Cove Marina was a soaker! Similar to the Blessing, it rained ALL day on Saturday for the spearfishing tournament. But that's okay! Also similar to how the Blessing went down -- the great success that it was -- we still had a grrrrrreat turnout for the tournament. Fifty-five divers entered this year -- last year there were 51. The entry fee was bumped up from $20 to $25 and so the purse was that much sweeter -- $1,375.00. The tournament is 100% payback, so the winners all got a percentage of that money. The biggest prize went to Roy Waddell of Mountain Home, Ark. for first place catfish. It was a blue cat weighing in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces. The prize was $412.50. PCM's own Josh Simpson took second place with an 8-pound, 7-ounce blue cat. And PCM's Chris Shaw took third place with an 8-pound, 1-ounce blue cat. First place rough fish went to Jeremy Manier, of Highland, Ill., who shot a 10-pound, 8-ounce carp. Don Heskett, of Centerview, Mo., and Bob Benson, of Imperial, Mo., tied for second, both having shot a 10-pound, 7-ounce carp. Ken Rader of Rogers, Ark. had the biggest walleye at 2 pounds, 12 ounces. We handed out awards and door prizes at the Pontiac Park Pavilion. Just Jackie's catered the event. More than 100 people showed up at the park for our after party. It was really fun!

Different subject... I'm sure if you're a devoted reader of this blog, then you noticed I changed the name! There is a large group of friends who come down here practically every weekend during the summer, and they spend many, many weekends here all year long. They refer to our little piece of paradise here as "The O.C.", which stands for Ozark County, of course. But it's a little inside joke among them. And it's really catching on. The reason being: You've at least heard of the elitist society of Orange County, California, right? And perhaps you've even seen an episode or two of the hit television series, The OC, on FOX. Anyway, it's a funny comparison, the West Coast O.C. to our O.C. that is. But for those of us who love the lake, whether we live here full time or we call this place our second home, we know there really is no comparison.