Ninth Annual Shrimp Net Casters Contest Held

The Ninth Annual Shrimp Net Casters Contest took place on Sunday, September 3, at Brownie and Kathi Campbell’s backyard pool.

This was the second year in a row our contest was blessed with a beautiful cool late summer day, the calm before the storm.
As in the past, the competition was judged on the shape of the net and accuracy of cast. Each contestant was given three throws in each category, three-foot, seven- foot, and eight-foot nets. The overall champion was determined by totaling the three-foot, seven-foot, and eight-foot scores.
A trio of veteran judges, Kathi Campbell, Woody Monahan, and Jerry Richardson judged the contest. Judge Richardson was unable to attend last year’s contest due to an injury but was enthusiastically welcomed back.
The three-foot contest was winner was Richard Calhoun, 2nd place Jimmy Fore, and 3rd place Daniel Coleman. Richard threw two near perfect casts and a not too bad third that gave him the win. The seven-foot toss winner was Mickey Dew, 2nd place Lawrence Jordon, and 3rd place Daniel Coleman. It seems that Mickey Dew always has something worthwhile to repeat each year. This year as he was stepping onto the diving board he stated at his age he was worried about falling off. He was thinking about wearing a life vest, but on second thought if he did actually fall in it would probably be best to let him lie on the bottom of the pool. Drowning would be much better than having to endure the embarrassment and harassment he would have to bear if he had to be fished out! Mickey would not tell his age, but it was the consensus of the other contestants that (1) we all hope to live that long, and (2) we would be able to continue doing all the things he is still capable of doing.
The eight-foot net winner was Daniel Coleman, 2nd place Richard Calhoun, and 3rd Jimmy Fore. Daniel threw two perfect nets and the third almost perfect to seal the win.
The overall champion, all three nets totaled, was winner again this year was Daniel Coleman. Richard Calhoun was again nipping at his heels, and with Jimmy Fore coming in at 3rd place.
With two overall championships in a row for Daniel, there was some semi-serious talk of instituting a handicap system to even the contest. Some of this talk was of blindfolding, one arm casts, standing on one foot (though the accompanying picture suggests that standing on one foot may have been instrumental in his winning form,) and of making Daniel a judge. That is what happened in the past with Jerry Richardson.
After Richard Calhoun blessed the food and asked for a safe shrimping season, the contestants and friends enjoyed an excellent Frogmore stew prepared by Gena Pelt and Jimmy Fore. Lawrence Jordon, Richard Calhoun, Jimmy Fore, and Kathi Campbell provided hors d’ Oeuvres and desserts.
The winners were announced and presented with solid gold colored trophies, and those names will be inscribed on the year-by-year trophy plaques.
Club motto: Nothing could be finer than doing something you enjoy with people you enjoy doing it with, especially if there is good food and you are in South Carolina.