Syracuse.com - Wild Carp Week Celebrity Challenge results in 5-way tie

[HuntingNY-News]

No fish were caught during the 3-hour competition. However, three were caught moments after it ended. The result: the five celeb anglers were given $2,000 to give to the charities of their choice. Wade Live and his guide, Ivan Petrov, of Brooklyn, hold Live's fish, which weighed 12 pounds, 7 ounces. It was the biggest fish of the day, but it was caught moments after the tournament ended.Today's Wild Carp Week Celebrity Challenge at Mercer Park in Baldwinsville along the Seneca River resulted in a 5-way tie, with none of the contestants catching any carp during the allotted time.However, moments after the tournament ended at 2 p.m., three of the contestants reeled in carp. The largest, a 12-pound, 7-ounce fish, was landed by professional magician Wade Live. Baldwinsville Mayor Joe Saraceni and myself also landed fish.All celebrity anglers -- Wade, meteorologist Wayne Mahar, investigative reporter Jim Kenyon, Saraceni and myself -- all got $2,000 apiece to donate to the charity of our choice. The $10,000 for the tournament was put up by Wild Carp Companies, the group that is running Wild Carp Week. The winner was originally slated to get $3,000.Despite the lack of fish, it was a beautiful day to fish and a crowd of about 75 people watching the event, which lasted from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.I hold up my 11-plus pounder. It was the second biggest fish caught of the day.Each of us were assigned pro carp anglers. I was teamed up with Romanian native Bogdan Bucur, of Chicago, who last year teamed with Mihai Aciu, also of Chicago, to win the Wild Carp Classic.My carp today weighed a touch over 11 pounds. Saraceni's fish, which was not weighed, appeared to be about 5 pounds, said tournament co-director Jason Bernhardt.The following charities will receive $2,000:- Priscilla Mahar Animal Welfare Foundation (donated by Wayne Mahar)- Make A Wish Foundation of CNY (donated by Wade Live)- The Greater Baldwinsville Community Development Fund (donated by Joe Saraceni)- CNY chapter of the Alzeiheimer's Association (donated by myself)** Advanced Strategies Adventures and the CNY Food Bank will receive $1,000 each (donated by Jim Kenyon)A group shot of all the contestants and their guides.My guide, Bogdan Bucur and I pose with my plaque and the $2,000 check I'm donating to the CNY Chapter of the Alzeihmer's Association in memory of my dad and my Uncle Stan, who's still alive.The Celebrity Carp Challenge is the first of five tournaments in Wild Carp Week.The Wild Carp Classic, which is the marquee event , kicks off at 10 a.m. Sunday morning on the Seneca River. It features 50 straight hours of fishing by 45, two-person teams at various assigned sites (pegs) along the river. The anglers will have to stay at their assigned spots until the contest ends at noon Tuesday. The winning team will get $5,400. Other cash prizes will be awarded fo rthe largest fish and the Big Four (total weight of the four biggest fish caught by a team).Three other individual days of competition, the Big Carp Challenge, the Big 4 Challenge and the Total Weight Challenge, will follow on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, respectively.For more, see the Wild Carp Week Web site.

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