Trash Can Slam proves tricky for anglers

The Destin Fishing Rodeo's newest category has proven to be one of its most elusive. This year was the first year for the Plumbing Systems Inc.-sponsored Trash Can Slam division, so named because of the inedible nature of the fish involved.

The premise seemed simple enough: Catch a ladyfish, a sailcat and a Jack Crevalle, and the angler with the highest aggregate weight of all three fish wins $1,000. The only real stipulation was that the fish had to be caught by the same angler on the same day.

Maybe the sponsors knew something the anglers didn't, because now, almost two weeks into October, division leader Jordyn Boyd has the distinction of being the division's sole participant.

Monday night, the 26-year-old made the leaderboard with her 2-pound ladyfish, 2.8-pound sailcat and a 1.4-pound Jack Crevalle for a total aggregate weight of 6.2 pounds and first place in the division.

Its level of difficulty is what drives Boyd, who even weighed in a second trio of fish that didn't hit the leaderboard because they weren't bigger than her earlier catch. An angler can't hold both the first and second spots.

"It wasn't too tough, though," Boyd, a Destin resident, said.

Bryant Martin, the owner of Destin-based Plumbing Systems, Inc., said the idea for the division actually came from a T-shirt owned by his 27-yearold son, Nick.

"The shirt had those three fish on it, and I thought it was a shame that they didn't have something like that in the Rodeo," he said. "I thought this division could be something that kids could win fi shing in bay boats."

The division, which makes fish that can be caught near the shoreline highly sought after, gives anglers fi shing on smaller boats a chance to win big prize money, he said.

As for the division's handsome $1,000 first place prize, and its more-than-respectable $500 cash prize for the secondplace angler, Martin said he thought the Rodeo needed a few more cash awards.

"If nothing, I hope this division stimulates more people into sponsoring more cash prizes. I never understood why there weren't more cash prizes in the Rodeo. Sure a 9-aught reel is great, but for the person who is down here on their once-a-year charter trip, why do they need a 9-aught sitting in their closet up in Tennessee?" he said.

The division has also spawned its own Rodeo T-shirt available for sale in the merchandise trailer behind AJ's. The shirt features the Trash Can Slam and Rodeo logos and on the back has sketches and descriptions of the three fi sh. All anglers who enter the division get a T-shirt.

Bruce Cheves, longtime Rodeo weighmaster, said he can't believe more anglers and captains aren't gunning for that $1,000 cash prize.

"If I was in this competition, I'd be going after that every day until I had that thing sewn up," he said. Cheves said finding the fi sh can be a challenge but is far from impossible. "You'll have to hunt around a little but they're there," he said. Martin said he hopes to make the division an annual fixture in the Rodeo. Though the sole name on the board so far, Boyd says "she is gonna keep at it" because she loves the competition. And of course, the cash prize. "That has a lot to do it with it, too," she said.