Expired Fishing License Disqualifies $1 Million Big Rock Tournament Winners

Get government off our backs, or our boats.

At Jacksonville Daily News, "Rules violation costs Citation win, record, $900,000-plus in Big Rock":

The lack of a $15 fishing license cost the Citation $912,825, not to mention first place and a spot in the record books in the 52nd annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Fishing Tournament.

Ouch? You bet so.

“It hurts,” said angler Andy Thomossan, who caught a record 883-pound blue marlin Monday that he and everyone else bet would win the $1.66 million tournament. “No record. No money. No fish. No nothing. Yep, it’s a nice ending to the story, isn’t it?”

Not for Thomossan and Co.

The Citation’s victory was initially put on hold Saturday night during the awards banquet and a day later erased by Big Rock officials because a crew member didn’t have a fishing license, said Thomossan, 63, who lives in Richmond, Va.

Also at Washington Post, "Fishing License Dispute Costs Virginia Team $1 Million Prize in Outer Banks Big Rock Blue Marlin Contest."