The Other Captain Mnichowski

After the thunderstorms stopped at the Hopedale venue on Sunday, the other Captain Mnichowski walked to a prime spot in the crowd to take in the action. Captain Ernie Mnichowski, the 76-year-old father of Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup angler Andy Mnichowski, wanted to make sure he saw his son display his day's catch.

"I'm proud," the distinguished man sporting large glasses and red cheeks said. "Absolutely, proud."

After retiring from the United States Air Force, the elder Mnichowski moved to Cherry Town, La. from South Bend, Ind. to take a job with Amtrak as a district manager. After hanging it up in the transportation industry, he started a career as a guide for redfish, speckled trout and flounder.

"Now I guide for anything you can catch," he said. "I'm more semi-retired."

The entire Mnichowski family screamed loudly as the Redfish Cup angler made his way across the stage.

"Andy's been fishing here since he was 3-years-old," the proud father mentioned before turning his full attention to the stage.

Bostick's other "right-hand man"

Redfish Cup angler Andrew Bostick spends quite a bit of time with his partner Mark Sepe. The two anglers travel across most of the Southeast fishing in tournaments which keeps them away from their family for most of the year.

But before high school begins in earnest, Bostick brought along his 15-year old son, Kyle, to the Hopedale event from their Marco Island, Fla. home.

"I fish for snook, redfish and occasionally tarpon," Kyle Bostick said. "I also play saxophone in my high school marching band."

Dodging the raindrops during the pre-weigh-in hours with the ESPN production crews, Bostick seemed to have a confident feeling about his father's chances to claim another championship.

"One thing about my dad is that he's a really good fisherman in the rain," he said.

Eyeing the Crowd

At each of the afternoon weigh-ins at the Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup, the entire venue was being watched. Granted, live streaming Internet video gave the world a chance to follow the action online but a little white box rising behind the back of the action gave the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office the bird's eye view.

A hydraulic lift held an outpost large enough for one person, one radio and a sliding glass window.

The window to the world gave the official a chance to follow the results booming from the stage and take a whiff of the strong seafood aroma wafting up from the food tents positioned below it.

QUOTES

"We want our name on the Cup just like any other guy."
"Cajun" Phil Broussard

"We didn't think 16 pounds or the mid-16’s would do it, so we went for the big ones."
Andy Mnichowski

"We caught more fish today than the other two days. And we caught more fish over today than the other two days."
Bill Faulkner

"Sit back down, sit back down."
Unidentified fan partial to the Broussards sitting in the "hot seat" while Faulkner and Mihailoff displayed their fish.

"We needed a top ten finish in the points race. We're winners now no matter what happens."
Stephen Stork