QUIT CARPING – FOR NOW

CAP CITY

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a fi sh that sure doesn’t look like Superman.

And the infamous fl ying Asian carp can keep soaring unmolested in the wilds of Bath – that’s in Cass County, well out of cell phone range – for a bit longer this year. Soggy weather has swollen the Illinois River to the point that the annual Redneck Fishing Tournament, usually held in late July or early August, has been postponed until Labor Day weekend, much to the disappointment of fi shermen who can’t seem to afford fi shing poles (banned in the tournament where dip nets, ax handles and baseball bats are tools of choice) but seem to have plenty of money for beer (very much tolerated). This will be the tenth annual event that has attracted worldwide attention to a fi sh that doesn’t belong in Illinois and only came here thanks to fi sh farmers who fi gured the fi nned pest would be a great way to control algae in catfi sh ponds way back in, well, a long time ago. Informed sources say that the postponement will provide more breeding and growth opportunities for a fi sh that is easily lulled into a false sense of security, and so hopes are high for a record catch.