The Big Hook, Live Bait, Boats with Big Motors, and Big Fish Thread
Rules--These are general guidelines. The more categories you hit, the more you score:
BIG HOOKS -- Your fish must have been caught using big hooks. Treble hooks are encouraged, multiple hook rigs are rewarded with bonus points. If your hook size has an "ought" designation, such as 4/0, 8/0 extra bonus points are awarded. Hook strength of 3x and 4x are also encouraged. Lazer sharpened hooks are also encouraged, primarly because they stick more firmly in your flesh and make for better stories (see below).
LIVE BAIT -- Live bait such as shad, eels, leeches, pogies, shiners, greenies, trout, alewives, bunker, mullet, or similar are the standards. Similarly, bait that was formerly alive is acceptable, such as ribbonfish, squid, mullet, cut bait, but incurr a slight deduction for the fact that it is not alive. Things that imitate live bait, such as big plugs with lots of big hooks, are also acceptable, but a larger deduction because no effort was made to obtain live bait or keep the bait alive. Live bait imitators get some return in points for big hooks and other categorical enhancements below.
Boats with Big Motors --It is strongly recommended that the fish be caught from a vessel powered by a fossil fuel. If you don't have a fossil fuel buring vessel, but still catch a worthy fish from the bank, shore, edge of water, pier, or other structure, but scoring points in other categories, that's fine too. Recognition is made that not everyone has access to a fossil fuel propelled vessel. If your vessel is unnamed, deduct points. If your boat is named "Master Baiter," bonus points. More gallons per hour of consumption gets bonus points. If you're running a 42' Yellowfin with trip-350's, mega points.
BIG FISH -- Self explanatory. Big is relative. For example a 10lb brown trout is big. A 10 pound tarpon, although nice, might not be big (unless there is a noteworthy story to accompany said catch). For example, if the 10lb tarpon was caught using big hooks and live bait on a boat with a big motor, and the boat was staffed by young semi-naked ladies, this qualifies as a big fish.
Said dentist reserves the right to modify the rules as appropirate.
Modification #1----Eating said fish = mega bonus points. Blood is good too.