Lawyers Who Fish?
Today, the International Masters Angling Tournament (informally known as “The Masters”) is held annually, and if you read its “Tournament Rules,” set forth in 10 pages of small print, two things become abundantly clear. One, you do not win this particular event based on the size of your bank account, the size of your boat, the acumen of your captain and crew, the brightness of your smile, or the angling skill of anyone else but yourself. And two, Rybovich, a very accomplished boatbuilder and fisherman, must have also been something of a legal beagle, or at least had a flock of legal beagles for fishing buddies.
The rules of the tourney remain absolutely airtight to this day. Anglers earn points for releasing sailfish based only on the time to release. Faster releases earn more points. After 10 minutes an angler gets no points at all. Moreover, once a fish is hooked, the boat must be shifted into neutral and only maneuvered to keep her transom facing the fish—no backdowns allowed. And anglers must share, fishing two to a cockpit, and they’re not allowed to compete from their own boats or in the presence of their own crews. And finally, anglers lose points for breaking a fish off, a critical stricture given that everyone fishes with the same gear, including circle hooks and relatively light, 20-poundtest line.
Stephen Sloan, writing in The Masters 1986—25th Anniversary, an insider’s take on the challenges of the tournament, synopsized: “Do it without the help of the boat, without help of a barb, and then do it all within 10 minutes or get nothing for your efforts. Do this all day for four days, sometimes in huge seas, and if you do better than anyone else, step up for your winning jacket.” Laura Russell of Jupiter, Florida—feel equally honored but also equally confident. Comstock fishes internationally and regularly, as does Russell.
“It’s time something like this happened,” Russell says, “I know plenty of women who can go toe-to-toe with just about anyone. I think women should be fishing The Masters.”
John Rybovich would have probably agreed, or so says Keith Beaty, a member of the tournament’s board of directors.
“It’s funny,” Beaty says, “but I happened to be talking with Michael Rybovich the other day—you know, John’s nephew. And he said he was in favor of this thing. And what’s more, he said his Aunt Kay [John Rybovich’s widow] would be in favor, and his Uncle John … well, he’d have been in favor of it, too.”