Invest 20 dollars, catch a tagged trout and you could win $1,000,000

If you are a fisherman or fisher woman (heck, even if you aren't), how would you like to have the rare opportunity to win one million dollars?

That's correct: You could win one million dollars! Or you could even win $100,000 or $10,000! Not too shabby!

All you have to do is catch a tagged trout and then be lucky in a special drawing.

You could become a millionaire overnight and do so at a nearby location.

On Labor Day Weekend, (Sept. 3-4-5), the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau and the Hot Creek Hatchery Foundation in partnership with the Mammoth Art Guild will feature a Fine Art Festival, various games, live entertainment, trout cooking demonstrations and a Million Dollar Trout Competition.

Mammoth Lakes is located just off of U.S. 395, about 120 miles south of Carson City and 40 miles north of Bishop, Calif.

Here are some of the details on that trout competition:

During that weekend, a total of 100 tagged Alpers Trout will be planted proportionately in Lake George, Lake Mamie, Lake Mary and Upper and Lower Twin Lakes, all of which are in the Mammoth Lakes Basin.

Over the course of 2.5 days, any registered angler who catches one of those tagged trout will be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing.

That tagged trout must be officially checked in at the Million Dollar Check-In Station at Pokonobe Lodge on Lake Mary on the day of the catch.

In the event that no tagged trout is caught, the anglers who caught the 10 largest trout (by weight) will be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing.

One luckky name will then be selected from that group for a shot at a Million Dollars.

40 envelopes will be presented to that lucky winner, who then has to open them, one at a time, until he/she receives five (5) with the same messages.

Those messages could be $1 million, $100,000, $10,000 or a "Smiley Face."

The Smiley Face represents a three-day fishing vacation in Mammoth Lakes, including lodging, meals, fly fishing lessons, PLUS an inflatable boat and 8-horsepower motor, with a total value of over $8,000.

All other anglers in the drawing will win prize packages including weekend lodging packages in Mammoth Lakes, Albackore Backcountry tackle boxes/backpacks, Penn Rods and Reels, free luxury fishing vacations and lots more.

The registration fee is $20 of which $10 of that will be earmarked as a donation to the Hot Creek Hatchery Foundation.

The fee includes one raffle ticket for a drawing for a boat/motor/trailer package valued at $10,000, mini tackle box, coupons for discounts at Mammoth Lakes stores, coupons for special fishing adventures in and around California, "tons" of samples from bait and tackle manufacturers, a waterproof fishing license holder and a tax deductible receipt for your $10 donation to the Hot Creek Hatchery Foundation.

The Hot Creek Hatchery, located near Mammoth Lakes, is one of the largest hatchery operations in California and faces possible closure.

The Hot Creek Hatchery Foundation is a charitable, non-profit, public-benefit corporation, charged with raising funds to maintain and improve the hatchery operations.

"If the Hatchery closes, it will not only have a devastating impact on the summer economy of Mammoth Lakes and surrounding towns, but all of California," said Tim Alpers, President of the Foundation.

Alpers is also the individual who is responsible for stocking most of the lakes in the Eastern Sierra with his trophy trout, ranging from 2 to 12 pounds.

"We would love nothing more than for a participant to win a large monetary prize and we very much want all participants to go home happy," said Mammoth Lakes Special Event manager Sandra Di Domizo.

You can register by going to www.visitmammoth.com.

For information, you can call (888) GO MAMMOTH.

There you have it: All the information you need to become an instant millionaire.

Good luck and if you win $1,000,000, please remember who told you about it!

• Bet Your Favorite Pigeon

Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you where to obtain a registration form for that Million Dollar Trout competition.

If he grins and says, "You can get the registration form by going to www.visitmammoth.com/troutstock," he could already be registered in the competition.