|
Danny Hayes and Jim Jackson had a front row seat for the WI
East Division weigh in at the Green Lantern on Lake Waubesa,
Saturday July 22nd. The team from Rockford, Illinois set
the bar for the entire tournament weighing in first with a hefty
limit which tipped the scales at 18.29 pounds, including a stout
5.52 pound largemouth which took home second big bass honors for the
tournament. Although they sat quietly in the cool shade of a large
Maple tree near the FOM stage watching the remainder of the field
weigh in, it was their mixed bag of three largemouth and two
smallmouth that was sizzling at the top of the leader board. While
the shade provided some relief from temperatures climbing into the
mid 80’s during weigh in, Hayes and Jackson were in the proverbial
“hot seat” watching and waiting, hoping their weight would be
enough to hold the rest of the field. When the weigh in was
complete, it was more than enough. In fact, their limit which was
caught using Carolina rigs was a solid three pounds ahead of the
second place finishers. Hayes
and Jackson both commented on stage during the awards ceremony that
they were definitely on a quality bite not quantity bite referencing
the fact that they caught very few keepers during the day and had to
wait patiently for their bites. Hayes said that they watched a local angler using live bait
pull several quality keepers off of the same spot they were working.
The two took home over $1200 for their efforts. Great job guys!
Finishing in second place for the second straight tournament
were Rich Rhein and Dave Deprey of Fond du Lac, who pulled a solid
limit of largemouth weighing 15.07 pounds. Rhein said they caught
their fish early in the day in the slop and then switched to dock
bite as the day progressed using various soft plastics to round out
their five fish limit. The finish earned the team $677 and pulls
them near the top of the season standings.
In third place were Eric Coggon of North Prairie and Chad
Reynen of Oconomowoc. Fishing in their first FOM event the two were
able to catch a limit of fish weighing 14.37 pounds. They caught
their keepers using a variety of soft plastics, and Reynen was able
to boat two quality kickers from the back of the boat using a deep
diving crankbait.
In fourth place were Dave and Keith Brossard, the 2005 FOM
Madison Chain winners. The
team from Burlington and Williams Bay respectively caught five
chunky largemouths locking in on the scale at 13.90 pounds. Keith
commented on stage that the bite on the Madison Chain has been a
little slow compared to the usual this time of year, with most fish
being caught in the 10-17 foot range using tubes and other soft
plastics.
Rounding out the top five with 13.83 pounds were Gary
Gottschalk of Fall River and Dan Helmer of Beaver Dam. Gottschalk
and Helmer also closed the gap on current WI East Division point
leaders Kevin Revolinski and Jim Abts who finished in sixth with
13.43 pounds.
One of several teams fishing the tournament out of a Triton
bass boat was Pete Knipp and Jeff Tieze. The two anglers who are
fishing in their second season with Fishers of Men pulled a dandy
largemouth from the depths of Lake Monona that weighed 6.3 pounds to
take home the MG Lures Big Bass award for the tournament. Tieze
commented on stage that the lunker was caught using a Brovarney jig.
Next up for the Wisconsin East division is the final division
tournament of the season in Winneconne on August 26th.
Anglers are competing within the division point standings for
a top twenty finish and a berth to the 2006 Fishers of Men Midwest
Regional Championship on the Detroit River, September 22nd-23rd
where a brand new Triton boat will be given away. The
Wisconsin East Division would also like to thank our national
sponsors for making the tournament possible: Triton Boats, Mercury,
Strike King Lure Co., Kistler Rods, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits,
Marshall's Marine- Lake City SC, Solar Bat, Spike-it Bait Co.,
Castrol, Keelshield, Motor Guide, Lowrance, All-Terrain Tackle,
Stanley Jigs, XTools, Dual Pro Charger, Spot Remover by Buckey
Lures, Hot Rods Marine Care Products, Deka Marine Master Batteries,
Diamond Cut Jeans, Jacob Glass, Bass RX, Keep Alive Oxygen Infusor,
Sospenders, River Bottom Lures Inc, and Hooah Energy Bars.
PLEASE VISIT WI
EAST FISHERS OF MEN FOR COMPLETE RESULTS AND UPCOMING
EVENTS
|
