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WABTA
Auto Connectionz Open
Conditions:
Air Temp: Mid 80’s
Water Temp: Upper
70’s
Water Clarity: Algae Stained
Skies: Mostly Sunny
As
boats launched during the pre-dawn hours leading up the WABTA Auto
Connections Okauchee Lake open, remnants of thunder and lightening
lingered from a storm that had passed earlier that morning.
Even before the storms, the talk leading up to the
tournament was that fish were scattered and that the bass bite was
a bit off from seasons past for this time of year.
Some teams speculated that the algae bloom and poor water
clarity were to blame while others thought that the numerous
storms that had moved through the area during the week leading up
to the tournament had affected the fish.
By the 6:00 AM tournament start the storms had moved on as
45 eager teams headed out to
Okauchee
Lake
.
One
team that found the fishing to be as hot as the August sun was Ken
Darton and Sam Grooms. They brought a solid six bass limit to the
scales weighing 18.78 lbs. Anchoring
their limit was a fat and sassy 4.98 lb. largemouth.
When asked about that fish Sam stated that he caught it off
a patch of main lake weeds in approximately 5 feet of water.
“When the fish hit, I was thinking it was a pike, then
that pig came up and wallowed on the surface and I just about had
a heart attack”. Grooms
stated that he “shook for about five minutes after putting that
fish in the livewell”. After
a few hours without another bite the team decided to abandon their
main lake weed spot and scramble in attempt to fill out their
limit. Grooms reported that they never found a consistent pattern
but that they were able to catch a fish “here and there”
throughout the late morning and early afternoon.
Sam noted that they didn’t have their sixth fish until
almost 1:00 in the afternoon with only an hour left in the
tournament. Sam said another key was that they moved out to deeper
water when the sun really started beating down.
Key baits for the winning team included jigs, topwaters,
and soft plastics. Their
hefty bag of fish netted them $2500 and two first place trophies.
In addition to the cash and trophies Ken and Sam were also
awarded two certificates for a free auto or boat detail donated by
Auto Connectionz in
Oconomowoc, WI. Ken
and Sam also noted that they would like to thank Twin
Pine Resort for their sponsorship and support.
Finishing in second place was the legendary Okauchee Lake father
and son team of Lee and Greg Pauly.
They weighed in a beautiful six fish limit of bass weighing
17.02 lbs. The noted
crankbait specialists reported finding the most consistent action
to be in the afternoon as the temperatures soared into the
mid-80’s. Lee and
Greg have literally won a boatload of money on Okauchee Lake and
their bounty only continues to increase as their limit of bass
added $1575 and two trophies to their haul.
Great job guys!
Rounding
out the trophy winners in third place is the team of Steve Verduyn
and Craig Polka. The
brought a solid six bass limit to the scales weighing in at 15.08
lbs. They won $1060
and two trophies for their third place finish.
Steve stated that they concentrated their efforts on inside
weeds and docks in no more than seven feet of water.
The morning bite was a key to their success as well as the
last half-hour of the tournament.
Steve also mentioned that they fished many different spots
but they fished each spot thoroughly.
Key baits for the team included senko’s and tubes.
Congratulations on a great day on
Okauchee
Lake
!
The
anglers of WABTA would like to thank R.J. Manders, owner of Auto
Connectionz, for his sponsorship of this event and the
tremendous amount of support he has shown to tournament anglers.
Auto Connectionz
donated over $2000 in awards and prizes for this tournament.
Thanks R.J.!
Next
up on the schedule is the 2007 WABTA
Classic. This
year’s two day championship event will be held on Shawano Lake
the weekend of August 25th and 26th.
The top qualifiers from throughout the season will square
off to determine the 2007 Classic Champions.
Watch for coverage around the end of August.
Ken
Darton
Future Bass Pro-Staff
TwinPineResort.Net
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