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1st Place Jim Abts and Kevin Revolinski
One of the greatest benefits of fishing is the
friendships that are formed while spending time on the water.
Whether it’s a father daughter team fishing in their first FOM
tournament together or a grandpa and grandson soaking night crawlers
for Bullheads on the banks of a small stream, time spent fishing
brings people together, spans generations and bonds friendships for
a lifetime. Such is the case for Jim Abts and Kevin Revolinski. Abts
is a resident of Fountain City and lives more than four hours from
Winneconne. Although
Revolinski could choose to fish with a local, it’s more than the
fact that Abts is a good stick that brings them together. More than
ten years ago the duo met while Revolinski and his wife lived in La
Crosse. Since then the two have fished in many tournaments together
and have spent hundreds of hours developing their friendship and
honing their fishing skills, both of which seem to improve every
year. Last August when Abts and Revolinski won the final event of
the 2005 season, Revolinski commented on stage that he felt he was
finally starting to figure out how to catch fish more consistently
on the Winnebago system. Apparently they still have things figured
out.
Kicking off the 2006 Wisconsin East Division
season with a solid limit of Smallmouth bass, the longtime friends
were able to secure their second consecutive victory on the Wolf
River in Winneconne on April 29th. Their limit of 13.79 pounds
topped the field of 37 boats and was just enough to hold off second
place finishers Ben Kurtz and Dustin Smith, who weighed in with
13.54 pounds. The win was particularly gratifying for Revolinski.
“Jim is the closest thing I have to a brother, and few things make
me happier than seeing him smile when we do well,” he replied.
Their limit of smallies got the crowd of over 100 cheering with
Revolinski’s wife Lisa and his children leading the applause.
Great job guys! They would like to thank St. Croix Rods for
sponsoring them again this season and credit much of the win to the
quality rods needed to handle the hard fighting smallies of the Wolf
River.
2nd Place Ben Kurtz and Dustin Smith
Second place finishers Ben Kurtz of Lake Geneva
and Dustin Smith of Wind Lake, Wisconsin were runners up with a
stout limit of largemouth weighing 13.54 pounds. While Kurtz was
fishing in his second Fishers of Men event, his partner Dustin Smith
was participating in his first. With less than two pounds separating
the first seven places, the chunky fish the two brought to the
scales was enough to distance them from the remainder of the field.
Kurtz commented on stage during the awards ceremony that he really
enjoys the FOM format, including the Friday night meetings.
“It’s a message we can all use,” he replied. Congratulations
guys!
3rd Place Tyler Liska and James Augustine
In third place were newcomers Tyler Liska of
Green Bay and James Augustine of Pulaski.
When the young duo popped the scales with a dandy 5.51 pound
Largemouth the crowd thought they had seen the big bass of the
tournament and so did “weighmaster” Chris Wenzel, WI East
Division sponsor and owner of Customized Solutions. “I thought
that fish would win big bass for sure,” Wenzel replied after weigh
in. Little did Liska and Augustine know, a lunker was lurking. With
a dandy kicker fish padding their five fish limit they were able to
weigh a very respectable 13.25 pounds. Fortunately for them, Fishers
of Men events pay back two big bass places.
Big Bass Jason Loewe
Shortly after the two left the stage, Artworks
Unlimited owner and WI East Division sponsor Jason Loewe brought a
massive Largemouth to the scale. Weighing in at a whopping 6.34
pounds, the Largemouth overtook the previous benchmark of 5.51 to
win the MG Lures Big Bass Award for the tournament. “That’s the
biggest bass this scale has seen and might see for a long time,”
said Division Director Chris Jones. “I didn’t realize it was
that big at first, but, when I got a good look at it, I think the
fish was as wide as it was long, making it look more like a football
than a largemouth.” Loewe shared that he caught the self
appropriately named “mutant” at 12:30 on a green texas rigged
tube with a red un-pegged sinker. He also commented that two
previous teams and he himself had already flipped that exact tree
within the hour. Great fish Jason, way to go!
Finishing in fourth was FLW tour pro Chris Cox
of Appleton and his partner Jason Stangel of Two Rivers.
Their lengthy five fish limit stretched the scales at 12.98
pounds, edging out the father son team of Mike and Jimmy Doering of
Niles, Illinois by the slightest of margins. The Doerings finished
in fifth place with 12.97 pounds. Rounding out the final two paid
places were Ryan Redmann of Brandon and Randy Redmann of Rosendale
in sixth with 12.85 pounds, followed by Jim Barczak of Fremont and
Mike Mayan of Rosendale in seventh with 12.57 pounds.
The tournament went very smoothly despite the
unusually strong Southeast winds and overcast skies which threatened
rain most of the day. Oshkosh Community Church hosted an excellent
Friday night pre-tournament meeting, and those in attendance were
treated to an all you can eat spaghetti dinner sponsored by Custom
Interiors and Canvas of Winneconne. Fishers of Men would like to
specifically thank Dawn Northway of Custom Interiors and Canvas, for
being the official dinner sponsor for the tournament. The food was
excellent! Whether it’s providing dinner for the Friday night
meeting, working the weigh board on tournament day or designing on a
customized bass boat cover, Dawn’s commitment to Fishers of Men is
clearly from the heart. After dinner America’s number one bass pro
wanna be Chris Wells spoke to the crowd. He challenged everyone to
think more about their relationship with God.
The next stop for the WI East Division is on
Big Green on May 20th. Tournament headquarters will be
the beautiful Green Lake Conference Center located on the shores of
Big Green. 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
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