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When
Gary Gottschalk set the hook on his first fish a mere three
minutes into his tournament day, partner Dan Helmer knew they
would have to go in after it.
Shortly after hook up the fish had become entangled in the
very grass they were fishing. With the trolling motor of his
Champion in high bypass, Helmer quickly headed in the direction of
the wallowing largemouth which was encased in the heavy grass up
ahead. The sudden burst of speed on the bow caught Gottschalk off
balance and, just as quick as his buzzfrog had been flushed under
by the bass, Gary found himself toppling head over heels off the
side of the front deck and into the grass. “All I could think to
do was to throw my rod on the front deck and grab for the side of
the boat,” he replied. “I was really glad it wasn’t deep
water, and it wasn’t April,” he added. On this day Dan would
pull more than a limit of largemouth from the waters of the
Winnebago system! After he pulled his now very wet partner back
into the boat, and they quit laughing, Gary picked up his rod and
began to reel it in. Much to his surprise, when he tightened the
line, the bass was still there. “We netted it, realized it was a
solid keeper and put it in the livewell,” said Gottschalk. As
the two sat there laughing for the second time in as many minutes,
they couldn’t help but ask themselves if this was going to be
one of those days? Would it be one of those days when everything
works even after a dip in the drink?
1st place Gary
Gottschalk and Dan Helmer
When
the two returned to Waterfront Park for weigh in, their five fish
limit tipped the scales at 12.95 pounds, and it was good enough to
best 31 other teams for their first win in the Wisconsin East
Division. The team from Fall River and Beaver Dam caught their
fish on Lake Winnebago using a variety of lures including frogs,
tubes, buzzbaits and several soft plastics. Despite the still
somewhat soggy shorts at weigh in, Gottschalk along with Helmer
were all smiles on stage when the two took home first place
plaques and over $1,000 for their efforts. Congratulations guys!
2nd place Rich
Rhein and Dave Deprey
Finishing
in second place closely behind with 12.22 pounds was Rich Rhein
and Dave Deprey of Fond du Lac. Like the first place finishers
they too caught keepers early on frogs, but then they switched to
a dock bite using jigs and tubes as the day progressed. In a post
tournament interview Rhein added “We were fishing docks on Butte
des Mortes, but the key was docks that had rocks and weeds on
them.” Finishing in the money in their second straight FOM event
and taking home $976.00, the two are making a strong run for the
top of the division standings with only two events
remaining.
3rd place Jim Barczak and Mike Mayan
In
third place and cashing checks worth $670.00 were Mercury Marine
design engineer Jim Barczak of Fremont and the always jovial Mike
Mayan of Rosendale. The
two caught most their limit of largemouth and smallmouth in the
Wolf River using ISG tubes and Zoom French fries, along main river
rocky shorelines. Barczak commented “It’s been a strange year
on this system and our usual summer pattern is just now starting
to work even though it’s almost July.” Barczak also pointed
out that the Gamma line they are using has played a big role in
their success this season. Their five fish limit weighed in at
12.01 pounds. The two are also in the hunt for the season ending
point championship and the automatic berth to the 2006 FOM
National Championship that goes with it.
4th place Jim
Abts and Kevin Revolinski
In
fourth place were current point leaders Jim Abts and Kevin
Revolinski, who weighed in with 11.47 pounds. The Fountain City
and Oshkosh natives have cashed a check in three straight events
this season. They caught their fish throwing swimming jigs and
four inch worms on Lake Winnebago. “We caught a bunch of fish,
but just couldn’t produce the big bite we needed to move up on
the leader board,” Revolinski replied. All of their fish were
caught drifting across one of the large shallow bays on the
western shoreline of the lake. The two have a commanding lead in
the point race for the season and are favored to win the
season-ending points pot, estimated at $800.00.
Fishing
in their first FOM event of the 2006 season were the father-son
teams of Art and Joe Sukowatey of Greendale and Paul and Jason
Schiefer of Neenah, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.
Sukowatey’s weighed in with a respectable limit of largemouth
weighing 11.41 pounds, good enough for fifth, and the Schiefer’s
limit of Lake Winnebago smallies tickled the scales at 11.38
pounds, making them the last team to finish in the money. Their
limit was anchored by a stout 3.86 pounder which captured second
big bass honors.
MG Lures Big Bass, Ryan
and Randy Redmann
Not
to be lost in the highly contested race for the top six was the
brother team of Ryan and Randy Redmann who captured big bass
honors for the tournament with a dandy 4.4 pound largemouth. The
heavyweight pounced on a Zara Spook worked slowly across a weedy
flat. When they accepted their MG Lures Big Bass award on stage,
the brothers from Brandon and Rosendale were cheered on heartily
by the crowd, including their parents who are avid followers of
the trail. Despite battling cancer, Redmann’s mother Arlene was
thrilled to see her sons win the MG Lures Big Bass award, and she
topped off the great day with a ride back to the launch in Ryan
and Randy’s Triton! Ryan believes it’s her faith in God that
helps her get through the week in hospice care in Fond du Lac, but
she still finds enough energy to get out to church and to watch
her sons compete on the Fishers of Men trail. Arlene, you’re an
encouragement to us all!
According
to WI East Division Director Chris Jones, “One of the great
things about Fishers of Men is all of the family teams that fish
together. Forty percent of the field was made up of teams that
constitute a family unit. We had seven father-son teams, three
brother teams and three husband and wife teams fishing on
Saturday, and that’s just awesome!” If you’re looking for a
fishing tournament that provides good competition and a great
tournament atmosphere, then give Fishers of Men a try.”
The
Friday night meeting went very well, with the anglers treated to
roast beef and gravy along with green beans, salad and dessert
sponsored by Dawn Northway of Custom Interiors & Canvas and
anglers Bob Lloyd and Joe Stiehl. While everyone was out
pre-fishing for the tournament, Dawn, her daughter Nicole and
several other volunteers were in the kitchen preparing the evening
meal. Everything was delicious! Our speaker for the evening was
the 2004 FOM Illinois division point champion Tim Northway of
Winchester. He spoke
to the crowd of over 80 about how the world can be a tempting
place where we are “lured in” by all kinds of distractions
such as materialism, greed, addictions and the desire for power
and control. Just like a bass jumping on a buzzfrog worked over
main river grass, Tim suggested that we too often take the
“bite” on many of the lures of the world. Rather than focusing
on the things of this world which offer little or no lasting
happiness, Tim encouraged everyone to place hope in Christ who
never disappoints! His words were from the heart and were an
encouragement to us all! The evening ended with several lure packs
and door prizes from our national sponsors and Wolf River
Outfitters in Fremont. The last door prize given away was a St.
Croix rod provided by Rich Belanger Promotions Manager at St.
Croix. Deb Brandenstein was the lucky winner!
Deb and her husband are the leading male/female team in the
division standings after three events.
The
next stop for the WI East Division is July 22nd on the
Madison Chain. Details regarding launch site and weigh location
will be posted on the www.wifom.com
website and the www.fomntt.com
website soon.
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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