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72 Boats
Air Temp: 80 Degrees
Winds: S 10-15 MPH
Water Temp: 70 Degrees
Clear
skies and very pleasant conditions greeted the 72 team at the
first event of this years Illini Team Trail Southern Illinois
Circuit. It is the first of six events in the division.
Temperatures were around 60 at take off and above 80 by
tournaments end.
Lake
of
Egypt
continued to give up incredible numbers of fish despite the
increased pressure of other tournaments and recreational
fisherman. It is a true testament to the fishing
capabilities of the fisherman in the area. Many limits were
brought to the scales with a large number of fish in the 5 pound
range weighed.
Leading
the way in 1st place was the team of Bill Leasher of
Neoga
,
IL
and Donnie Dill of
Effingham
,
IL
. They caught 7 keepers throughout the day with their best 5
weighing 19.54 lbs. These two anglers took home $2,400 for 1st
place, $1,000 for Ranger Cup, and several other contingency
prizes. They caught there fish primarily on a blue grass (green
pumpkin with a few strands of blue) jig but also had one keeper on
a tube. They were fishing about midway down the lake in the
backs of two different necks. The duo had not been on the
lake in between 5 to 10 years and just drove down the morning of
the tournament. They went on prior knowledge of the lake and
really got on them good. They were fishing submerged grass
in 5 to 7 feet of water. While many of the competitors
(including myself) were focusing on the shallower grass, the key
to them was working the bait in the deeper grass in front of the
visible grass. It really shows what a difference the results
can be by just fishing a foot or two deeper with slightly
different bait. My partner and I were fishing all day in the
same area and on some of the same banks as these two with soft
plastics lures. We were fishing more shallow did not catch a
keeper bass all day in these areas. They even got in their
digs in on us by telling us they caught 4 good keepers while
across the neck from us in plain sight.
In
2nd place was the team of Randy Banes and Barry Joy of
Mt.
Vernon
. They had 5 fish for 18.49 pounds. They caught their
fish on both a four bladed spinnerbait and a green pumpkin jig.
They also fished around the midlake area in the backs of the neck.
The team focused on shallow grass and wood for their catch.
Finishing
in 3rd place was Rodney Egleston of
Champaign
,
IL
and John Wright of
Shelbyville
,
IL
. They had a limit that weighed 18.32 pounds. A red
rat-l-trap and tubes was the bait of choice for the team.
They were focusing the efforts in the 4 to 7 foot range.
They fished several different areas of the lake.
Big
bass for the day went to the team of Tom Clampet of
Cobden
,
IL
and Willie Rentmeister of
Mt.
Pulaski
,
IL
. Their big bass weighed in at 6.27 pounds and fell victim
to a sweet beaver bait.
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