THIS YEAR WE HAD SET A NEW RECORD FOR TOURNAMENT ENTRIES AT SIXTY-FOUR TEAMS. THE PAY-OUT WAS A TOTAL OF $ 3,435.00. IT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR FISHING. OVERCAST, LIGHT WIND, WARM AND A LIGHT SHOWER. ALL ANGLERS THAT I TALKED TO USED A CAROLINA RIGGED FLOATER OF ONE COLOR OR THE OTHER. THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST WAY TO TAKE WALLEYES DURING THE SPRING RUN. SOME TEAMS SAID THAT THEY HAD CAUGHT UP TO 25 KEEPER JACKS. OTHERS HAD ONLY CAUGHT THEIR TOURNAMENT LIMIT OF FIVE WALLEYES OR LESS. THIS YEAR WE GAVE NICE PLAQUES TO THE 1ST AND 2ND PLACE TEAMS. WE ALSO GAVE AWAY A TABLE FULL OF DOOR PRIZES INCLUDING A ST. CROIX FISHING ROD AND A SHIMANO REEL. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY HOTDOGS WERE SERVED ALONG WITH A MOUNTAIN OF COOKIES AND CHIPS.
I HAD TO ONLY TURN AWAY TWO FISH FROM THE SCALES THAT HAD OLD SNAG MARKS. FOUL
HOOKED FISH THAT WERE RELEASE FROM A EARLIER
ANGLER. I ALSO HAD TO DISQUALIFY ONE TEAM FOR ICING THERE CATCH. ONE OF THE
RULES FOR THE PAST SEVENTEEN YEARS OUT OF EIGHTEEN HAS BEEN ''NO ICED FISH''.
THIS WAS VERY HARD AND HEART BREAKING FOR ME TO DO. THE TEAM I DISQUALIFIED WAS
DAVE AND ZACK PELLOW OF PETERSBURG MI. A FATHER AND SON TEAM THAT FISHES THE
RIVER EVERY WEEK AND IS IN MY SHOP ALL THE TIME. ZACK I'M GUESSING IS TWELVE OR
THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE IS ONE OF THE FINEST YOUNG ANGLERS WE KNOW. AND DAVE IS A
AVID ANGLER THAT WOULD NEVER BREAK ANY FISHING OR TOURNAMENT RULES. I I'M SO
SORRY THAT THEY EITHER DIDN'T READ OR FORGOT THE ICING RULE. IF I DON'T ENFORCE
THE RULES THE TOURNAMENT WOULD FALL APART. I BELIEVE DAVE AND ZACK WOULD HAVE
FINISHED IN THE MONEY.
THE TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
1ST PLACE TEAM: 17.30 lbs $ 1600.00 PLUS BIG FISH JACKPOT $ 235.00 JEREMY HALL & GARRY VAUGHN OF MILAN MI.
2ND PLACE TEAM: 1645 lbs $ 800.00 LOU HUNYOR & KEVIN HUNYOR OF TOLEDO AND HOLLAND OHIO.
3RD PLACE TEAM: 15.70 lbs $ 480.00 ZACK GEORGE & TYLER ZULLARS OF PERRYSBURG OHIO
4TH PLACE TEAM: 15.15 lbs $ 320.00 JIM McCAULLEY & GREG VANDEPUTTE OF HUNTINGTON IN.
5TH PLACE: 14.80 lbs TWO TEAMS TIED FOR 5TH, MARK McCUMBER & MATT McCUMBER, MIKE WHITESIDE & DWAYNE HUBER
7TH PLACE: 14.75 lbs DREW JOHNSON & NICK BECK
8TH PLACE: 14.60 lbs VIRGEL MARTINEZ & VERGEL MARTINEZ III
9TH PLACE: 14.50 lbs MARK SHACKLEFORD & RICHARD MILLER
10TH PLACE: 14.25 lbs RALPH HAHN & RAMON GRABARCZWK
11TH PLACE: 14.15 lbs STEVE PATRICK & RANDY HAYES
12TH PLACE: 13.75 lbs AARON GOSLEE & TYLER ZULLARS
13TH PLACE: 13.35 lbs TIE FOR 13TH PLACE, MATT LANGLOIS & JASON LANGLOIS, JUSTIN MULADOR & LON DOWNING
14TH PLACE: 13.20 lbs CHRIS CHAPPO & CLARK KUJAWA
15TH PLACE: 13.15 lbs TIM LEEDS & DAVID ARMS
16TH PLACE: 13.05 lbs RICHARD BOLTZ & LUCAS BOLTZ
17TH PLACE: 12.90 lbs DOUG OUHL & DAVE OUHL
18TH PLACE: 12.85 lbs BOB MENDENHALL & JAMES SPEYER
19TH PLACE: 12.70 lbs JUSTIN REYNOLDS & MARK REYNOLDS
20TH PLACE: 12:60 lbs TIE FOR 20TH PLACE, RYAN BROWN & TYLER BROWN, TJ HENEGAR & MIKE KING
22ND PLACE: 12.50 lbs ANDREW POMMERANZ & JOE SUDOMIR
23RD PLACE: 12.45 lbs STEVE RECHSTEINER & NAGM SY
24TH PLACE: 11.85 lbs BEN KROMER & MICHO TANKOSIE
25TH PLACE: 11.75 lbs BRANDON HANE & DEREK HANE
26TH PLACE: 11.60 lbs JOHN EGLY & DAN DRIES
27TH PLACE: 11.45 lbs TIE FOR 27TH PLACE, MALON FLOURNOY & CECIL HOGAN, FOSTER KENNEDY
29TH PLACE: 11.40 lbs TONY HOFFMAN & ERIC FESSONDEN
30TH PLACE: 11.30 lbs DARRICK SAMUELS & DAVID WORKMAN
31ST PLACE: 11.00 lbs AL PAL & MARK SHACKLEFORD
32ND PLACE: 10.75 lbs PHILLIP BAILEY & MATT BEAGLE
33RD PLACE: 10.20 lbs MIKE KUBACLKI & MIKE FINCHER
34TH PLACE: 10.00 lBS PAUL GRISEZ & JEFF WULF
35TH PLACE: 9.50 lbs GARY BENDELE & MARK BAILEY
THE REST OF THE FIELD DID NOT WEIGH-IN EVEN THOUGH MOST HAD FISH BUT FELT THEY COULD NOT COMPETE.
PICTURES FROM THE TOURNAMENT:
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A GOOD LUCK CARP BEFORE ? ONE OF THE BOATERS THAT FISHED THE TOURNAMENT LAST YEAR WAS SURPRISED WHEN WE DID BOAT INSPECTION TO FIND A BIG CARP LYING IN THE BACK OF HIS BOAT. THE OWNER OF THE BOAT SAID IT MUST OF BEEN HIS FATHER LEAVING HIM A GOOD LUCK MESSAGE.