East Division
2006 Tournament Results
Linton and Sweatman Finish 1st on the Fox Chain
On April 21st the Fishers of Men Wisconsin East Division hosted its first
tournament of the season on the Fox Chain of Lakes in Antioch, Illinois. Steady,
stable weather conditions had the bass in a definite pre-spawn mode with many
of the anglers commenting that bass were up on the bank and cruising the shallows
of the 6500 acres which make up the popular body of water. Nestled in Northern
Illinois “The Chain” as locals call it, has the dubious honor of being a good
bass fishery with a tendency to be fickle at times. Local angler Brad Rubin
of Mundelein knows first hand how fickle it can be winning a recent tournament
with only two fish. With a good pulse on the prevailing weather conditions
and the seasonal patterns of the bass Rubin predicted that “The Chain” would
produce some decent limits on tournament day. He was right. When the field
of fourteen boats had completed weigh-in, Jason Sweatman of Wilmot, Wisconsin
and Dave Linton of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin finished in first place with a limit
of largemouth bass weighing 13.89 pounds. The Wisconsin team was able to catch
a quick limit in the morning using jigs and soft plastics and then was able
to upgrade their limit as the day progressed, including a stout 4.17 pound
kicker to win second big bass honors and to solidify their victory. Sweatman
commented on stage during the awards ceremony that most of the largemouth
they caught were tight to the bank in preparation for spawning. The team was
also impressed with the tournament commenting on the smoothness of the weigh-in
and the extra effort put forth by the FOM staff. Congratulations guys and
thanks for the encouragement!
Finishing in second were Spring Grove’s Carl Roedel and Bryan Schmoldt, who
spent most of the day in shallow water easing their Triton along the brushy
shoreline of local channels and bays. Like Sweatman and Linton, most of their
fish fell victim to soft plastics and reaction baits fished tight to the bank.
Their five fish limit weighing 12.44 pounds was anchored with a dandy 4.54#
largemouth, which received a great round of applause from the crowd watching
form the outdoor patio at Captain Curt’s in Antioch. The fish also earned
them the MG Lures Big
Bass award for the largest fish of the tournament.
In third place were Dave Kranz of Woodstock and Ron Urick from Prairie Grove,
Illinois. Dave and his partner brought in 11.03 pounds to the scale more than
enough to stave off fourth place finishers Erickson and Schmieglitz who tipped
the scales with 10.78 pounds. Despite the lower number of boats the owner
of Dave’s Bait and Tackle in Crystal Lake commented that almost every one
of the teams in the tournament has seen some “stage time “during the past
few years. He went on to state this was a solid field of anglers who traditionally
do very well on this body of water throughout the tournament season.
Rounding out the top five were Tom a.k.a. “Lucky dog” Sipolt and Kent Paulsen
with 10.3 pounds. At the Friday night pre-tournament meeting Siplot took home
two FOM T’s & hats, a lure pack from Fishers of Men and a beautiful wildlife
print from Jason Loewe of Artworks Unlimited.
One of the features that makes Fishers of Men tournaments unique is the Friday
night pre-tournament meeting where anglers get a free dinner, lots of door
prizes and a guest speaker. Nancy Rogers with the village of Fox Lake was
very willing to let us use their Lakefront Park facilities to host the meeting.
Anglers were treated to an all you can eat chicken dinner with baked potatoes,
salad and bread catered by Dockers in Fox Lake. After a presentation by Midwest
Real Estate Equities Inc. promoting their new business development Deer Park
Condominiums in Gurnee, America’s number one bass pro wanna be Chris Wells
of Greer, South Carolina spoke. Chris shared with everyone his love for bass
fishing and for God. Chris is the founder of Wellspoken ministries (www.wellspokenministries.com)
and he speaks to thousands of anglers across the country each year encouraging
them to think more seriously about their relationship with God. Great job
Chris! Next stop for the Wisconsin East Division is in Winneconne on April
29th. Interested teams should contact Division Director Chris Jones at 920-427-7120.
Final standings for the tournament are listed below.
Fishers of Men would also like to take this opportunity to thank our National
Sponsors: 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 for making this tournament possible.
| Place | Team | # of Fish | Big Bass |
Total Weight | Money | Points | YTD Points |
| 1 | Linton & Sweatman | 4.17 | 13.89 | $1065.00 | 200 | 200 | |
| 2 | Roedel & Schmoldt | 4.54 | 12.49 | $675.00 | 199 | 199 | |
| 3 | Kranz & Urick | 3.13 | 11.03 | $290.00 | 198 | 198 | |
| 4 | Eriksen & Schmieglitz | 3.2 | 10.78 | 197 | 197 | ||
| 5 | Paulsen & Sipolt | 2.93 | 10.3 | 196 | 196 | ||
| 6 | LaForge & Schmehl | 2.44 | 9.74 | 195 | 195 | ||
| 7 | Miller & Rubin | 2.84 | 8.33 | 194 | 194 | ||
| 8 | Garcia & Tholl | 2.39 | 4.4 | 193 | 193 | ||
| 9 | Dubois & Verenski | 1.17 | 1.17 | 192 | 192 | ||
| 10 | Smith & Smith | 191 | 191 | ||||
| 11 | Ciborowski & Kavafa | 190 | 190 | ||||
| 12 | Brefeld & Gola | 189 | 189 | ||||
| 13 | Erickson & Jilly | 188 | 188 | ||||
| 14 | Brooks & Gabel | 187 | 187 |
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