Tournament Results
Tight Weights, Ties and Triton Gold
June 21, 2008
Wolf River
When fish settle into their summer patterns on the Winnebago system finding big fish can sometimes become difficult. Such was the case for the Wisconsin East Division tournament on the Wolf River in Winneconne on June 21st. Angler after angler crossing the FOM stage commented that the bass were biting well but the big fish bite was somewhat elusive. What exactly does that mean? According to most Bago Bassers, when the big fish bite is “off”, weights on the system can become very tight, and ties for cumulative weight are a legitimate possibility. Would it be? Could it be possible that multiple ties could occur in the tournament? Possibly even in the top ten?
Josh Muskevitsch and Goeff Williams both of New London set the standard early with a solid limit which they caught pitching soft plastics to wood. Their limit of chunky largemouth bass weighing 14.23 pounds held the lead for a majority of the weigh in, but little did the two realize how much of a roller coaster ride that 14.23 pounds would bring with it as the final five teams weighed in and the event drew to a conclusion.
Over the course of the next 45 minutes 26 additional teams would weigh a five fish limit, 62% of the field to be exact, but none of them could top the standard established by Muskevitsch and Williams. All eyes were on the stage when Scott Lischefski and Jeff Eggert took the stage and temporarily took the lead with a bag of smallies weighing 14.27 pounds, however a .25 pound dead fish penalty dropped them back into second place with only two teams left to weigh in. One of those two teams remaining was local favorites and 2007 FOM Midwest Regional Champs Jim Barczak and Mike Mayan. “When they weighed a 3.67 smallie for their big bass I just knew it was going to be a close one,” commented Division Director Chris Jones. Little did he or weighmaster Jon Podvin realize just how close that weight would be. “We put the fish on the scales and, after a few tense moments in which the scale tickled 14.25 and then 14.22, it then locked in solid at 14.23. The weigh in would end in a first place tie! “I couldn’t believe it,” commented Jones. “I could hear people in the crowd when the digital read out displayed. Some were groaning, others were laughing, but most were just shocked that the weights would end exactly the same. You couldn’t ask for more drama than this.”
For Muskevitsch and Williams it meant first place points, a solid check worth $1,171 and a jump in the standings for the division. For Barczak and Mayan it meant the same $1,171 but with a little twist. Mayan, the owner of a Triton TR-186 is Triton Gold qualified, meaning the win earned him an additional $1,000 bonus from Triton for a combined total of $2,171! Congrats to both teams for an exciting finish and to Mayan for the first WI East Triton Gold bonus!
In third place were Eggert and Lischefski weighing a solid limit of smallmouth that tipped the FOM scales at 14.02 pounds. Despite the penalty which subsequently cost them a victory, the two were more than gracious and were able to put the day into perspective. “We do our best to keep fish healthy and sometimes it happens,” replied Lischefski. Although understandably bummed about the situation the day wasn’t a total loss with the two finishing third overall, third in the bonus bucks and second big bass good for $846. The two caught their fish using soft plastics on Winnebago.
In fourth were Travis Manson and Scott Steno of Green Bay and Oneida who weighed in a mixed bag of 4 smallies and one lone largemouth good for 13.76 pounds. The duo commented on stage during the awards ceremony that they caught their fish on the main lake using Dirty Jigs Tackle football jigs. Their limit was good for $446.
Rounding out the top five were Appleton natives, Eric and Matt Wilterdink cashing a check for the second straight FOM event bringing 13.74 pounds to the scale. The two took home $365 for their efforts. Overall 173 fish were brought to the scales with 28 teams bringing in a five fish limit. MG Lures Big Bass for the event went to Jeff St. Clair and Rick Hartwig who pulled a 4.20 pound largemouth from the Wolf River using a buzzbait, a fish good for $270.
The Friday night meeting at the Fin n Feather was another highlight of the weekend. Third year sponsors WT Financial Services of Oshkosh hosted the weekend with owners Matt Trypuc and Jon Wilke present for the dinner. We thank them for their generous support of the WI East Division! Division Director Chris Jones also thanked our newest sponsor Tacklesmith “your premier source for alternative tackle” for their recent sponsorship. You can check them out on line at www.tacklesmith.com. The Fin n Feather put on an all-you-can eat buffet, and guest speaker for the evening was former point champ Kevin Revolinski. He encouraged everyone to think more about their faith, whether they really know God or if they just know of God. Great job Kevin!
Next up for the WI East Division is Buffalo Lake on July 12th. The Fishers of Men WI East Division would like to thank sponsors WT Financial Services, Wolf River Outfitters, MG Lures, Custom Interiors and Canvas, Artworks Unlimited, The Binding Edge and our newest sponsor Tacklesmith for their support of the division.
Nationally we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine companies that make Fishers of Men possible; Triton Boats, Mercury, Shakespeare, All Star Rods, Pflueger, Strike King Lure Company, Reese Marine Towpower, XTools, Solar Bat, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Berkley, Keelshield, Grace Full Gospel Church, MotorGuide, SOSPENDERS, Marshall’s Marine Lake City SC, Kistler, Mizmo Bait Company, Dual Pro Charger, , Buckeye Lures, Stanley Jigs, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Spike-It, Jacobs Glass, Poor Boys Baits, T&H Marine, Rejuvenade, and Keep Alive Oxygen.
A Goliath Sack of Smallies
May 24, 2008
Big Green
In the Old Testament a young man named David took five small stones, put them into a sling and felled a mighty giant named Goliath. Amidst skeptics, his ability to accomplish what others thought was impossible made him a hero of epic proportions. On Saturday May 24th at the Fishers of Men WI East Division event on Big Green two young men, both ironically named David, also accomplished something of epic proportions, at least within the Wisconsin East Division tournament scene. Flashback to May of 2007, where David Loewe and David Larson brought a limit of smallmouth bass to the scale weighing 24.60 pounds to demolish the remainder of the field. For months that weight dominated the talk of the FOM scene, and thoughts of a repeat performance in 2008 were skeptical at best. It’s not that the two aren’t good anglers, quite the contrary, but rather that the bag was so obscenely huge that most anglers doubted a repeat of that proportion on tournament day was possible.
At about 2:40 central time on Saturday, Loewe and Larson again proved that Big Green is king of the inland smallie world in North East Wisconsin, and that last year’s dominating bag was no fluke. Tipping the scales with another Goliath-like sack of smallmouth bass weighing 22.72 pounds, the two Davids from Oshkosh and Menominee respectively, again felled the remainder of the 45 boat field, eclipsing the next closest team by more than six pounds.
“It’s pretty impressive to have Loewe and Larson pull another hawg limit of smallies again this year,” commented WI East Division Director Chris Jones. “They clearly have something figured out that everyone else has yet to,” he replied. Loewe and Larson stated during the awards ceremony that they caught their fish using a variety of methods with the boat in 15-25 feet of water primarily using tubes and jigs. Not surprisingly and with due respect, the two declined to comment in further detail regarding their day on the water but were all smiles when presented with the $1509.00 check for first place. Congratulations guys on another outstanding finish.
In second place with 16.13 pounds were Brad Rubin of Antioch, Illinois and Jason Loewe of Ripon. Rubin and Loewe are no strangers to the FOM division with multiple second place finishes over the past two seasons alone. Rubin stated during a post tournament interview that they caught their fish using Dirty Jigs Tackle football jigs and the two even pulled a few of their keepers on tubes and under docks. The two wished to thank Dirty Jigs Tackle, Captain's Boat Wiring, Lee's Bait and Tackle and St. Croix Rods for their support. The days weight brought with it winnings of $1053.00.
Fishing in only their second FOM event and finishing in 3rd place were Eric and Matt Wilterdink both of Appleton who weighed in with 15.63 pounds of largemouth bass. Their weight was good for a check worth $676.00 and a top five overall position in the season standings after two events. The two caught their limit using a variety of soft plastics including tubes and jigs on main lake docks.
In fourth were Scott Lischefski and Jeff Eggert with 15.53 pounds. The duo anchored their limit with a 5.29 pound Largemouth bass which also took home the MG Lures Big Bass Award for the tournament and earned them an additional $270.00 to go along with their fourth place finish for a total of $716.00. A late in the day decision to fish channels and “used water” paid off for the two when Lischeifski pulled the big largemouth deep from out underneath a dock on a tube. “As soon as he set the hook and we heard it rolling around under the dock we knew it was a big one.” Eggert replied.
Rounding out the top five and taking control of the top spot in the season point standings were Troy Kilgas and Rod Brady with 15.48 pounds. The Kaukauna area anglers also caught their limit fishing docks using Dirty Jigs Tackle jigs. Consistency has been the key for these two anglers with a 5th and a 6th place to start the season.
Despite a blown amplifier which curtailed the on stage microphone antics and interviews of Division Director Chris Jones, the tournament was a huge success. The weather was beautiful with sunny skies and temps in the 70’s and as usual the Green Lake Conference Center was a gracious host with the waterfront making a picturesque backdrop for the weigh in. More than 100 families and spectators attended the weigh in.
A special thanks to the Ripon Community Church and Pastor Mike Holba. Mike was the guest speaker at the Friday night meeting, and he challenged everyone to put the same type of dedication into their faith in God as they do for tournament fishing. Thanks Mike! Next stop for the WI East Division is a return trip to the Wolf River in Winneconne on June 21st.
Additional thanks to Custom Interiors and Canvas, The Northway Family, Wolf River Outfitters in Fremont, The Binding Edge, Artworks Unlimited, WT Financial and MG Lures for their generous support.
Nationally we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine companies that make Fishers of Men possible; Triton Boats, Mercury, Shakespeare, All Star Rods, Pflueger, Strike King Lure Company, Reese Marine Towpower, XTools, Solar Bat, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Berkley, Keelshield, Grace Full Gospel Church, MotorGuide, SOSPENDERS, Marshall’s Marine Lake City SC, Kistler, Mizmo Bait Company, Dual Pro Charger, , Buckeye Lures, Stanley Jigs, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Spike-It, Jacobs Glass, Poor Boys Baits, T&H Marine, Rejuvenade, and Keep Alive Oxygen Infusers
Bago’s Big Bags Dominate WI East Opener
May 3, 2008
Wolf River
The last four years of tournament bass fishing has seen a dramatic shift in the way anglers approach the Winnebago system. For years teams fishing the upper river lakes and the Wolf River have dominated tournament leader boards and cashed lots of checks, but the fishing has changed. It’s not that the Wolf has or is on the decline, but rather that Lake Winnebago has started to turn out some equally impressive limits of both smallmouth and largemouth bass.
“Ten years ago very few people went to Lake Winnebago on tournament day,” replied veteran angler and FOM staffer Tim Northway of Winchester, Wisconsin. “The tide has definitely shifted, with teams being able to fish smallies and largemouth the same day.” What used to primarily be a spring largemouth channel bite has now grown to a legitimate tournament winning smallmouth and largemouth destination. The WI East Division May 3rd event out of Winneconne is clear proof of this.
Despite the less than ideal weather conditions on Saturday, 23 teams were able to pull a limit of bass, making for a very close and intense weigh in at 3:30. Bringing home the victory with a mixed limit of smallmouth and largemouth were Travis Manson and Scott Steeno, who brought 17.26 pounds to the scales. The two caught their fish working main lake rocky structure fishing south on Lake Winnebago. The duo from Green Bay and Oneida respectively caught their fish using football jigs made by Dirty Jigs tackle. “Everything just worked out perfect today,” commented Manson who was in good spirits after his first Fishers of Men win. The two took home $1546.50 for their very successful day on the waters of Lake Winnebago.
In second were Caleb Colwell and Chad Adrians, both of Green Bay, who, like Manson and Steeno, headed to Winnebago shortly after take off in search of smallmouth bass. Dragging soft plastics around main lake structure the two were able to catch a solid limit of smallmouth bass. Things weren’t totally easy for the two who indicated that they had to be patient in finding their fish and when interviewed during the awards ceremony, they commented they didn’t have a keeper in the livewell until after 9:30 in the morning. The two anglers fishing in their second FOM event took home almost $900.00 for their efforts.
In third place were Bill Marheine & Mike Nygaard of Oshkosh who caught 16.99 pounds of largemouth throwing spinnerbaits on Lake Winnebago. Although the two started out flipping docks and shoreline cover, they quickly switched to a reaction bite throwing white and chartruse colored spinnerbaits. “Once we switched to the spinnerbaits we started getting bit right away. We caught a lot of fish today.” commented Nygaard. “It didn’t really seem to matter if we were throwing a double Colorado or Willow blade as both were working well.” Although the ride back to Winneconne was a rough one, the two were happy to take home a check worth $699.00 for their third place finish.
Rounding out the top five were Jeff Miller and Cliff Pickart of Fond du Lac with 16.81 pounds and Grady Fritz and Paul Hartgerink of Jefferson and Waupun with 15.88 pounds. Winning the MG Lures Big Bass award for the tournament with a dandy 4.60 pound largemouth bass was Randy Redmann of Rosendale.
In total 157 bass were brought to the scale and $5,325.00 in cash and prizes were given away. An outstanding way to begin the season!
The Wisconsin East Division would like to thank Oshkosh Community Church for graciously hosting the Friday night meeting and to Tim and Dawn Northway & Scott Vilski who served the meal to 110 anglers and their families. Additional thanks to the Village of Winneconne, Steve’s Marine, Wolf River Outfitters in Fremont, The Binding Edge, Artworks Unlimited, WT Financial and MG Lures for their generous support.
Nationally we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine companies that make Fishers of Men possible; Triton Boats, Mercury, Shakespeare, All Star Rods, Pflueger, Strike King Lure Company, Reese Marine Towpower, XTools, Solar Bat, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Berkley, Keelshield, Grace Full Gospel Church, MotorGuide, SOSPENDERS, Marshall’s Marine Lake City SC, Kistler, Mizmo Bait Company, Dual Pro Charger, , Buckeye Lures, Stanley Jigs, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Spike-It, Jacobs Glass, Poor Boys Baits, T&H Marine, Rejuvenade, and Keep Alive Oxygen Infusers
Event Pictures
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