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As
serious anglers we can all agree that the unexpected
challenges, obstacles and occurrences on the water are
part of what brings us back to this competitive sport
each time. Even more important to our success and
reputation, however, is how we handle these unforeseen
situations we often find ourselves in. Several Big
Bucks Bass competitors found themselves in sticky
situations on Sunday, but managed to show up squeaky
clean at weigh in.
Pat
Koffler of
Antioch and Jarrett Knize of
Round
Lake came into this tournament with much less practice
under their belts than they would have liked.
Nevertheless, they started their day on a fish Jarrett
had discovered the day before on a main lake bed. Poor
visibility in the morning forced the duo to go to plan
B. While catching several other nice keepers, Pat and
Jarrett noticed a bluegill fisherman anchor on their
best bed fish which they were waiting to go back to.
After 6 hours, the pan fisherman finally left and
the team moved back onto the bed around 1:30 to find
their fish locked on. With the anchor down and a
“happy” fish, they felt they had just enough time to win
the tournament.
Just
as they were getting ready to seal the deal, the
bluegill fisherman was back and anchored almost on top
of them! His large bobber splashing down on the bed,
Pat calmly explained the situation to the gentleman and
asked for 10 minutes on the fish. The man obliged and
with the bed to themselves, Koffler and Knize secured
the victory by catching their biggest fish at 4.22 lbs.
Way to go guys and great job representing Big Bucks Bass
in a classy way! Pat and Jarrett took home $1,600 for 1st
place, not including the $1,000 Skeeter bonus cash. Pat
also won $400 the day before on Lake Geneva – not a bad
weekend! Koffler is sponsored by Action Marine and Fish
Tech, while Knize is sponsored by United Canvas.
As the
cottonwoods filled the air making the weigh in look more
like a snow storm, the veteran team of Dennis Duffy and
Mark Bubel of Antioch were called up on stage to accept
their 2nd place plaques and checks. With a
weight of 14.54 lbs. Dennis and Mark secured 6th
place overall in the Fox Chain standings and look to be
a strong contender to make the October classic. The
pair reported a slow start in
Channel
Lake
forcing them to head South. Obviously, they made a good
decision catching quality fishing flipping jigs to rock
and wood. Dennis and Mark are sponsored by Will County
Siding - Congratulations on your strong finish.
Gregg
Collins and Glen Hofeldt, 2 retired teachers from
Antioch, secured 3rd place with a nice bag
tipping the scales at 13.94. Both anglers are sponsored
by their wives and families who support and encourage
them to compete in bass tournaments. With carp muddying
their best area, the team reported catching their fish
covering lots of water and on a mixed bag of frogs,
worms and jigs. Their biggest fish actually missed
Glenn’s frog 3 times, only to fall victim to Greg’s
senko moments later. Greg and Glenn took home $1,100 on
the day - nice job guys.
Rounding out 4th place was another veteran team of Ron
Urick from Prairie Grove and Dave Kranz of
Woodstock with 13.80. Ron is sponsored by and would like to thank
St. Croix Rods. Dave is sponsored by and owns Dave’s
Bait Tackle and Taxidermy in
Crystal Lake,
IL. This team endured some very difficult circumstances
just to compete in this tournament. As a matter of
fact, they fished and cashed checks totaling $1,350 at
Geneva and the Fox Chain with a snapped trolling
motor cable!
Perhaps the best story of the weekend happened Sunday
when Urick and Kranz received some help from two of the
most respected anglers in the area; Jon Gola and Scott
Brefeld. The two former classic champs not only agreed
to lend out their spare Minn Kota, they were also
prepared to help install it after the tournament had
already begun. This was all after Scott’s wife Cindy
drove the spare to the takeoff point at 5:15 in the
morning. Unfortunately, the motor was not compatible
with Dave’s boat, but “the effort, sportsmanship and
class demonstrated by these anglers is what it’s all
about” commented Urick. “Those two are classy guys and
set a great example for the younger generation of
fishermen.” These are the type of people and feel good
stories that Big Bucks Bass is becoming known for –
great job guys.
With
most fish done spawning, several anglers commented they
did not practice and would take their chances. Many of
those teams ended up in the money – proving again that
sometimes we’re better off just going fishing.
Congratulations to the 1st - 9th place teams for taking
home a check. A big thanks again goes out to; Chrome
Bar and Grill for hosting the tournament, Skeeter Boats,
Yamaha Outboards, Action Marine and Jack and Julie
Mudgett for putting on a great tournament. Well see
everybody on June 14th for our
6:00
A.M. takeoff. |
