Becker and Ottinger Win 2^nd Geneva Event By Ounces With 21.41

The week leading up to the second Geneva tournament had anglers reporting varied results.  Early in the week, it seemed like a much tougher bite and that weights would be down.  However, the day before the tournament several teams reported easily catching weights approaching the 30 lb. mark.  Storms moved in and out all week seemingly affecting fish behavior, and Saturday would be no different.  The only questions were how would the fish react and which anglers would catch them. 

It came as no surprise that the veteran team of Doug Becker and Ron Ottinger found the winning fish and bested the field of 47 boats.  What was surprising to many was that the weights were down and that not one fish over 5 lbs. was weighed in.  Doug and Ron did manage find the heaviest fish of the tournament at 4.99 lbs to claim big bass honors.  Pinpointing concentrations of quality fish like that in practice seemed to be the key for them.  Doug and Ron are sponsored by JD Guide Service and Rainbow Signs.  A first place finish guarantees them a birth in the Big Bucks Classic where they will try to repeat their victory from last year.  Nice work guys.

Finishing 2^nd were two members of the University of Illinois fishing team; Matt Vose of Aurora and Steve Mui from Bartlett.  This team logged zero practice time and based their pattern on prior experience, which clearly paid off.  Vose and Mui were able to catch their impressive weight of 21.13 by 9:00 a.m. after an all out flurry on their first spot.  Matt commented that they had zero bites in the 1^st 35 minutes – “but after that it was on!”  The pair fished an area where they targeted both pre and post spawn largemouth in about 16 ft of water.  Matt is sponsored by www.talonlures.com and wants to thank his parents for all their wonderful support.  He’s also thankful for his mentor in tournament fishing Buzz Oros…getting the younger generation into the sport is what it’s all about – great job Buzz!

Ending their day in 3^rd was the team of Farchione and Storm with 20.85 lbs.  The pair commented that they had about 10 hours of practice time which was key to their high finish.  They spent their day running and gunning from spot to spot and actually caught their big fish, a 4.69 largemouth, on their very last cast.  Farchione and Storm both agreed that they lost a few fish that might’ve helped, but 3^rd place is not too shabby.  Great job guys.

Rounding out 4^th place with a weight of 20.65 were Zach Schmieglitz and Chad Erikson.  Zach and Chad reported catching their fish with every method under the sun from docks to deep water.  Some quality practice time along with a run and gun approach on tournament day added up to a strong finish for these two young bucks.  With two of the top four teams average age being under 25 and a continued effort to involve youth in fishing – it is clear that our sport will be in good hands for a long time to come.  Zach and Chad are sponsored by www.ticketsnow.com and Triangle Sports in Antioch, IL.  They are also members of Competition Bassmasters of Northern Illinois which holds its own “Fishing Should Be Fun” event for kids every year at Round Lake.  This year’s event is scheduled for July 26^th – bring your kid or just come out to help.

This tournament was highly competitive with the top 11 teams separated by less than 2 pounds.  One fish for any of the 10 teams behind 1^st place could have made the difference and that makes for an exciting tournament.  42 out of 47 teams caught their limit which proves the quality of the fishery, the fishermen and our conservation efforts. Anglers are taking great care of their catch and the results are clearly visible with extremely healthy fish swimming away after weigh-in.  Thanks to everyone for taking such excellent care of this valuable resource!

Congratulations to the 1^st – 9^th place teams for cashing a check.  The next tournament on Geneva is not until September 6th – but it should be fun with fish beginning to put on the feed bag.  We hope to see as many boats as possible there to fish this incredible lake.  Thanks again to Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Action Marine and Jack and Julie Mudgett for putting on a great tournament.  See you on 9/6!