Our good friend Martin wrote in yesterday to let us know how his York Bassmasters tournament on Sturgeon Lake went, and much to our surprise given the crazy weather we continue to have here. Martin pulled out a huge win, and some huge bass!
I was privileged enough to draw 2 time angler of the year Don Mahar of York Bassmasters. We started the day heading out to a well known rocky shoal on Sturgeon, while most of the rest stuck to the river leading out to Sturgeon from Lindsay. We landed our limit within the first 20 minutes, a nice hand full of smallies, but nothing large. We kept fishing those rock piles, landing and culling our catches still in search of a few big boys. Eventually, Don had a nice 2.5 lbs largemouth which meant we were in business. Soon after we headed across to the other side of the bay and Don comes up big with a 4 lbs smallie. We had a few more culls along that end and we had ourselves a pretty good bag for the day. There was heavy heavy rain all morning , we were absolutely soaked from the rain. On our way back to the weigh in , we made one last stop along the river, 2 casts in Don lands yet another big largemouth around 3.5 and we headed in for weigh in. We turned out to have 14 lbs and big fish at around 4lbs which gave us 1st place and big fish award.
Second place was 11.5 , with a 3.25 lbs largemouth.
Congratulations on the win Martin, those are beautiful bass.
- Dolphin Man - Forget about swimming WITH the dolphins, how about swimming LIKE a dolphin!
- The arf of fishing – Is your favorite fishing partner the four legged kind?
- Pirates! - Pirates hijack South Korean fishing boat.
- Antique Reels – An incredible collection of fishing photos featuring reels and tackle from the 1930’s.
- Fish Videos – Some short videos of big fish!
- Fake line - Make sure you are not spending your hard earned cash on counterfeit fishing line.
- Worlds smallest fish - Scientists have discovered a fish living in forest swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra that is only 7.9mm long.
And lastly, if anyone out there is going to be participating in the Virgin Gorda Easter Fishing Tournament and you need and extra set of hands on board, don’t hesitate to contact me!
It sounded like a great idea… A Pike tournament at Lake Nipissing hosted by Ontario Fishing Network and Lakair Lodge. Not to mention a chance to meet all of the great OFN’ers in person.
We contacted Lakair Lodge the day before the OFN Crayola Invitational pike tournament to make sure there was a place for us to stay. Luckily there was, so we got all of our gear together and headed out the next day. Neither Jon or myself had ever traveled so far north, but we looked forward to it with great anticipation. The drive was long, but the thoughts of unexpected adventures ahead helped pass the time.
Continue reading…
All to often when we hear of new and different methods of fishing we become caught up in the fishing technology of the week. Once in a while, it’s far more important for us to take a look back and admire the zeal of those that have not moved on and have kept their hearts in something they believe in so passionately.
In late October 35 boats set out on Wisconsin’s Crab Lake for a Muskie row trolling tournament. It was the second annual, Bob Ellis Classic. Even before the tournament began, the camaraderie and love of rowboats and big muskies, were shared by all. Admiring eachothers boats, some built by the owners themselves, was akin to admiring a work of art. This was not a prize money tournament, no corporate sponsor banners, no ESPN. The grand prize- an old photo of Bob Ellis, a row trolling legend who rowed his small fiberglass boat across the northwoods lakes for decades in search of big muskie.
Bob died doing what he loved, in November 1989, when two other muskie fishermen ran him over in their large motorboat. At 71, in water less than 30 degrees, he died on Papoose Lake where he had caught the largest muskie of his life only a few years earlier.
These men, and women, are a different breed of fishermen all together. Their spirit, even during this tournament, connects them directly to the lake and surrounding area. They begin to blend in, as all other thoughts and notions, sometimes even of catching muskie begin to fade as they become one with nature.
The rhythmic splashing of the delicately curved oars comes to a halt as two bald eagles settle into the branches of a tall white pine at the water’s edge.
“Fishing stops at a time like this,” Jim Olson says as he pulls out his camera.
The muskies can wait.
Make no mistake, Olson would love to catch a fish. But even more, he loves time in his boat, a gleaming, wood craft that rides sweetly on the water and looks as much a part of the lake as a piece of driftwood.
“You feel one with everything around you,” said the 66-year-old trial lawyer from Madison, Wis. “I’m part of the scenery.”
Never, in any other tournament could you expect to hear those words.
“The muskies can wait.”
But, this is not fishing as you know it, it’s beyond fishing; approaching zen.
via St. Paul Pioneer Press (Free registration may be required)
Adams and Ramzinsky Win Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Championship
Adams and Ramzinsky, who have been fishing together competitively for two years, led the field after day one with a two-redfish limit weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces. They slipped to third on day two with a limit weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces. On day three, however, they rebounded with the second largest limit of the tournament “13 pounds, 15 ounces ” to win the event by 15 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 teams were Peter Young and Matthew Morel, both from New Orleans (six redfish, 38 pounds, $21,000); Scott Ritter of Dauphin Island, Ala., and Robert Abruscato of Mobile, Ala. (six redfish, 35 pounds, 15 ounces, $16,000); Pat Motal and Chad Motal, both from Kyle, Texas (six redfish, 35 pounds, 6 ounces, $13,000); Chris Chapman of Winter Park, Fla., and Dan McGatlin of Lake Mary, Fla. (six redfish, 33 pounds, 6 ounces, $10,000); Troy Mell of Islamorada, Fla., and Jason Swensson of Key Largo, Fla. (six redfish, 32 pounds, 1 ounce, $6,500); Steven Auld Jr. of Baytown, Texas, and Jeff Larson of Friendswood, Texas (six redfish, 31 pounds, 5 ounces, $5,500); Sean Middleton and Brandon Buckner, both from Fort Meyers, Fla. (four redfish, 23 pounds, 9 ounces, $4,500); Danny Coppin and John Guerra, both from Belton, Texas (four redfish, 23 pounds, 6 ounces, $5,000); and David Nesloney Sr. and David Nesloney Jr., both from Rockport, Texas (four redfish, 23 pounds, 1 ounce, $4,500).
Adams and Ramzinsky pulled off a major win on the final day of the tournament, the previous day was lead by the father and son team Motal and Motal.
Niggemeyer Wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Regional Championship
Niggemeyer’s winning three-day catch of 15 bass weighed 50 pounds, 4 ounces. In addition to the new truck and boat, Niggemeyer earned a ticket to the 2006 $1 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League All-American, one of the most prestigious tournaments in bass fishing, where the winning boater will earn up to $140,000 and the winning co-angler will earn $70,000. Niggemeyer flipped a 1-ounce jig around matted hydrilla in the main-lake basin of Lake Ouachita to catch his bass. With a 3-week-old son at home, Niggemeyer called his win a “blessing from the Lord.”
By a “blessing from the Lord”, he probably means that he can give the new truck to his wife so she won’t throw him out of the house. Not that he’d have problem sleeping in that new boat.
The top six boaters and the top six co-anglers fishing the event also earned a berth into the All-American. Rounding out the top six boaters were Dicky Newberry of Houston, Texas (15 bass, 39 pounds, 11 ounces, $6,000); Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Mo. (15 bass, 38 pounds, 11 ounces, $3,000); Dennis Berhorst of Holts Summit, Mo. (13 bass, 29 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,500); Glen Freeman of Converse, La. (13 bass, 25 pounds, 15 ounces, $2,000); and James Carper of Wright City, Okla. (nine bass, 24 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,800).
For more tournament results check out Fishing World.
