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Brad Rubin of Antioch, IL and his partner Matt Vose of
Aurora, IL have had an unbelievable end of their
tournament season. Some would even say they have the
proverbial golden horse shoe lodged where the “sun don’t
shine.” But whether it’s talent, luck, or both - these
two could not have asked for a better conclusion to
their Big Bucks Bass season. Somehow this pair won the
last two Lake Geneva tournaments, both in September,
with only 6 keepers each tournament. The odds against
that are enormous to say the least. Incredibly, those
two victories came by an average of 3.5 pounds. Then,
less than a week after their last Geneva event, they
bested the field of 58 boats to win the championship by
5 pounds with 12 fish over 2 days weighing in at 36.14
pounds. Some say the definition of luck is when
preparation meets opportunity. Rubin and Vose believe
their hard work this season culminated in great
opportunities…and when it was crunch time – they
capitalized.
Big Green Lake is not unfamiliar territory for Rubin who
has fished past tournaments there with various other
circuits. His experience and the team’s relentless
practice were the keys for this victory. “We developed
a milk run with our best areas from practice and it
worked. Not every spot produced…but enough of them did”
commented Dirty Jigs Tackle pro-staffer Brad Rubin.
With the fish in transition, great stringers became a
little more challenging as a nasty cold front dropped
water temps and changed fish behavior. The ability to
predict the location of quality active fish became
crucial for any team’s hopes of winning this event. On
day one, Brad and Matt’s first couple of spots yielded
fish but had the team scrambling for the type of weight
they knew it would take to win. As 3 or 4 hours passed,
the tension mounted as they went fishless revisiting
some of their areas. As they pulled back up to one of
their spots however, they noticed the wind had shifted
so they threw out the drift sock and made a pass. It
was not long before Rubin had his partner Matt Vose
netting smallmouth so fast that it was hard for him to
get a cast in edgewise. The epitome of great teamwork,
by the time Matt popped the bait out of the fish’s mouth
and put it in the live-well, Rubin would often have
another fish hooked in the front. “It was the type of
thing you dream about happening in a
tournament…especially one as big as this” said Talon
Lures pro-staffer Matt Vose. This flurry lasted just
long enough for the team to put together the day one
leading stringer at 21.08 pounds.
With about a two pound lead heading into the second day
Brad and Matt felt that if they could catch a solid
limit anywhere near 20 pounds, it would be tough to
beat. However, they were a bit concerned that the
always dangerous Jim Barczak and Mike Mayan, previous
Big Bucks classic champs, were lurking behind them with
18.80 pounds. They also realized that the quality of
fishermen in this event matched with the type of fish
swimming in Green Lake meant that anything was possible
and that they would just have to go “catch em” on day
two.
Blasting off on the second morning the leaders had a
long wait as the numbers were announced in reverse
order. As number 18 was called, Rubin’s Bass Cat that
had the winning “mojo” at the 2006 classic bounced
across the wakes to their first spot. Having it to
themselves, the team quickly caught a few decent fish.
After several boats moved in, the day one leaders went
to plan B. Hitting their same milk run spots, the team
gradually improved their weight but could not seem to
get a big bite. As time wound down, Rubin and Vose made
hundreds and hundreds of casts looking to seal the deal
with one big fish – unfortunately that never happened.
So at 3:15 the team idled in early with around fifteen
pounds to avoid any last minute equipment failures.
Pulling into the Green Lake Marina, Rubin and Vose were
wound up tighter than a “career – ender” backlash.
However, both were thrilled to see their family and
friends waiting to see the action unfold. As they tied
up their boat, rumor had it that their closest
competition had experienced tough fishing on day two.
But they also knew there were some big bags coming in
behind them as the second flight began checking in.
Rubin and Vose weighed their 6 smallmouth at 15.06 and
settled for 36.14 pounds overall. As good friends
congratulated them, both anglers were still tense that
it might not be over. When Rob and Bob Korth weighed a
massive 25.10 lb. bag of smallies, Rubin and Vose let
out a sigh of relief after realizing that the Korths’
day-one weight was 6.28 pounds. While their 25 pound
bag was a sight to see, the Korths 31.38 lb. total was
unable to knock the leaders out of first.
 As
the last few teams weighed their fish, it became clear
that Rubin and Vose had managed to fend off their
pursuers for the victory. After a long season and
tremendous anticipation of this tournament, the team was
ecstatic to hoist their gigantic championship trophies
and receive their first place prize of $14,000. Both
commented that by far, the best part of this tournament
was the wonderful support from friends and
family. Rubin commented “I’ve always envied the guys
that had their families at the weigh in and brought
their kids on stage with them. This time it was me with
my son up there and it felt great. For us, it confirms
a clear understanding of priorities that family comes
first and without them this wouldn’t be possible.” Both
Rubin and Vose wanted to thank their great families and
friends for all their support and for putting up with
long hours away from home. They also had high praise
for Julie Palmer and her family for running a great
circuit all year and an awesome championship.
Congratulations to Brad Rubin and Matt Vose, Lake Geneva
Anglers of the Year and Classic Champs for 2009. Rubin
is sponsored by: Action Marine,
www.dirtyjigstackle.com,
www.Davesreelservice.com, and Captain’s Boat
Wiring. Vose is sponsored by: Xtreme Lubricants,
www.Talonlures.com, KicknBass Fish Attractant, and
www.Matthewvose1.com.
 The
second place team of Rob and Bob Korth had a phenomenal
second day and took home $5,000 for their efforts. This
team had a good omen prior to the day two take-off when
a Green Lake police officer asked them at the landing if
they were going after “browns.” Bob replied
“…no…bass.” The cop then responded “That’s what I
meant…smallies!” The team laughed about that mix-up all
day as they loaded the boat with their big “browns.”
Comparing this two day tournament to a basketball game
Rob commented “After we struggled on day one is was like
going into half time down by 30. But you can’t pack up
and go home - you have to come out fighting and hope for
the best.” Well, this team had a good “second half” to
say the least – whacking a 25.10 limit of behemoth
smallies. They wonder what might have happened had the
two beefy “line-scratchers” from day one measured and
the 5-6 pound fish they lost from day two made it to the
scales. Regardless, this team did a great job and
deserves major kudos for a great comeback
–congratulations Korths! Rob and Bob wanted to thank
their families, especially Rob’s wife Nichole, for their
support and allowing them the time away from home to be
successful. The Korths are sponsored by: The 10th
Frame in Appleton, Korth Upholstery,
www.Dirtyjigstackle.com, &
www.Huntbuffalocounty.com.
Filling out third place was the team of Mark Duerr and
Tim Sadowske. These two weighed in a total of 30.60
lbs. over two days to claim their $3,000 purse. They
reported some good fishing in practice that they left
alone the week of the tournament. Their fish were still
there when it mattered but it seemed the big bites
eluded them. Tim mentioned a 6 pounder he intentionally
did not hook in practice in order to save it for the
tournament. Unfortunately, that fish never made a
repeat appearance for this pair. Still – an outstanding
job and tournament for this solid team. Congratulations
on your top finish! Mark is sponsored by Mercury Marine
and Triton Boats
The big fish story of the tournament came from the boat
of Dave Kranz and Ron Urick. With a take off number
that prevented them from fishing their best area, this
team went to plan B. Spying some windblown docks nearby
that had yielded some decent fish in practice, the
veteran Fox Chain and Madison team went to work. 13
minutes into the tournament, Dave bumped a dock post
with his Nichols Pulsator spinnerbait and was
immediately hammered by a nice largemouth. With his
partner locked into battle with an absolute “toad,” Ron
grabbed the net and managed to secure the 6.35 lb. Green
Lake beast. Despite the unbelievable start to their
tournament, this team struggled with the wind and
falling temperatures the remainder of the day & weighed
in a total of 8.40 pounds. They recovered on day two
and managed a very respectable 20.48 lbs. overall for 17th
place. Ron and Dave took home $900 and a beautiful
trophy for their giant bass. Kranz and Urick are
sponsored by St. Croix Rods and Dave’s Bait Tackle and
Taxidermy in Crystal Lake, IL.
Day two’s big fish was a gorgeous smallmouth bass that
tipped the scales at 5.90 lbs. This beauty was hauled
in by another Fox Chain team, Mike Grap and Rolland
Schnieder. The pair pocketed $900 for their mammoth
bronzeback which will be lurking the depths of Green
Lake for some lucky angler to catch next spring when it
will undoubtedly be over 6 pounds. Thanks to Stu Martel
and S & D Roofing for supplying the extra $500 for the
big bass checks. Stu was a great presence at the
championship and his generosity helps make Big Bucks
Bass that much more exciting for anglers to fish.
In a tough economy, it is always a test of business’s
determination to stay the course and continue to produce
a quality product. Julie Palmer and Big Bucks Bass have
definitely aced that test so far. Thanks to Action
Marine, Big Bucks Bass, the entire Palmer family and
Skeeter/Yamaha for a great year. We also extend our
gratitude to the town of Green Lake, the Heidel House,
and all the fishermen for their efforts and support this
year. We hope to see everyone back next spring for an
awesome 2010 season |
