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With the weather being as unpredictable as it has
lately, it was no surprise that the fish were scattered
all over Lake Geneva on Sunday. There were still
numbers of fish on beds and post spawners in water 2
feet deep out to 30 feet. Anglers were marking large
schools of suspended fish and good weeds were hard to
come by. All of these factors had fish in patterns that
most fishermen had not predicted. But Mike Gable and
his brother Bill put their heads down, went fishing, and
amassed 21.91 pounds of beautiful bass to take home the
victory.
Both Gables fished the BFL the day before in Winneconne
and were running on fumes for Sunday’s tournament. On
little sleep and feeling exhausted, Bill whipped out the
drop shot and proceeded to put a serious beat down on
the fish and his brother from the back of the boat.
Mike did manage one solid four pounder to add to their
nice bag, but Bill caught all five of the other winning
fish. These brothers have been fishing together on and
off for around 30 years so neither one really cares who
catches em…as long as somebody does! With little
practice due to Friday’s wicked storm, these weary
fishermen deserve a lot of credit for winning this tough
tournament. Great job Gables! Mike and Bill are
sponsored by Got R Done Jigs, Ryan Incorporated Central
and True Lacrosse – an athletic training business owned
and operated by Mike’s son who is a professional
Lacrosse player.
Finishing second with 20.79 lbs. were the reigning
anglers of the year – Pat Koffler and Dave Linton. This
team reported some serious practice time throughout the
week to locate their nice stringer of fish. Once the
heavy rains seriously stained much of their fishable
water on the flats, Pat and Dave ended up covering lots
of water to catch their fish. Alternating between
productive areas, the team had one patch of weeds they
kept returning to that seemed to always produce one
solid fish. The team caught 10 fish over 3 pounds and
landed all their fish Sunday despite forgetting to bring
the net! Regardless of the stress-filled moments
between hook sets and hand landings, this team did a
fantastic job by finishing second on a tough day -
congratulations guys. Pat and Dave are sponsored by
Action Marine and United Canvas.
Ending their day in 3rd was the team of
Didriksen and Kvacik. This veteran pair had a very
solid weight of 19.15 lbs. which was anchored by a hefty
4.27 lb. largemouth. Their outstanding finish has the
team in 14th place overall and poised to make
a run at the classic on Big Green Lake in October.
Great job guys and good luck the rest of the way – hope
to see you in October.
Rounding out 4th place with a weight of 18.80
were Brad Rubin and Matt Vose who are the current points
leaders in the overall standings. This duo had a very
similar tournament to their first one of the year where
they did not get as many bites as expected. Luckily for
them the ones they did get were quality. On the other
hand, they just weren’t enough to contend for the
victory. Brad is sponsored by Dave’s Reel Service in
Vernon Hills, Dirty Jigs Tackle, Action Marine, and
Captain’s Boat Wiring. Matt is sponsored by
www.talonlures.com, KicknBass Fish Attractant, Xtreme
Lubricants, and www.matthewvose1.com.
The points race is heating up with Koffler and Linton a
mere 5 points off the pace and Brefeld and Gola 10
points behind. Fishermen are continuing to take 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! Any fish that needed to
be fizzed were given immediate attention after weigh in
and swam away no problem. If you do not have a needle
and/or aren’t sure how to “fizz” a fish – please ask
someone where to get a needle and how to do it. All of
us have the best interests of the fishery at heart and
would be happy to help.
Thanks again to Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Action
Marine, Julie Palmer and the crew for putting on a great
tournament. Hopefully by September the weather, weeds,
and fish will be in their normal patterns and somebody
can crack the 30 pound mark. Hope to see you then! |
