BIG FISH BASH: Collins rewarded for generosity with fishing pal

BY GREG GIESEN

Thursday, July 17, 2008 11:58 PM CDT

RACINE — Michael Collins wanted an upgrade and boy did he get it.

Collins, of McFarland, was target fishing Thursday in order to help boatmate Greg Brasure earn a spot on the Master Angler Boat Division leaderboard at the Evinrude E-Tech Big Fish Bash.

While helping Brasure, Collins landed a bigger brown trout, lake trout and chinook to take the lead in the Master Angler Boat Division — which requires anglers to register a chinook and coho salmon, brown, rainbow and lake trout. Collins took the lead with a combined weight of 52.35.

“I was number 10 and I upgraded,” said Collins, who is second in the rainbow trout boat division with a 13.2-pound fish. “My generosity paid off. I hit the laker on my first throw (after moving to target fishing).”

Brasure, of Racine, also had a good day, finally hooking his coho salmon and taking second place on the leaderboard with a combined total of 49.9 pounds.

“We went out and ran a flasher program,” Brasure said. “I needed a two-pounder, but I got a four-pounder. I was as happy as a clam. It wasn’t a big fish, but all I wanted was to get a coho and I got it.”

Collins and Brasure started out at 3 a.m. and didn’t come back in until around 6:30 p.m.

Despite the hot weather, they, along with one other shipmate, remained cool with the top up on the boat. The trio avoided dehydration by drinking Gatorade and 15 bottles of water.

“It was a beautiful day and cool with the top up,” Brasure said

Along with the Master Angler Boat Division, there was also a change at the top of the Lake Trout Boat Division. Scott Keland, of Racine, hooked a 16.25-pound lake trout a little north of the point at 6:30 a.m.

“I was just excited because it has been a slow week,” Keland said. “When it got closer to the boat, it was bigger than we thought.”

Keland doesn’t think his catch will remain on top when the nine-day Lake Michigan fishing contest ends at 11 a.m. Sunday.

“I’m kind of nervous,” he said. “This weekend is pretty big.”

TODAY’S WEIGH-IN HOURS: 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.

TODAY’S FEATURED FISH: Brown trout (for offshore and onshore divisions).

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