By Robb Luehr
Journal Times | Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008 12:00 am
RACINE - Winning the Super Sweepstakes was a matter of consistency for Travis Becker and his crew Monday.
Becker, the captain of Fish Chatter, brought in 133.46 pounds of fish, none weighing more than 10 pounds. But it was enough to win the Pro Division of the Super Sweepstakes at the Evinrude E-Tec Big Fish Bash.
For Becker, of Pleasant Prairie, and crewmates Jerry Guest, Bruce Juga, Don Bufton and Jerry Costabile, it was the first victory in the annual competition. The five totaled 283.46 points.
"We've been pretty close, but never won," Becker said.
Becker was fishing just north of Wind Point, but calm conditions made fishing difficult, making the total more impressive.
"You have to spread everything away from the boat," Becker said. "That's where the active fish are."
The five caught 24 fish and the contest allows them to count the largest 15. They also won by a decisive margin - Rose Marie, captained by Paul Lohman of Caledonia, was second at 255.98 points and Seanile Too, captained by Thomas Pietila of Caledonia, was third at 248.96. Pietila caught the largest fish in the Pro Division, a 17.54-pound chinook.
While Becker caught a lot of similar-sized fish, George Firlit of Burr Ridge, Ill., got some help from a few big fish in order to win the Amateur Division of the Super Sweepstakes. Firlit, his son Brian, Brian Jensen and Gregory Brassure, caught an 18.56-pound chinook and had a total weight of 128.92 pounds (278.92 points).
Firlit was fishing off the Oak Creek power plant and was hitting most of the morning.
"We had good luck all day long," said Firlit, who was shut out in Sunday's Two on a Boat competition. "We had a steady catch. The depths later in the day got lower, but we got a couple of big browns. Our biggest brown was 14 pounds.
"It was a great day."
Firlit's total would have put him second in the Pro Division, but he won by a much closer margin than the one in the Pro Division. Runner-up Salmon Slammer, captained by Russ Wegner of Oak Creek, totaled 272.10 points. Third-place went to Gladiator, captained by Alan Atkreliki of Pleasant Prairie (251.46).
FAMILIAR NAME ON TOP: Michael Collins of McFarland took over the offshore rainbow trout lead Monday with one weighing 13.20 pounds.
The fish wasn't that big, but the name is big, especially to Big Fish Bash fans.
In 1997, Collins won with the largest fish ever caught in the contest, a 37.40-pound lake trout.
Collins, a member of the pro staff for Red Hook Tackle, used a Raider magnum glow tiger spoon to catch his rainbow, He was fishing in about 35 feet of water off Bender Park, near the Oak Creek power plant.
OTHER LEADERBOARD CHANGES: Along with Collins' catch, there were new leaders in each offshore division except for chinook.
Dale Schuls of Racine made the biggest jump in any category, catching a 14.15-pound coho.
Shane Lemke of Racine caught two 9.35-pound lakers and tied himself for second.
John Richter of Racine came in with an 8.45-pound coho salmon. He caught several fish during the day, but none were worthy of the leaderboard. The leading coho was the only one he caught in the evening.
"We had to come in quick," said Richter, who arrived about a half hour before the weigh-in station closed. "It hit on a small blue and silver J-plug."
He was fishing in what seems to be a popular spot, just south of the power plant in about 50 feet of water. But the coho hit about 25 feet down.
"It was a fluke," Richter said. "The waves picked up and there a little bit more action on the lures."
In the off-shore brown trout division, Gary Larsen of Naples, Fla., took the lead with a 21.35-pounder.
And in the onshore rainbow trout division, Steven Hansen of Racine caught a 13.85 pounder to take over the lead.
TODAY'S WEIGH-IN HOURS: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The weigh-in station is adjacent to Festival Hall and the Fifth Street Boat Ramp.
TODAY'S FEATURED FISH: Brown trout (for offshore and onshore divisions).