PRO-AM 2003 TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Prime Time, North of the Ridge
Win Pro-Am Tournament
By Bill Hilts, Jr.
The team "Prime Time," a crew of four men from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, pulled off a rare occurrence for the 19th Annual Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon Team Tournament to win the Professional Division this past weekend out of Wilson and Olcott. Meanwhile, "North of the Ridge," three amateur anglers led by Terry Williams of Kent, did what they were beginning to think was the impossible dream by actually winning their division for the first time.
Read on to hear their stories.~ Excitement ran high the final day of the tournament as teams brought their catches to the scales in Krull Park, Olcott. The "Prime Time" of Pete Lahosky, Bob Wilbur, Joe Satkowski and John Wilbur had built a huge lead the first day of the competition, reeling in an even dozen fish weighing 104.10 and giving them a score of 224.10 points based on 10 points a fish and a point a pound. Their closest competitor was the "Onacona/Hooked Up" team from the Rochester area, led by Captains Joe Kyle and Bruce Stenglein with 145.23 points. The problem was, this tournament has a history of seeing first day leaders fall to the fickle reel of fate and come short of the championship circle. When the first day leaders hit the scales on Sunday, they were one of the first teams in, not taking any chances with the excessive fog that appeared the second day on the lake. They only had three fish weighing in 25.25 pounds for a score of 55.25 points. It gave them a score of 279.35 points for the two days and not an insurmountable lead. They had to sit back and watch everyone else weigh in, biting their nails along the way. "We found a pot of fish off Wilson in about 300 feet of water that we stayed on all day Saturday," said Lahosky at the awards ceremony. "We used Michigan Stinger spoons to reel them in, with Purple Thunder and Sour Lemon the best two patterns. When we returned to the same area, those fish were gone and we had to look hard for these three because the water had changed."
Excitement ran high as the other teams slowly brought their catches to the scales. Other teams came close, including Tracker (Capt. Dave Siegfried of Brockport) with 270.50 points and Thrillseeker (Capt. Vince Pierleoni of Lewiston) with 271.89 points. One of the last teams to make the scales was Onacona/Hooked Up. They pulled seven fish from the lake and placed them on the scales, including the big fish for the day among the pros - a 20.47 pound king salmon. Their score was 130.91, giving them a two day score of 276.14 points and second place … by three points. Less than one fish separated the top four places. There were 33 teams competing in the pro division, with first place earning a check for $3,500, a new Lowrance LCX-15 units and Calcutta winnings totaling another $3,000. Second place earning $2000 plus another $1,500 in Calcutta money.
Third through tenth place each earned checks for $1,000. In the Amateur Division, it was the North of the Ridge team wondering if it was ever going to happen. That is, win this tournament. Their team, made up of Terry Williams, Mike Ayotte/Jim Shambaugh and Jack Rossman, had been the runner-up in this event four times before. Would this year be the year? After the first day, it was the Wizzard team from New Brighton, PA that jumped way ahead with a score of 163.98 points. North of the Ridge took their normal role of second place. When the teams hit the scales, though, it was Williams' team with five fish and a two day score of 217.11 points. Wizzard, led by Larry Goehring, was on borrowed time - and a borrowed boat. His boat broke Friday prior to the start of the tournament and local angler Wayne Culverwell of Lockport loaned him his boat for the two days. The second day, while they hooked up with enough fish to win the tournament, none made it to the boat. They came in with a goose egg. They still managed to place fourth, however. North of the Ridge had their first championship in the amateur division!
In winning the tournament, they earned a check for $2,000, a Lowrance LCX-15 unit and another $1,500 in Calcutta money. Second place went to "Cannonball" led by Ed Monette of West Monroe with a score of 206.30 points - less than a fish behind the winners. It was another close one. The buzz of the weigh in on Sunday was highlighted by the fish reeled in by the Double R team of North Tonawanda. Their 28.94 pound king salmon was the biggest fish caught for the two day event. The first was reeled in by Brian Boddy.
A total of 30 teams competed in the amateur division, making the tournament total 63 teams overall. Key sponsors for this year's tournament were Senator George Maziarz, the Town of Newfane, the Newfane Business and Professional Association, Lowrance Electronics, Northern King lures, Okuma Fishing Tackle, the Niagara River Anglers Association, The Boat Doctors in Olcott and many local businesses that helped to pull it all together. A special thank you should go out to Dawn Wilson at the Town of Newfane Marina who spearheaded this year's tournament and really got the ball rolling to make this all happen.
top
For total standings of all entrants GO HERE
Next up is the Oswego Pro-Am tournament, set for July 11-13, 2003.
WATCH FOR DETAILS AND INFORMATION HERE!