2011 Classic Wrap-up
(reprinted from the News-Dispatch)
Lift off in Michigan City Tension grew as the wind-blown scales at the 37th annual Hoosier Coho Club Classic swayed back, forth and back again before settling on the winning weight. Five members of the Just 1 More crew went airborne in unison. Whooping, hollering and high-fives ensued as the team bounced around the Jaycee's stage. The local boys had beaten the best salmon fishermen from each of the four Lake Michigan states. "Unbelievable." stammered captain Larry Richmond, Jr., while accepting the $7,500 Pro Division first place check. "This was tough fishing," Richmond said, adding; "we didn't have a good day (on Sunday), so we really didn't know if we'd be able to hang on." Fishing with the Michigan City charter captain were dad Larry Sr., Carl Schultz, Ted Fenicle and Jordan Askegaard. The top five leaders after the first day on Saturday weighed their catch in reverse order on Sunday. Steve Kreighbaum, Michigan City's senior charter captain had rocketed from14th place after Day One to hold the lead before the top five hit the scales. One by one, heavyweights fell by the wayside - last year's champ Blue Fairways from Ludington, Mich., the legendary Living the Dream team from Grand Haven, Mich., and Phoenix, Wisconsin's best from Kenosha. Just 1 More's six fish on Sunday proved enough to hold off Crorkindill and pandemonium hit the stage when the scales registered a final score. "We landed three chinook in the last hour," Richardson said. "We were sweating it right until those last fish were weighed." Richardson mentioned conditions changed every day this week. "It was plugs on Friday (before the contest), spoons on Saturday and we finished up with plugs today." Green, green and green were the top colors as Richardson mentioned Dolphin patterns on the spoons and a Yellow Tail design on Silver Horde plugs. "The Kings were right on bottom today," Richman, who fished several miles southwest of a pack a boats off New Buffalo, said. Only four limit catches (10 fish) were recorded by the 29 Pro boats during the two-day event. Boats in the Amateur Division had a much better weekend with nine limits taken and seven of the top nine total scores. Happy Hours claimed the $2,500 Am top prize with a tournament best 356.90 points. "We caught 13 fish and weighed nine chinook and a laker today (Sunday)," Happy Hours captain Eric Decraene, said. "We stayed out front in 50 feet of water and the kings were right on bottom - a NK28 (spoon) in Alewife pattern (black/white) was our best bait." Bud Roche of New Buffalo won the 24U Division (boats 24 feet or less in length) with the second score of the tournament 337.95 points, The 24U paid $1,250 for first place. Big fish of the tournament was a 19.45 lake trout caught aboard Living the Dream. Altogether the Michigan City Summer Festival event awarded $50,000 in cash and merchandise prizes. A total of 66 teams fished the tournament, which is the longest running contest of its' kind on the Great Lakes. Complete results are available by clicking here.
Click here for the History of the Classic.
(reprinted from the News-Dispatch)
Lift off in Michigan City Tension grew as the wind-blown scales at the 37th annual Hoosier Coho Club Classic swayed back, forth and back again before settling on the winning weight. Five members of the Just 1 More crew went airborne in unison. Whooping, hollering and high-fives ensued as the team bounced around the Jaycee's stage. The local boys had beaten the best salmon fishermen from each of the four Lake Michigan states. "Unbelievable." stammered captain Larry Richmond, Jr., while accepting the $7,500 Pro Division first place check. "This was tough fishing," Richmond said, adding; "we didn't have a good day (on Sunday), so we really didn't know if we'd be able to hang on." Fishing with the Michigan City charter captain were dad Larry Sr., Carl Schultz, Ted Fenicle and Jordan Askegaard. The top five leaders after the first day on Saturday weighed their catch in reverse order on Sunday. Steve Kreighbaum, Michigan City's senior charter captain had rocketed from14th place after Day One to hold the lead before the top five hit the scales. One by one, heavyweights fell by the wayside - last year's champ Blue Fairways from Ludington, Mich., the legendary Living the Dream team from Grand Haven, Mich., and Phoenix, Wisconsin's best from Kenosha. Just 1 More's six fish on Sunday proved enough to hold off Crorkindill and pandemonium hit the stage when the scales registered a final score. "We landed three chinook in the last hour," Richardson said. "We were sweating it right until those last fish were weighed." Richardson mentioned conditions changed every day this week. "It was plugs on Friday (before the contest), spoons on Saturday and we finished up with plugs today." Green, green and green were the top colors as Richardson mentioned Dolphin patterns on the spoons and a Yellow Tail design on Silver Horde plugs. "The Kings were right on bottom today," Richman, who fished several miles southwest of a pack a boats off New Buffalo, said. Only four limit catches (10 fish) were recorded by the 29 Pro boats during the two-day event. Boats in the Amateur Division had a much better weekend with nine limits taken and seven of the top nine total scores. Happy Hours claimed the $2,500 Am top prize with a tournament best 356.90 points. "We caught 13 fish and weighed nine chinook and a laker today (Sunday)," Happy Hours captain Eric Decraene, said. "We stayed out front in 50 feet of water and the kings were right on bottom - a NK28 (spoon) in Alewife pattern (black/white) was our best bait." Bud Roche of New Buffalo won the 24U Division (boats 24 feet or less in length) with the second score of the tournament 337.95 points, The 24U paid $1,250 for first place. Big fish of the tournament was a 19.45 lake trout caught aboard Living the Dream. Altogether the Michigan City Summer Festival event awarded $50,000 in cash and merchandise prizes. A total of 66 teams fished the tournament, which is the longest running contest of its' kind on the Great Lakes. Complete results are available by clicking here.
Click here for the History of the Classic.
2010 Hoosier Coho Club Contributions
Indiana DNR Fisheries - donated two scales and a marine radio
Indiana DNR Law Enforcement - purchased TIP Banquet tickets
Boy Scout Troop 664 - sponsored youths to summer camp
Kids Fishing & Fun Day - co-sponsored youth day at Izaak Walton Lake
Wounded Warriors - donation towards Veteran's fishing day on Lake Michigan
Guest Speakers - monthly meetings are open to public and feature seminars on salmon, trout, perch and more in order to encourage folks to fish more and fish more often
Portage Perch Fest - sponsorship
Bass Pro Hunt/Fishing Trip of a Lifetime - sponsorship
Indiana Sportsman's Roundtable - sponsorship
Fishing Tournaments - sponsor multiple fishing contests which promote the sport while increasing knowledge whitch leads to catching more fish equaling more fun resulting in fishing more often with more people, thereby promoting the sport
Skwiat American Legion Post 451 - donation
Indiana DNR Fisheries - donated two scales and a marine radio
Indiana DNR Law Enforcement - purchased TIP Banquet tickets
Boy Scout Troop 664 - sponsored youths to summer camp
Kids Fishing & Fun Day - co-sponsored youth day at Izaak Walton Lake
Wounded Warriors - donation towards Veteran's fishing day on Lake Michigan
Guest Speakers - monthly meetings are open to public and feature seminars on salmon, trout, perch and more in order to encourage folks to fish more and fish more often
Portage Perch Fest - sponsorship
Bass Pro Hunt/Fishing Trip of a Lifetime - sponsorship
Indiana Sportsman's Roundtable - sponsorship
Fishing Tournaments - sponsor multiple fishing contests which promote the sport while increasing knowledge whitch leads to catching more fish equaling more fun resulting in fishing more often with more people, thereby promoting the sport
Skwiat American Legion Post 451 - donation
Michigan Lake Trout A proposal to extend the lake trout season in Michigan's portion of southern Lake Michigan to Jan. 1 through Oct. 31 was approved at its' Natural Resource Commission meeting on Dec. 9, 2010. The new regulation will go into effect April 1, 2011. The minimum size limit in Michigan remains 20 inches and the daily bag limit is also unchanged at three. Indiana has no closed season, a 14-inch limit and daily bag of two. Michigan previously had a May 1-Sept. 30 lake trout season. For local anglers, the five-month extension means not having to release those impressive fish in the spring while extending opportunities in the fall.
Classic on TV
Scenes from the 2010 Hoosier Coho Club Classic fishing tournament, held in Michigan City on May 1-2, aired on television from coast to coast on January 1.
"This is a terrific showcase for the Classic and the area," Jack Arnett, president of the LaPorte County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said. "It's great Michigan City and this Summer Festival event is the first in the series."
The program focuses on the Tournament Trail 333 Series, which fishes within the Classic and a dozen other contests around Lake Michigan.
"Michigan City is the premiere episode of the 13-part (tournament) series," Scott MacDonald of 333TV in Manistee, Mich., said.
"The half-hour show will broadcast at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on Saturday (Jan. 1), followed weekly by the balance of the series - then the 13 episodes will start over again."
Markets cover the U.S. from Albuquerque and Atlanta to Wichita and Washington, D.C., according to a news blast from www.tournamenttrail.net
MacDonald added an ABC affiliate in northern Michigan has also picked up the series.
"They are channel 8 and 29 in 23 counties, mostly north of Ludington," said MacDonald.
"The series will start on Jan. 8 up there."
The fishing show focuses on the fun aspects of tournament fishing.
"We had cameramen on board Blue Fairways with Greg Magee (owner) and Fuzzy Bear (Carl Stopczynski) for the two contest days in Michigan City to go along with scenes from the weigh-in, comments from people in the crowds and the awards ceremony."
Fortuitously, Blue Fairways won the 333 Series and the Classic Pro Division as well as the Big Fish of both contests, which was a whopping 23-pound lake trout. All the winning tactics and championship glory was captured on film.
A 2011 TV encore is in the works.
Scenes from the 2010 Hoosier Coho Club Classic fishing tournament, held in Michigan City on May 1-2, aired on television from coast to coast on January 1.
"This is a terrific showcase for the Classic and the area," Jack Arnett, president of the LaPorte County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said. "It's great Michigan City and this Summer Festival event is the first in the series."
The program focuses on the Tournament Trail 333 Series, which fishes within the Classic and a dozen other contests around Lake Michigan.
"Michigan City is the premiere episode of the 13-part (tournament) series," Scott MacDonald of 333TV in Manistee, Mich., said.
"The half-hour show will broadcast at 2:30 p.m. (EST) on Saturday (Jan. 1), followed weekly by the balance of the series - then the 13 episodes will start over again."
Markets cover the U.S. from Albuquerque and Atlanta to Wichita and Washington, D.C., according to a news blast from www.tournamenttrail.net
MacDonald added an ABC affiliate in northern Michigan has also picked up the series.
"They are channel 8 and 29 in 23 counties, mostly north of Ludington," said MacDonald.
"The series will start on Jan. 8 up there."
The fishing show focuses on the fun aspects of tournament fishing.
"We had cameramen on board Blue Fairways with Greg Magee (owner) and Fuzzy Bear (Carl Stopczynski) for the two contest days in Michigan City to go along with scenes from the weigh-in, comments from people in the crowds and the awards ceremony."
Fortuitously, Blue Fairways won the 333 Series and the Classic Pro Division as well as the Big Fish of both contests, which was a whopping 23-pound lake trout. All the winning tactics and championship glory was captured on film.
A 2011 TV encore is in the works.