2008 WI Carp Championship Results
Well Folks, I've been really busy at work, trying to catch up from the few days I took off to run the Championship. However, Tony Safranski has kindly come to the rescue; here's his report, thanks Tony!
The 2008 Wisconsin Carp Championship is in the books. After two weeks of cold, windy and unsettled weather this year’s competitors arrived in Menasha on Friday, May 30, just in time to enjoy a weekend of sunshine and mild temperatures. Steady incoming winds brought in the carp and kept them within casting distance all along the Jefferson Park seawall both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday morning started with competitors drawing their day’s pegs. Fishing began at 10:00 a.m. Within five minutes we heard the first “fish on” and the weigh stewards quickly got into the action. Three competitors took the early lead, Bobby Chokdee, Josef Settele and Larry Kirchner. Each found their individual rhythm and caught fish after fish all day long.
Every angler relied upon his own ‘Super Secret, No Peeking, Don’t Even Ask for the Recipe,’ ground bait mix to attract carp to their peg. And the carp came to the pegs all day long. Despite an apparent need to feed, upon feeling a sharp metal object in their mouths, the carp proved less than willing to give themselves up without trying all means of possible escape. Many fish found their sanctuary in the Fox River’s multiple weed beds and used the weeds as a great source of leverage. Much to the chagrin of various competitors the carp proved that it’s not just fishing but catching that counts in the end.
Bobby got into the lead early Saturday and held it all day long. We are not sure if his unique fish-fighting dance gave him some mystical edge over the fish or his competition, but it drew a spectator crowd most of the day. Even the girl’s softball team stopped to watch Bobby go through his gyrations. We will assess the possible need for a carp angler ‘Entertainer of the Year,” award.
When competition ended at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Bobby held the lead with a catch of 26 fish and a total weight of 233 pounds. Larry finished in second place with 22 fish for a total weight of 180 pounds. Josef came in third with 24 fish for a total weight of 156 pounds. Overall, the three leaders and the remaining 11 anglers caught 96 fish for a total weight of 914 pounds. The average fish weighed 9.5 pounds.
Sunday morning competition started at 9:00 a.m. The three leaders immediately picked up where they left off on Saturday. Bobby started the day’s entertainment with a full-blown carp dance while Weigh Stewards Eric Glazewski and Ulee Vang responded to the ‘fish-on’ call. Both Josef and Larry quickly found hungry carp in their swims.
In a fishing sense of ‘what a difference a day makes,’ competitors all along the seawall found hungry and cooperative carp and started to cash in soon after the start. Pegs that produced few willing carp on Saturday kept their anglers busy all day Sunday. Tommy Riley, Paul Pezalla and Wayne Boon all added nicely to their Saturday totals. Wayne Boon hooked and landed the match’s biggest fish. His carp pulled the scale down until the arrow showed it weighed 29 pounds 9 ounces. Tommy Riley landed two 21 pound fish one after the other.
Questions of who held the lead started early in the afternoon. Bobby still held the lead but Josef found his rhythm with a few hours to go and started to catch more fish than Bobby. We didn’t know it at first but around 4 in the afternoon Bobby started running short of bait. This forced him to change tactics. The carp didn’t like the new presentation and his peg grew quiet. Josef kept landing carp right up to the final minute. He managed a come from behind win with 13 more pounds than Bobby. Larry finished in third place.
The final standings for the two days competition are:
2008 Wisconsin Carp Champion:
Josef Settele, with 65 fish for 483 pounds 3 ounces
Runner-up: Bobby Chokdee, 48 fish, 470 pounds 9 ounces
Third: Larry Kirchner, 45 fish, 394 pounds 8 ounces
Largest Carp: Wayne Boon, 29 pounds 9 ounces
Totals for the competition: 272 fish, 2,656 pounds 7 ounces
