September 10, 2020 at 1:57 p.m.
DeGolier, Bennet win Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament
Over $1,000 raised for charity
DeGolier, Bennet win Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament
By Beckie Gaskill-bjoki@lakelandtimes.com
In 2015, Gaskill was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed away in 2018.
With the Hodag Bassmasters Boom Lake Open no longer running, the decision was made to replace that tournament with the Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament. Aug. 15, 2020 marked the second annual tournament, with 34 teams registered for the event. Two teams had boat problems and had to back out, to their dismay.
For many, this event has become more than just a bass tournament, it is a way for friends who used to see each other only at the Boom Lake Open to get together and relive old times on and off the water.
Proceeds from the event are donated to charity. This year's beneficiary was a new nonprofit in the state called the GO program. The program is the brainchild of Kelly Callaway of Stevens Point. Callaway owns Callaway Custom Rods, and builds fishing rods to the angler's exact specifications. With life being so different in the age of COVID-19, with people working from home, and some people unable to work for extended periods of time, Callaway thought it was a great time to help get kids out fishing.
The GO Program, he said, simply stands for "Go outside, Go fishing." His vision is to provide fishing rods and reels to kids who would not otherwise have the chance to enjoy the sport.
Gaskill always thought it was important to get the next generation into fishing. He helped out with kids' events whenever he could, working with the Department of Natural Resources at Heritage Day as well as other casting events over the many years he was with bass clubs in the state. While the inaugural tournament's proceeds went to a national nonprofit, Tackle the Storm, which has the same mission, the decision this year was to donate to an organization that was more local.
Callaway's new organization fit that bill perfectly.
Organizers also held a raffle, with many prizes from area businesses and fishing-related businesses throughout the state. The raffles were always a big part of the Boom Lake Open, with the public coming to take their chances at winning some great prizes. A 50/50 raffle was held, with half of the money going to the lucky winning angler and the other half to the GO Program.
Let's Go Fishing was on hand cooking brats and burgers, which were for sale at the park most of the day.
Gaskill was a member of the Let's Go Fishing board and also a captain of the boat. Let's Go Fishing provides fishing excursions and sight-seeing trips on the Rhinelander Flowage for seniors, disabled residents, childrens' groups and others who may not have the chance to get out. While the boat is not running this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group looks forward to hitting the water again next year.
The fishing
While the big draw of any tournament is always the chance to take first place, for not only money but bragging rights until next year, this tournament had an extra twist.
Organizers thought back to a time when "Dash for Cash" was more common, and decided to add that twist to the Memorial Tournament.
There were three Dash for Cash hours during the tournament. During those hours, if a team thought they had the biggest fish that may be brought in that hour, they could come back to the launch ramp and weigh that fish. This put an extra element of strategy into the tournament for the anglers, especially those who would make the long, slow trip up the river in search of big smallmouth. While every team had eight hours to fish, coming back to the launch ramp would take away from that time. However, the reward of $100 for the biggest fish in an hour made that trip worth it for some.
During the 9 o'clock hour, the team of Cole Hoffmann and Kyle Wells brought in that hour's big fish, a 3.96-pound smallmouth.
Father and son due Rudy and Rudy Vlosak of Minocqua took the 10 o'clock hour with their 2.71-pound largemouth. The noon hour was the last Dash for Cash hour, but none of the teams took the time out of their day to come back to the ramp to weigh a fish. That $100, left on the table by the anglers, also went to the GO Program. Those hours were sponsored by Tony Bartishofski, Chip Bennet, and Trevor and Amanda Mildenberger.
All of the teams who would not finish in the money during the tournament had their names put in a hat for a special drawing. Each year the tournament provides a free entry into next year's event for one team finishing outside of the money.
This year that team was Bob and Jim Kerchefski of Rhinelander, both members of the Hodag Bassmasters since the beginning.
There was also an award for biggest largemouth and biggest smallmouth of the tournament. That jackpot was optional, with all 32 teams who came to the event opting in. That made each big fish category worth $320 to the winning team. While a fish could win big fish of the hour as well as big fish of the tournament, that was not the case in this tournament. The team of Brian and Alex Gaber of Rhinelander took the pot for big smallmouth, with a 5.12-pound giant. Rich Hirman and Kyle Froelich, also of Rhinelander, took the big largemouth, the only green fish weighed for big fish, with a nice 3.55 pounder.
When all of the fish were weighed and the results were tallied, the team of Chip Bennet and Travis DeGolier of Minocqua took the win with a five-fish limit of smallmouth tipping the scales at 17.94 pounds.
Kyle Martinson and Brendan Garrigan, no strangers to the top of the leaderboard, took second place with their 16.68 pound limit of smallmouth. Third place went to Boom Lake Open regulars Ty Jesse and Chase Vaughn who brought 16.51 pounds of smallmouth to the scales. First place was awarded $1,630 for their efforts as well as an extra $300 from Arbor Vitae Marine in Arbor Vitae. The tournament was also able to pay out an extra place, meaning it would pay seven places rather than just six, due to a $200 donation from Super K Jigs. The $25 award for smallest limit of the tournament went to another team well known from the Open, Wayne Guetschow and Jim Kettenhoven.
Their five fish tipped the scales at 9.31 pounds. That award was sponsored by Aaron's Recreation Center of Rhinelander. Plaques for the tournament were provided by Joe Heitschmidt of Tomahawk.
Fishing was tough for many, with 10 teams unable to weigh a fish. Fifteen teams, though, were able to bring in a limit at the end of the day. The average number of fish per team was approximately 2.8. Of the 90 fish caught, 31 were largemouth and 59 smallmouth. With a total weight of 228.81 pounds, that brought the average per fish to a respectable 2.54 pounds.
The tournament raised over $1,000 for the GO Program, thanks to the generosity of the many businesses who donated to the raffles, with a portion of the entry fees going to the charity as well.
Many anglers stated they could not wait to come back next year for more fun.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at bgaskill@lakelandtimes.com.
Comments:
You must login to comment.