Anglers compete in two-day Up/Down tournament

The Wisconsin Bass Team Trail hosts bass tournaments across the Northwoods and down into Central Wisconsin. Each year the trail organizes four qualifier tournaments where anglers compete not only for cash and prizes, but for a place in the two-day championship.

This year the trail held tournaments on Lake Mohawksin in Tomahawk, Boom Lake in Rhinelander, Lake Nokomis near Tomahawk and wound up the year on the Manitowish Waters Chain last month. 

Kacey Meyer (right) and Dustin Linsmeyer took second overall in the Up/Down this month with a total of 26.29 pounds.
(Photo by Beckie Gaskill/Lakeland Times)This month, series organizers hold “open” tournaments. 

The first open tournament run by the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail took place earlier this month and is actually two tournaments in one. That tournament has been called the Up/Down for decades. It was originally run by the bass club from Wausau, but when interest in running that tournament waned within the club, the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail took it over.

The tournament starts out on Saturday fishing the Stevens Point Flowage. On Sunday, anglers challenge themselves with the Biron Flowage near Wisconsin Rapids. Many anglers have a love/hate relationship with one or both of these bodies of water, but some anglers prefer the skinny water and challenges of the current in both places.

Teams can fish either day as a solo event, or can fish both days and also compete in the overall. Each day $20 is held back from each boat’s entry fee to be paid out to the top two teams with the highest two day total weight.

Dustin (right) and Mike O’Shaugnessy took first place with 15.16 pounds.
(Photo by Beckie Gaskill/Lakeland Times)

On day one of the tournament, 96 fish were brought in by the 23 teams who competed that day. Of those, 15 teams were able to bring in a five fish limit of fish. Only one team was unable to bring any fish to the scales. The average weight per fish was 2.31 pounds. Mike and Dustin O’Shaughnessy had big smallmouth for the day with a bronze back weighing in at 3.88 pounds. The father and son team also took first place that day with 15.16 pounds.

Second place was a team of brothers. Matt and Dan Hirman not only had 14.88 pounds to take second place, but they also had big largemouth for the day.

Another father and son team, that of Claire and Raffe Hulce, took third place. They had 14.70 pounds for day one.

On the Biron Flowage on day two, only 20 teams competed, bringing in 84 fish. This brought the average weight per fish to almost the same as anglers found on the Point Flowage. The average fish weight was 2.35 pounds. Only four teams were not able to bring a limit of fish to the scales. Two teams were unable to boat a legal bass on ay two.

Adam Kolbeck and Alex Wallock took first place on the Biron Flowage with 16.75 pounds. They also had big largemouth for the tournament with a 4.97 pound bucket mouth.

Corey Piece and Adam Jenner brought in 14.11 pounds of fish. That bag was good enough for second place. 

The team of Kacey Meyer and Dustin Linsmeyer took third place on day two. They had 13.54 pounds in their five fish limit. They also took big smallmouth for the day at 3.72 pounds.

The overall totals for both days were added together to find the overall winners. 

With a two day total of 26.78 pounds, Kolbeck and Wallock took the overall win. Meyer and Linsmeyer wound up in second overall. Their two-day weight was 26.29 pounds.

In the end it would take over 22 pounds to make the top ten overall for the weekend. The top six teams were separated by just over one pound. Those interested in learning more about this event will find information on the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail website later this year.

Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament

The second open tournament run by the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail is the Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament, which will take place on Boom Lake this weekend. Gaskill was an avid bass angler who moved to the Northwoods from Las Vegas in the early ‘90s. He helped to from the Hodag Bassmasters and was the tournament director for their Boom Lake Open until 2014. In 2015 Gaskill was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, which he fought for 2 1/2 years before losing that battle in 2018. Starting in 2019, Wisconsin Bass Team Trail organizers created this open as way to remember Gaskill as well as the Boom Lake Open. Many of the anglers who fished that open now come back to fish this memorial event. Each year proceeds from the tournament go toward programs that get kids into the outdoors, specifically hunting and fishing. Gaskill was passionate about sharing his love of the outdoors and getting the next generation out there as well.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].