Anglers celebrate life of local angler, support Wisconsin Wildlife Federation

The Seventh Annual Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament was held on Boom Lake in Rhinelander on Saturday, August 23. Twenty teams, 39 anglers in all, took to Boom Lake and the Rhinelander Flowage in search of the heaviest five bass to bring to the scales at the end of the day. The weather started out cold and windy, and the creature comforts did not improve much by weigh in time, but that did not stop anglers from fishing hard and doing their best to compete in less than ideal conditions.

Wade Rudis (right) and Kris Webster found themselves in second place in the Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament at the end of the day with 16.96 pounds.
(Photo by Beckie Gaskill/Lakeland Times)

Fishing on this body of water poses a particular challenge that is not present in many systems, and is part of the reason Gaskill enjoyed the challenge of fishing the Hodag Bassmasters Boom Lake Open, a tournament he ran for over a decade. The first decision of the day is whether to take the trip up river, in search of the hefty bronzebacks that lurk along the weed edges, or to stay on the lake and gamble on boating a limit of big bucketmouths that call the lake home.

In the early years of the Open, which is the tournament Gaskill’s memorial tournament is meant to replace, anglers had just as good of a chance winning with largemouth from the lake as they did smallmouth from the river. In recent years, that trend had changed, with the only real hope of winning meaning anglers had to take the trip north. However, that started to change last year as the largemouth coming to the scales started to get bigger and heavier. That made for a bigger conundrum for anglers this year. As always, some made a choice that cashed them a check, while the sting of a wrong choice will stick with others until next year.

Cynthia Ballinger accepted two Dash for Cash checks on behalf of herself and her partner Jim Kerchefski at the Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament. The duo won the 9 a.m. hour, sponsored by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, with a 3.56 pound fish. They also won the 10 a.m. hour, sponsored by the Lakeland Times, with the only fish to be weighed in that hour, a 2.76 pound largemouth.
(Photo by Beckie Gaskill/Lakeland Times)

Added to the choice of whether to “stay or go,” as anglers say, was the three Dash 4 Cash Hours involved in the tournament. Dash 4 Cash was a staple in bass tournaments decades ago, and organizers brought it back as an homage to the length of Gaskill’s tournament fishing career. Should a team believe they had the heaviest fish to weigh in during the nine o’clock, ten o’clock or noon hour, they could come back to the boat landing and weigh that fish, which would then be kept as part of their overall bag for the day. While this is always a bit easier decision for those fishing on the lake, then those up the river who would need to adhere to a long no wake back down to the lake, it still would mean stopping fishing to come back to the launch ramp, taking precious time out of the fishing day.

In the end, it was two separate teams, who had decided to stay on the lake for the day, who wound up receiving $100 for their efforts. Jim Kerchefski and Cynthia Ballinger won the 9 a.m. hour with a 3.56 pound largemouth and, by default, being the only team to weigh in the 10 a.m. hour, won that Dash 4 Cash hour with a 2.76 pound largemouth. Gary Slagle and Wayne Dezotell took the noon hour with a 3.07 pound largemouth. From the Park Falls area, these two anglers were part of a group who came to fish the Boom Lake Open for almost as many years as Gaskill was the tournament director.

Anglers weighed in at Hodag Park in Rhinelander for the 7th annual Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament. This year, the proceeds went to the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.
(Photo by Beckie Gaskill/Lakeland Times)

In the end, it was local favorites Kyle Martinson and Brendan Garrigan who proved victorious with 17.45 pounds of smallmouth, including a 4.47 pound beast of a bronzeback. The team is always at the top of the standings on any tournament on Boom Lake, and their experience there paid off, netting them almost $1,300.

Kris Webster and Wade Rudis were able to bring in a stout limit as well. They had five fish for 16.96 pounds, including a 4.67 pound largemouth and a 3.81 pound smallmouth.

The father and son team of Andy and Colton Dassow found themselves in third place at the end of the day. They had 15.06 pounds in five fish, with their limit anchored by a 4.16 pound smallmouth.

Organizers of the Rod Gaskill Memorial tournament look for a way to give back to the sport of fishing, with one of Gaskill’s true desires being to encourage others to get into the sport, whether that would mean getting kids fishing for the first time, or urging older adults to get back into wetting a line. This year, the decision was made to involved the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

Federation members Connie Polzin and Bob Burton worked with organizers to secure raffle donations, and the two also had brats and burgers for sale for the hungry anglers who had been on the water all day. Several community members stopped by to support the cause as well, despite the weather. 

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation was formed in 1949 by sportsmen and women and continues to be a strong leader in conservation. They work with sporting clubs, citizen volunteers and policy makers. The Federation’s mission is to ensure that Wisconsin’s outdoor heritage will be available for generations to come. 

Most recently they became an intervener with the Public Service Commission, where a 8,500 acre solar project was proposed near the Buena Vista Wildlife Area. While the Federation is pro-renewable energy, the placement of this particular solar array field was at issue. It was to be placed in such as way as to create major negative impacts to the state threatened greater prairie chicken by destroying suitable habitat. With over 70 percent of the state’s greater prairie chicken population utilizing that area, it was seen as a major threat. In the end, the Federation won the fight, with the planned solar project moving its boundaries, meaning the greater prairie chicken grounds would remain untouched and, hopefully, populations there could continue to thrive. 

Those looking for more information on the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation can see their website at wiwf.org.

Those looking for more information on next year’s Rod Gaskill Memorial Bass Tournament will be able to find that on the Wisconsin Bass Team Trail website wisconsinbassteamtrail.com when it becomes available toward the end of this year.

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