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2/20/10

The Bite at Newton is starting to heat up. Its still been a little on the tough side but the last week or so the bigger fish have really started moving up. We fished a buddy event last week which we really should have won. We had the winning fish on but either broke them off or lost them. The bigger fish seemed to move up on the shallow flats late in the day 5'-6' deep. They seemed to really stack up on the flats that had deep water near by. The bite was slow. they seemed to want a very slow presentation. Shaky heads seemed to work the best. I really regret not throwing a rat-l-trap on those shallow flats at the end of the day. that might just have been the key to getting a more aggressive strike.

There were some fish very shallow. Some almost had thier backs out of the water but they seemed the less agressive.

2/7/10

Mike Elsea Takes First Place at Coffeen Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 2/7/10. Mike is our local Indiana visiting director and is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Coffeen Lake this past weekend. Mike used a jerk bait the entire day to catch his fish. Mike’s 3 bass limit, weighed in at 5.78 lbs. Second place went to Steve Klein from Sorento, IL with a weight of 5.64 lbs. Third place was John Wright from Shelbyville, IL with a weight of 5.51 lbs. Mike Elsea also had the Big Bass of the event which weighed 2.95 lbs.

1/31/10

Mike Black Takes First Place at Coffeen Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 1/31/10. Mike from Toledo, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Coffeen Lake this past weekend. Mike’s 3 bass limit, weighed in at 6.21 lbs. This was Mike’s first ABA event and he had an exciting one , beating out a full field of anglers despite the low air temps at launch time ( 14- degrees) Second place went to Gruen VonBehrens from Stewardson, IL with a weight of 5.80 lbs. Third place was Jack Floyd from Hillsboro, IL with a weight of 5.48 lbs. 4th place went to Steve Klein with a weight of 5.24 lbs, Ryan Fancher had the Big Bass of the event which weighed 3.68 lbs.

Conditions: The weather was Bitterly cold at take-off this weekend. But with the sunshine it warmed to 36 degrees by days end. The winds were 7 mph. I actually broke ice to put the boat in this morning. The water temp was 38 degrees at the ramp 41 mid lake and up to almost 60 in the hot ditch. The water was slightly stained but near perfect for fishing. ( just cold) Despite the cold 19 of the 21 anglers caught fish today!

Next Divisional Tournament: This division’s next tournament will be Next Sunday on Coffeen Lake. 2/7/10

1/28/10

Hey all it looks like we are in for some more cold temps Sunday but with Sunny skies so hopefully the fish will cooperate. Right now with the calls I have had it looks like we should have a full field of anglers. From the sounds of things Jerk baits, crank baits and shaky heads were the rule at last weekends tournament. I have not been to coffeen yet myself but from last weekends results the fishing must be pretty good. Hopefully we all can get a limit as well. good Luck all ! See ya Sunday!

1/23/10

I fished Newton today and in a word it is Tough! Mike Black won with 4 nice fish that weighed right at 20 lbs. I fished all day and we produced 2 small fish and had maybe 5 bites. The lake has muddied up some and a few fish were caught very shallow. I saw 3-caught on a buzzbait. The fish seemed scattered at best. Hopefully in the next few weeks it will pick up?

1/20/10

I hope everyone had a great Holiday ! I am starting to get fired up for the next few wekkes fishing events. Newton Lake sounds like is producing fish despite the lower lake temps right now. Water is in the 50's in the warm arm and the fish have turned back on. I have not got any reports from coffeen yet but hopefully I can make it up there this weekend. There are team events this Saturday at Newton and Coffeen on Sunday if anyone is wanting to wet a line. Hopefully I can give you more details on lake temps and what might work and probably my lake what does not work next week. Take care

Date 10/10/09

2009 Nationals

Congrats to Larry Pierce # 34 and Matt Bennett #33. The only two that received checks.

We started out on our trip driving in pouring rain for the entire journey down there. We then ended up in a motel in which you had to un-hook your boat and then push it into a parking spot due to lack of space. On the 2nd day I hooked my boat trailer on another boat trailer and ended up with the tongue of his boat completely under mine. It caved my Boat trailer fender in clear into the tire . It took several of us to get it unhooked from each other. It did no damage to his trailer but it caved my fender in and scraped up the underside of my boat pretty good. John Pepmeier came in the next day and found us a nice motel in which we did not have to unhook our boats. ( It was actually closer as well. )

Also on the 2nd day Mike Buchanan and I went as observers in the Angler of the Year contest. ( It rained /poured most of the day.) Kevin fished as our angler of the year and did very well but one of the guys hit the jackpot and landed 22 lbs of smallmouth.

On day 3 we decided to launch out of the far end of the lake and decided to take the Nachez Trail to get there. (Just a note here if you turn the wrong way you will end up in Mississippi before you realize it) You also will be the last one at the lake to launch. We decided if your lost you must be on the Nachez trail.

On day 4 Kevin decided to see how far a boat could fly over a rock pile. At 70 mph it seems he thought it would go pretty far. It will actually roll and spin quite a few times as he reported. Luckily he was not hurt in the ordeal and his boat would still float. He lost the lower unit and half the manifold housing leading up to the engine. There was also quite a bit of damage to the boat and I suspect there is more that we had not detected since the boat was stressed enough to pop loose all the hinges holding the lids. All –in all we were all very lucky that nobody was hurt and everyone made it back home safe.

By the way we all decided to rename the island where Kevin crashed as Arbaugh island. Its located right beside the Nachez bridge.

Its amazing you can go for a week of sleep deprivation like this and I am already looking forward to next year. I for one had a blast this year. I laughed at times until my sides hurt.

All in all I drew a couple of very good partners and would be happy to draw them again any day of the week.

FINAL ***Daily Weights*** Accumulated Weights

Name Service Boat Fish Weight Penalty B/F Day-1 Day-2 Day-3 Total Pts.

34 Larry J. Pierce ASC 3-9 14/14 4.10 13.13 7.94 6.70 27.77 1835

124 Michael B. Yeagley AF 1-11 10/10 &nb sp; 4.35 1.90 9.76 7.48 19.14 1385

126 Kevin Arbaugh ASC 2-52 12/12 4.47 6.23 4 .09 8.72 19.04 1375

141 Douglas Emerson ASC 1-11 12/12 7.29 4.65 6.20 18.14 &n bsp; 1300

218 John Pepmeier ASC 2-43 11/10 0.25 5.20 5.23 3.42 13.85 915

282 Rick Klanke ASC 3-741 6/6 3.59 5.11 1.28 9.98 595

341 Mike Buchanan A 1-59 5/5 4.78 0.00 1.09 5.87 300

P.S., The Nationals site has been announced : It will not be changed it will be :

Paris Landing, Tennessee > Ky lake. For 2010. I do not have the date yet other than it is suppose to approximately the same time.

Date 9/20/2009

It looks like we will have 6 anglers heading to the

Nationals this year on Pickwick lake in Alabama!

They are: Mike Buchanan, Kevin Arbaugh, Mike

Yeagley, John Pepmeier, Mark Kintner, and myself.

All of us are expected to be there by Sunday

morning the first day of practice. Good luck all!!

Date 8/15-16/2009

Kevin Arbaugh Takes First Place at East Fork Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 8/15/09 & 8/16/09. Kevin from Olney, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament Championship held on East Fork Lake this past weekend. Kevin’s 10 bass limit, weighed in at whopping 37.32 lbs. Kevin also had the two big bass of the event that weighed 5.76 and 4.51 lbs. Second place went to Alvin Pannell from Indianapolis, IN with a weight of 25.90 lbs, third place was Mike Buchanan from Robinson, IL with a weight of 21.55 lbs. 4th place went to Gary Bettis of Olney, IL with 20.75 lbs.

Kevin ruled the event when he found a group of large fish on a brush pile that weighed in at an amazing weight of 21.64 pounds on day one and he backed it up with a 15.68 lbs on day two.

With this weight and his 394 points earned Kevin Arbaugh is going to be representing our district in the Angler of the Year contest in late Sept that will be held on Wilson Lake. The winner of this contest will receive a brand new Fully rigged Triton Boat.

The top anglers were:

1.Kevin Arbaugh 37.32 lbs

2.Alvin Pannell 25.90 lbs

3.Mike Buchanan 21.55 lbs

4.Gary Bettis 20.75 lbs.

Next Tournament: The Next event will be the Angler of the Year contest in Late Sept. with the National Championship starting the day after. For more information on this or any future event in this division contact Rick Klanke at 618-665-4158 or by email at: rtklanke@wabash.net.

Date 8/9/2009

Mike Buchanan Takes First Place at East Fork Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 8/9/09. Mike from Robinson, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend. Mike’s 5 bass limit, weighed in at 15.89 lbs. Second place went to John Jones from Olney, IL with a weight of 13.24 lbs. Third place was Brian Maus from Willow Hill, IL with a weight of 12.24 lbs. Brian also had the Big Bass of the event which weighed 4.38 lbs. 4th place went to Kevin Arbaugh of Olney, IL with 10.57 lbs.

Date 7/29/2009

NEW TOURNEY ADDED >> 8/9/09 EAST FORK LAKE

DUE TO SEVERAL REQUESTS ; We have addded

another event.

Date 7/25/2009

Mike Yeagley Takes First Place at East Fork Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 7/25/09. Mike from Belleville, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend. Mike’s 5 bass limit, weighed in at 12.17 lbs. Second place went to Jeff Scott from Sumner, IL with a weight of 12.08 lbs, 3rd place was Mike Buchanan from Robinson, IL with a weight of 11.72 lbs. 4th place went to Ryan Fancher of Olney, IL with 10.57 lbs.

Conditions: The weather was beautiful this weekend. We had heavy cloud cover almost all day. The winds were 10-15 mph. the air temps hovered around 80 degrees.

Winning Strategy: Mike’s strategy to take the win from the 22 angler field was was using the Stealth Series rod by Grandt Rods throwing a black and blue JigX with a blue saffire ChunkX by Vertical Lures on Vicious Flourocarbon line

This division’s next tournament will be

The Division Championship > 8/15/09 and 8/16/09 on East Fork Lake. The points race for Angler of the Year is very tight. We have five anglers within 7 points of each other so it is going to come down to the final day at the divisional championship. Jeff Scott now has the lead with 793 points. Kevin Arbaugh and Mike Buchanan both have 791 points, Rick Klanke has 789 points, and Ryan Fancher has 786 points. Congrats to all and Good Luck !

Date 6/27/2009

Mike Pitchford Takes First Place at Rend Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 6/27/09. Mike from Mt. Vernon, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Rend Lake this past weekend . Mike’s 5 bass limit weighed in at a Whopping 19.54 lbs. ( This is also the Largest bag of fish caught at a District # 68 event this year. ) Second place went to Kevin Arbaugh from Olney, IL with a weight of 9.01 lbs, third place was John Jones from Olney, IL with a weight of 6.66 lbs. John also had a very nice big bass which weighed 5.11 lbs.

Conditions: The word was HOT!!!!! We had 105 heat index by noon today. Conditions were tough to say the least but amazingly, Mike Pitchford was not only able to get a limit but catch the largest bag for the entire year in those conditions. Hats off to you Mike that was awesome ! The water was heavily stained from the recent rains but if you got your bait in front of a fish they would attack it ferociously.

Winning Strategy: Mike’s strategy was fishing a shaky head on a spinning rod near the deeper water at some of the main bridges. I had an opportunity to watch Mike catch several of his keepers. ( He was culling by 7:00 a.m.) Let me just say that Mike definitely had the touch. I was fishing the same bridge Mike was early in the day and I watched him cull several. I boated one short fish on that same bridge.

Next Divisional Tournament: This division’s next tournament will be 7/25/09 on East Fork Lake

For more information on this or any future event in this division contact Rick Klanke at 618-665-4158 or by email at: rtklanke@wabash.net.

Date 6/13/2009

Rick Klanke Takes First Place at East Fork Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 5/9/09. Rick from Louisville, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend . Rick’s 5 bass limit weighed in at 15.25 lbs. Second place went to Mike Buchanan from Oblong, IL with a weight of 14.84 lbs, third place was Kevin Arbaugh from Olney, IL with a weight of 14.04 lbs. Mike Buchanan also had a very nice big bass which weighed 6.68 lbs.

These anglers are acquiring valuable points to insure their birth in division’s two-day champion and the American Fishing Tour National Championship that will be held this fall. Their points are also being used to determine the divisional angler of the year. The top angler by points earned in this division will represent the division in the Angler of the Year final round.

The top five anglers were:

1.Rick Klanke 15.25 lbs

2.Mike Buchanan 14.84 lbs

3.Kevin Arbaugh 14.04 lbs

4.Bob Long 12.22 lbs

5.Jeff Scott 11.04 lbs

Conditions: The air temps were great 72 at take off and 84 by days end. The weather was great today, sunny most of the afternoon and 84 degrees. The water was near perfect in color.

Winning Strategy: Rick’s strategy was fishing the weed beds nearer the deeper water. I caught most of my fish in 15’ water but the the weeds were 6’ to 8’ tall. A light weight was the key I think. I went to a very light weight so that my bait would sit-up on top of the weeds and not sink down into them completely.

Next Divisional Tournament: This division’s next tournament will be 6/27/09 on Rend Lake at the Sail Boat Harbor boat ramp.

Date 5/10/2009

Mike Buchanan Takes First Place at Borah Lake

From Division District # 68 Central Illinois 5/10/09 Mike from Robinson , Il is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Borah Lake this past weekend . Mike’s five bass limit weighed in at 10.21 lbs and were caught using buzz baits Second place went to Bob Long with a weight of 10.15lbs, third place was John Jones with a weight of 7.24 lbs. Big bass was awarded to Gary Bettis for catching a 3.45 lb pound large mouth.

These anglers are acquiring valuable points to insure their birth in division’s two-day champion and the American Fishing Tour Championship that will be held this fall.

Tourney Results :

1.Mike Buchanan 10.21 lbs

2.Bob Long 10.15 lbs

3.John Jones 7.24 lbs

Big Bass went to Gary Bettis with a bass that weighed 3.45 lbs

This division’s next tournament will be on 6/13/09 on East Fork Lake

Date 5/9/2009

Ryan Fancher Takes First Place at East Fork Lake

From Division District # 68 Central Illinois 5/9/09 Ryan from Olney , Illinois is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend . Ryan’s five bass limit weighed in at 14.37 lbs Second place went to Kevin Arbaugh with a weight of 12.55 lbs., third place was Bob Long with a weight of 11.91 lbs. Big bass was awarded to Ryan Fancher as well for catching a 3.89 lb pound large mouth.

It was a great event this weekend. We had 12 of the 17 anglers that boated 4 fish or more and 9 anglers had a limit.

These anglers are acquiring valuable points to insure their birth in division’s two-day champion and the American Fishing Tour Championship that will be held this fall.

Tourney Results :

1.Ryan Fancher 14.37 lbs

2.Kevin Arbaugh 12.55 lbs

3.Bob Long 11.91 lbs

This division’s next tournament will be 6/13/09 on East Fork Lake

Date 5/2/2009

We had a great turnout today for the Crawford County Bass Anglers Youth Event. There were some limits of bass caught and every young angler had fish to weigh today. The pictures are posted for this event on the 2009 pictures page. Thanks to all for their support and help making this such a great event.

Date 5/1/2009

East Fork is starting to really heat up this year. There have been several large fish caught recently and this past Thursday nights evening tourney was just on fire. We launched at 6 p.m. and by 7p.m. We had already culled 6 times and had 15.41 lbs. I am not really sure how many more keepers we caught. none were larger than what we had so we just kept tossing them back. We caught them on everything from a buzz bait to a jig. The jig bite was definitely the best though. I think almost every boat had a limit Thursday night. It was some of the best fishing I have seen in a very long time. This Saturday's Youth tourney with Crawford County Bass Anglers should be just down right fun.

Date 4/26/2009

Kevin Arbaugh Takes First Place at East Fork Lake, IL

From Division Central Illinois District # 68 on 4/26/09. Kevin from Olney, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win and $484.00 in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend . Kevin’s 5 bass limit weighed in at 16.02 lbs. Second place went to John Travis from Olney, IL with a weight of 11.63 lbs, third place was Mike Buchanan from Robinson, IL with a weight of 11.24 lbs. Fourth Place went to Brian Maus from Willow Hill, IL with 11.21 lbs. Kevin Arbaugh also had the big bass of the event which weighed 4.92 lbs. We had 21 anglers that took to the field today.

Conditions: The air temps were great 62 at take off and 84 by days end. The winds were the key ingredient today the winds were gusting up to 30 mph today but it was not a steady wind it was swirling back and forth. The fishing was very tough today to say the least. The fish have started moving into the spawning cycle and were quite shallow but still most anglers were able to catch a few fish. East Fork Lake, IL is an amazing fishery that continues to produce year after year.

Winning Strategy: Kevin’s strategy was using a swim bait over the bedding areas.

Date 4/18/2009

It was a tough day at the Miller lite event for most but there were some good limits of bass caught. The winners had 16.50 lbs. I struggled with a lot of short fish today myself and ended up with 4 fish , 1 short of the limit. My partner and I had our chances, we lost a lot of fish today that probably would have put us up in the pack.

The bucks are busy all over the banks and the females seen to be suspended over deep structure near the banks. I fully expect that there will be a huge number of bass on the beds this next weekend.

Date 4/11/2009

Crawford county Bass club had an event this Saturday and the bigger fish are definitely starting to bite. We had 4 over 6 lbs bought in today and one really nice 7.52 lb bass as well. The bass are still biting slow but several limits were caught today. almost all were taken deeper than 8' today but I did catch one in about 2' of water on a jig. I had other anglers tell me they had caught a few shallow as well. I think that next weekends Miller lite event is probably going to be a turkey shoot. Fish are being caught in a wide range of ways and depths. There is distinct mudline that is traveling down the lake from the St.Marie road and this may play a big factor into next weekends event as well especially if we get more rain. Good luck all !!

Date 4/4/2009

Terry Cordum Takes First Place at East Fork Lake !

From Division District # 68 Central Illinois 4/4/09. Terry from Maryville, IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win and $611.00 in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend . Terry’s five bass limit weighed in at 13.35 lbs and were caught using 5 different lures, ranging from a rat-l-trap to a jig to a shaky head worm. Terry over came 30 anglers today to take this win. He not only had the only 5 bass limit of the event but this was Terry’s first time of ever fishing at East Fork Lake. Second place and $380.00 went to Ryan Fancher from Olney, IL with a very close weight of 13.20 lbs with 4 fish. Third place and $141.00 was Kevin Arbaugh from Olney, IL with a weight of 8.82 lbs. Fourth place was Alvin Pannell from Indianapolis , IN who was fishing his 2nd tournament on East Fork and Al had 8.44 lbs and the Big Bass of the event which weighed 5.08 lbs. Alvin also had Anglers advantage insurance and was wearing his AAIP patch which will earn Alvin another $100. Alvin earned a total of $360.00 for 4th place, Big Bass and having Anglers Advantage Insurance and wearing his A.A.I.P. patch at the weigh-in. Fifth place went to Rick Klanke of Louisville , IL with 6.71 lbs.

Congrats to all ! The fishing was very tough today to say the least. We have had cold fronts and large amounts of rain here that had dropped the water temperature about 5 degrees in the last two weeks. And still most anglers were able to catch a few fish. East Fork Lake, IL is an amazing fishery that continues to produce year after year.

These anglers are acquiring valuable points to insure their birth in division’s two-day champion and the American Fishing Tour Championship that will be held this fall. With the full fields of anglers we have had the District 68 Angler of the Year title is still wide open. With 7 one day events left to go this year it is still possible for someone to pull off that perfect score we all strive for.

Date 3/28/2009

Kevin Arbaugh and Kerrie Shultz take 1st and 2nd place in the Crawford county club event on 3/28/09. Kevin had 17 lbs and was followed closely by Kerrie Shultz. The fishing was tough at best but the 7 hours of rain we had today made the fishing outing miserable.

I caught several fish today but had mostly short fish. We tried to fish the points but the wind made that endeavor almost impossible. I did catch some on a deep crank over the brush piles as well as jigging. We tried the spinnerbait out as well but did not even have a short fish. The fish seemed to be suspended out about 8' deep for the most part.

Date 3/21/2009

John Jones Takes First Place at East Fork Lake

John fought off 30 other anglers today to take the win during the 3/21/09 District # 68 event in Central Illinois. John from Olney , Illinois is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on East Fork Lake this past weekend . John’s five bass limit weighed in at 17.21 lbs and were caught using a Jig in the grass and brush piles. John also used a jerk bait and a rat-l-trap at times to catch his fish. Second place went to Jeff Scott with a weight of 16.48 lbs, third place was Rick Klanke with a weight of 16.14 lbs. 4th place went to Glen Phegley with 15.60 and 5th place went top Brent Ausbrook with 12.83 lbs. Big bass was also awarded to Jeff Scott for catching a really nice 6.13 lb pound large mouth.

These anglers are acquiring valuable points to insure their birth in division’s two-day champion and the American Fishing Tour Championship that will be held this fall.

This division’s next tournament will be April 4th on East Fork Lake, near Olney Illinois.

For more information on this or any future event in this division contact >>>>>>

Rick Klanke > Director at (618) 665-4158 or ( 217) 690-2870 or E-mail > rtklanke@wabash.net

Local website > www.bassbumfishingtourney.com

Date 3/8/2009

Jeff Scott Takes First Place at Newton Lake , IL

From Division 68 Central Illinois on 3/8/09.

Jeff Scott from Sumner IL is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win and $611.00 in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Newton Lake this past weekend.(Newton lake has a 3-fish limit and a minimum size of 18”.) Jeff’s 3- bass limit weighed in at 14.16 lbs. Jeff had a really nice kicker fish that weighed 5.91 lbs. Second place went to Larry Pierce with a weight of 12.33 lbs., third place was Ryan Kruger ( His First event with ABA ) with a weight of 11.03 lbs. 4th place went to Steve Klein with a weight of 9.97 lbs. 5th place went to Gary Bettis ( His First event with ABA ) Big bass was awarded to Steve Klein for catching a very nice 6.44 lb. large mouth.

The top five anglers were:

1.Jeff Scott 14.16 lbs

2.Larry Pierce 12.33 lbs

3.Ryan Kruger 11.03 lbs

4.Steve Klein 9.97 lbs

5.Gary Bettis 9.02 lbs

Conditions: The water temperature was 64 at the ramp and up to 72 in the hot arm today. The air temperature was also really nice 60 in the morning and up to 70 in the afternoon. The water clarity was near perfect in most areas of the lake. You could see about a foot deep or more in some locations. The bass were definitely locked on the beds in some areas. Wind was the main topic Sunday. We had winds up to 30 mph at times which made casting in some locations difficult at best.

Winning Strategy: Jeff was using a Brush hog with some green on the body. He was throwing his bait up on the bank at times and pulling it into the grass keeping it on the bottom at all times. Jeff said he had a great day and boated over 30 fish throughout the day. Jeff was fishing in the warm arm of the lake.

Next Divisional Tournament:

This division’s next tournament will be 3/21/09 on East Fork Lake near Olney , IL. Located at the city park ramp.

For more information on this or any future event in this division contact Rick Klanke at (217-690-2870) or by email at: rtklanke@wabash.net Local website > http://www.bassbumfishingtourney.com/index.html

Date 2/28/2009

We are excited to announce that Grandt Rods has become our newest District # 68 sponsor. These rods are the very top of the line. The sensitivity of these rods are unbelievable. I will have some samples at the sign-in at the ramps at all events.

Thanks Jim for your support this year !

Date 2/28/2009

Newton Lake is heating up !!

I have had several reports of numerous limits being caught in a day of fishing. I had one report of 23 keepers caught by two anglers. Water temp at the ramp was an unbelievable 74 degrees Sunday. It looks like we are going to have a lot of fun this upcoming tournament Sunday on Newton.

Date 2/21/2009

ABA Director’s Report >> Rick Klanke

District: # 68 Date: 2/21/09

Coffeen Lake >> Illinois

Weather and Water Conditions day of the tournament: The weather was tough at best. The air temps were about 30 degrees for the high but with the 25 mph winds that we had the wind chill hovered between 15-18 degrees all day. It was mostly cloudy with brief periods of sunshine. We had a hard blowing snow for about 3-hours at the start of the day ( no accumulation really). The boat decks iced up the first part of the day.

The water was near perfect as far as color and visibility. But we had recently received a large amount of rain and with the rise of the water level again at Coffeen the fish seemed to have moved about 3-4’ deeper.

Director's Report:

We had 16 anglers that braved the bitter cold today on Coffeen Lake. Within a few minutes after take-off we got a blowing snow that really worked on everyone. I had even grabbed my amber lensed Ocean Wave sunglasses to try and keep the snow out of my eyes which became really annoying. The snow flakes seemed relentless at times.

Fishing was tough but you could scratch out a limit if you really worked at it. Almost every angler brought fish to the scales today. The top three anglers all boated their keepers on Crank Baits of one type or another. There were a few fish caught on spinner baits, as well as rat-l-traps. There were a few also taken on jigs but that seemed to be the exception. I caught mine with a very large Crank about 8-12’ deep off of brush of one type or another. I was using a very slow retrieve bouncing the crank off of the brush and stopping the retrieve every time I bumped the brush. The fish seemed to just literally crush the bait when they hit.

Congrats to Jim Carroll who took 1st place >> JIM from Hillsboro, Illinois is one step closer to the ABA National Championship with a 1st Place win in the American Fishing Tour bass tournament held on Coffeen Lake this past weekend . Jim’s Three bass limit weighed in at 6.98 lbs and were caught using a a crank bait in the upper end of the lake. Second place went to Larry Pierce with a weight of 6.44 lbs., third place was Rick Klanke with a weight of 6.37 lbs.. Big Bass was also awarded to Jim Carroll for catching a 2.76 lb. pound large mouth.

Date 2/16/2009

The nationals lake and date have been announced. The lake is Pickwick Lake > Alabama 6-7 hour drive for most of us.

The dates will be 9/26/09 thru 10/3/09

Take care Rick

Date 2/8/2009

I went over to Newton Lake today to check out the lake conditions and there were a large number of anglers that had decided to do the same. I spoke to several anglers that were struggling and a few that had caught nice fish. For the most part it seems the cold arm is already ruling once again. Some nice fish are being caught on shallow cranks of one type or another.

The water conditions are a bit murky and with the steady stream of melting snow I expect it will get a lot worse by next weekend and hopefully start clearing up again after all of this snow melts.

Also a reminder to everyone to check your safety equipment before heading to the lake . There were numerous violations that the local IDNR were having to point out to people today. A few extra minutes checking your equipment could save you a ticket and more importantly might just save your life.

Date 2/1/2009

Coffeen Lake > Illinois

Weather and Water Conditions day of the tournament:

The air temps were 30 at take-off with a high of 40 degrees. There was about a 12 mph breeze most of the day which made it chilly if you were out in the wind. It was mostly sunny though which really made a nice day of fishing on the water. The water was slightly stained and 48 degrees on the main lake.

Director's Report:

It was a beautiful day on the water to start District # 68’s first event of the year. We had 18 anglers that braved the snow sleet and ice covered roads to come out and fish this weekend at Coffeen lake. Despite the tough conditions , fish were being caught in a variety of ways. There were some caught on jigs as well as flukes , cranks and even some on a top water pop-r. I had one angler tell me that he caught close to 40 bass schooling in one place. Despite the tough weather conditions every angler at least caught some fish in this event. We had several new and renewing members so we do expect full fields the rest of the year.

Steve Klein from Sorento took 1st place with three fish that weighed 7.50lbs. Mike Buchanan took 2nd place with 7.35 lbs. and he also had big bass that weighed 3.19 lbs. Jim Matesa took 3rd place with 6.23 lbs.

Date 1/12/2009

Coffeen lake fishing report> 58 degrees in the hot ditch. 48 degrees on the main lake. A few better fish were caught this week with reports of several over

5 lbs. It sounds like fish are being taken on several different type baits. Rat-l-traps , Jigs , cranks and senko type baits. More anglers in the tourneys are boating fish now as the fishing seems to have picked up some. Looks like we are going to have some fun this year at Coffeen. It has been taking 13-15 lbs at team events recently. Good luck all !!

Date 1/5/2009

Seems the fishing is starting to pick-up on both Newton and Coffeen lake. I had reports this week of as many as 13 keepers being caught on Newton in a variety of ways. Some topwater , some cranks and a few on jigs and chatterbaits. With the heavy rains that was received at Newton the bite seemed to be scattered over the entire warm water arm. From all accounts it is still not stable but the bite is getting better it seems.

Coffeen > from my understanding is still very cold but the bite has picked up this past week and a few of the better fish are being caught now.

Date 1/4/2009

The 2009 rules are posted now on the main page !

Date 1/2/2009

Newton lake date has been changed to March 8th instead of March 7th.

took 1st place with 11.43 lbs, Colby also had Big Bass of 4.87 lbs. Jim Carroll took 2nd place with 10.67 lbs. Dave Rhodes took 3rd place with 9.55 lbs. and Jerry Dye took 4th place with 8.41 lbs.

There were a few fish taken on tubes and shaky heads and even a buzzbait fish or two but RATTLE-TRAPS were the tricks of the trade again this week. There were a few taken on crank baits as well. I struggled all day to catch a keeper and had one large opportunity but lost that fish by the boat. There were some really nice weights brought in for a 3-fish limit.

Our next event will be on East Fork Lake , Olney, Illinois on March 29th.

Thanks>> Rick Klanke

2/23/08 ABA Director’s Report >> Rick Klanke

District: # 68 Date: 2/23/08

Lake >> Newton , Illinois

Weather and Water Conditions day of the tournament: The air temperature was 21 degrees this morning and up to 36 degrees late in the day. Water visibility was poor, six inches to a foot on the warm arm and one to two feet on the cold arm. Water Temperatures have dropped dramatically in the last 3-weeks. 53 degrees up the warm arm and 51 degrees in the cold arm. (Very little difference)

Director's Report:

WE HAD A FULL FIELD OF ANGLERS TODAY !!!

Despite the foul weather / cold temperatures and Ice on the roads and ramps The ABA ( American Bass Angler) Anglers again came out in full force.

Ryan Faust takes 1st place with 11.75 lbs. Ryan caught his fish 12-14’ deep on a chrome rattle-trap on a drop-off. He was stopping the trap and starting it again when they hit. The Fishing started out Fast and Furious in the boat I was riding in at least for my partner, Russ Rensing. Russ took 2nd place with 7.65 lbs. He boated 6 fish very quickly on rattle traps and then I had to break down and Tie one on. I boated several really quick myself and then lost the only White rattle-trap I had with me. After that I resigned to being net boy the rest of the day for my partner. 3rd place went to Earnest Smith with 7.32 lbs. Earnie was also throwing a rat-l-trap. Charles Lett took 4th place & Big Bass with a 5.15 lb fish.

There were some fish being caught on Spinnerbaits and a few on jigs but the fishing was very, very tough. We had 20 anglers and only 1-limit brought to the scales today. Most anglers caught fish but they just did not measure the 18” minimum required on Newton Lake.

OUR NEXT EVENT WILL BE SUNDAY 3/2/08 on Coffeen lake, take-off will be at safe light. New members can join at the ramp at any District # 68 event but you must be at the ramp ½ hour before safe light. All one day events are $70. Boaters and Non-boaters are all equal. This should be an exciting year. We are expecting full fields throughout this year.

2/23/08 Newton Lake Fishing Report >> Rick Klanke

As you can see by the results it was tough out there this week. We had 20 anglers and only one limit brought to the scales. The entire weight of all anglers fish was 59.49 lbs., That's a tough day on Newton. Most fish were caught on a rat-l-trap in the grass.

2/17/08 Newton Lake Fishing Report >> Rick Klanke I have received at best sketchy reports on Newton this past week. I know there were some smaller fish being caught on cranks. Also I know of at least one 20 lb. bag of 5-fish brought in which were taken on a jig. With the murky water conditions I still have to believe that a spinner bait would be a great choice for this weekends ABA tourney on Newton.

GOOD LUCK ALL !!!

2/9/08 Newton Lake Fishing Report >> Rick Klanke

The good news is we received some much needed rain in some areas, the bad news is we received it all in one day. It was reported to me today that Newton was like fishing in chocolate milk. There were still fish being caught even in the tough conditions. Spinnerbaits and large shallow cranks were the rule. The lake water temps have dropped about 10 degrees in the last couple of weeks so with the muddy waters and the falling temps we are going through a bit of a slow down right now but I really expect a huge turn-around in the next couple of weeks. Our next American Bass Anglers ( ABA) tourney is on Newton on the 23rd and I fully expect it to take 3-fish of 15 plus pounds to win it. I think the water will clear somewhat and it will be won on either a spinnerbait or slow moving plastic bait of some type.

Good Luck All !!

Rick Klanke >>district # 68

2/3/08 ABA Director’s Report >> Rick Klanke

District: # 68

Lake >> Coffeen , Illinois

Weather and Water Conditions day of the tournament:

It was a chilly 17 degrees at the start of the day with a very heavy frost. The air temp ended up right at 40 degrees late in the day. The water was clear to stained, Water visibility in places was approximately 3’. The water Temp at the ramp was 55 degrees and up the hot arm up to 67 degrees. Winds were light at take-off and worked up to about 20 mph by the end of the day.

Director's Report: Coffeen Lake lived up to its reputation again today producing large numbers and large bags of fish as well. The lake limit on Coffeen is 3-fish 15” long, so to catch a 12Lb bag of fish is really outstanding. Congrats to John Wright who took 1st place with a 12.00 lb bag of fish. Larry Pierce took 2nd place with 10.75lbs and Larry also took Big Bass with a 4.44lb fish.

Coming in 3rd place was Mike Kershaw with a nice bag of 8.23 lbs. of fish and a very close 4th place went to Dave Riggs with 8.21 lbs.

We had 7 out of 12 fishermen that had a limit today and 3-others that had 2 fish each. Needless to say the fishing was great today. I personally had my first limit by 8:45 a.m. and culled all day. I had several other members tell me that they had 4-5 limits of fish each today. Most fish were being caught on cranks of one sort or another. The general consensus was it just needed to be a crank. The type of crank varied greatly from angler to angler.

Thanks>> Rick Klanke

1/29/08 Midwest regional announcement: Will be held this year on Lake Barkley, Kuttawa , Ky>> Oct . 10-11th.

The launch site is Kuttawa / Lyon County.

1/20/08 FISHING FEVER >> has already began this year with several area tourneys already the past couple of weeks. Coffeen lake has been HOT the last couple of weeks. Last week with 2 degree temps in the morning there were 39 boats/78 fishermen and 18 limits of bass brought to the scales. That is truly an amazing 46% of the field catching limits of fish. The water temp at the ramp was 51 degrees and up to 70 in the ditch. Most have the fish have been taken on cranks of one sort or another over the weeds in 4-6’ of water.

THIS WEEKENDS TOURNEY SCHEDULE :

American Bass Anglers Division # 68 will kick-off their first tourney of the year this weekend at Coffeen lake 2/3/08.

1/27/08 Newton lake has slowed some the past few weeks but there are still 17-18lb bags of fish being caught. This past week a 17lb bag won the tourney at Newton on Sunday.

Fishing News

This page will contain the latest fishing news that I have. I will try and keep it up to date but please send any information on tourneys that you have fished and pictures where possible and I will be happy to add them.

Rick Klanke