First Annual Land of Lincoln Invitational Team Bass Tournament was a Success

First Annual Land of Lincoln Invitational Team Bass Tournament was a Success

This weekend 35 boats hit Lake Springfield for the 1st Annual Land of Lincoln Invitational Team Bass Tournament.  Anglers from across Central Illinois and as far away as Southern, Missouri tested their skills during a beautiful but windy weekend.  This two day tournament was presented by Scheels and sponsored by Angler Assets, Boat Works,  Get Bit Custom Painted Baits, Green Toyota, Lew's, Lucas Oil, Phoenix Boats, Reinstone Brewery, Sweet Tees, Staab Tree Service and Tom Finch Automotive.

The tournament started out like they all do, with a meeting to discuss rules, regulations.  During the Friday night meeting, guest speaker, Terry Brown, President of Wired to Fish spoke on the importance of sportsmanship and his love of fishing .  As the sun broke over the horizon on day one, anglers could be seen launching their boats and doing their kill switch safety checks. During the next 8 hours, anglers shared smiles, high fives and even profanity, but ended the day with enthusiasm.

Leaders after Day 1:

1st place 16.37 lbs 

Lopp & Gardner

2nd place 15.6 lbs

Lemasters & Lemasters

3rd place 14.33 lbs 

Reeves & Weikle

After day 1; 19 of the 35 boats weighed in a limit of 5 bass.  After the two day tournament payouts went to the top seven anglers.

Final Results Day 2:

1st place 29.58 lbs 

Lopp & Gardner
$4500

2nd place 27.11 lbs 

Reeves & Weikle
$2100

3rd place 26.58 lbs

DiGiovanna & Cravens
$1400

4th place 25.92 lbs
Whalen & Murray
$600

5th place 24.68 lbs
Brooks & Sjuts
$500

6th place 23.80 lbs
Daley & Pierce
$360

7th place 23.23 lbs
Bohlke & Beffa
$250

First Big Bass was 5.7 lbs.

LeMasters & LeMasters
$500

Second Big Bass was 5.05 lbs
Lopp & Gardner
$250

Day Two, ended a little different than the first when only five of those 19 boats weighed in a limit of fish. A total of 9 out of 35 anglers caught a limit on day two. Check out the results board below.

Anglers also had the option of having their names put in for a raffle. Tournament Director Robert Danielson said "the purpose of this tournament was to have a large payout for the anglers and have sponsors provide monetary and product donations", having anglers fish for more than their entry fees.

As anglers were wrapping up and congratulating each other on a weekend well done, one team was recognized but not with a check or trophy.  Chase Mundhenke and Chase Law, a high school team from Glenwood were the youngest team out on the water. These two anglers can teach us all something about sportsmanship. 

Glenwood HS Anglers received recognition from their fellow
anglers for sportsmanship.

Robert Danielson explained how him and his partner came up on these rising anglers. After small chit chat they gave up their fishing spot because they were not in contention for a check and Rob's team was. 

 WOW! This is by far the ultimate act of sportsmanship. But then you hear another gentlemen in the crowd say "Ya they did the same thing for us"!  These gentlemen are a class act, and are great ambassadors for the fishing world. Well done!  Capitol Outdoors tips our hat and wishes these anglers all the best in their fishing endeavors.

A big thanks goes out to all the volunteers who helped make this day possible: Stephanie Danielson, Craig Law and the Chatham HS Bass Team (Griffin Harms, Connor Jones, Ty Mundhenke, Michael Stottler), Eric Doan and the Edinburg HS Bass Team (Julian Doan). I would also like to thank Mike McGill, Justin Parrot and Justin Henkel for taking anglers out for a ride on their Phoenix Boats. 

If you wish to see pictures of the Land of Lincoln Invitational Team Bass Tournament make sure to check out Capitol Outdoors Facebook page. If you're interested in fishing this tournament, you'll have to wait until next year, but make sure to like them on Facebook to stay up to date.