Fishing News - 5/2/00
STS Update - Little River CAN/AM Results
Well here they are! The results of the first STS events of 2000, held on Little River in Windsor, Ontario. These first two days of competition also marked the first opportunity for USA and Canadian shorefishing teams to compete against one another in a professional Shorefishing Tournament setting.
Competitors were greeted with two beautiful sunny days with little wind for most of the competition. Water levels were low and moving toward a clearing trend. Carp, goldfish and gizzard shad were thought to be the most prevalent species in the area, but the shear productivity of Little River, left the door open for any number of other species as well, including a wealth of smaller panfish and the possibility of larger predators such as pike, walleye, channel catfish and bowfin.
Team Canada member Allen Leeson (also representing Niagara Fishing Tours Agency) won the first event with over 42 lbs of fish, but despite Team Canada having a decided home advantage, the team as a whole was no match for the advanced pole fishing skills possessed by Team USA, which was comprised of some of the top match fishing professionals from across the United States. Even though they were totally unfamiliar with the water Team USA took the first day of competition with a comfortable lead. Chris Taglieri (a team USA member from Illinois) earned a solid second place spot, which involved an incredible battle with 14.08 lb carp which he took on a pole with only 8 minutes left on the clock. This incredible performance ultimately netted Chris the Spiderline Big Fish prize of the day. Peter Gradek also grabbed a great prize from Bucher Tackle Co. by catching the biggest (and only) northern pike of the day.
The experience gained by Team USA on the first day serveed them well, as they came back on day two to literally crush Team Canada. It was perhaps as bad a trouncing as any match event had seen before. Team USA managed to take 9 of the top 10 spots, lead by team captain Mick Thill who amazed the tournament field with a keepnet so full of fish that officials opted not to count them all. What was even more amazing was that Mick managed to win it without catching a single carp, which had been predicted to be a necessary component of any winning strategy. Allen leeson also managed a tremendous second place finish, with a half-pound lead over Texan, Ray Wilson who was pegged right beside him.
Of course there are no real losers in this type of event, as team Canada sought comfort in having had the opportunity to learn from some of the very best the United States had to offer. Certainly in every sense of the word Team USA displayed the skill and professionalism representative of the very best in their field. Not only in their preformance during the competition but also in their willingness to take time out after the event to compare notes and actually demonstrate the techniques and equipment that they used.
Team Canada will be formulating a team for a return trip to Chicago in October, and will be scouting this years STS top finishers for recruits. For more information on Team Canada positions contact Jeff Turner at jturner@abellgroup.com
As for the STS component of the event - Allen Leeson now finds himself at the front of the pack in the Southern Ontario race to the Invitational. Team NFTA (Niagara Tours Fishing Agency) has also taken an early lead ahead of D&M Rods prostaff team, but the season is early and there is no telling what surprised this season has yet to unveil.
Fishing STATS:
337 lbs of fish were caught over the two days of competitions. Spiderline BIG FISH - Chris Taglieri - Common Carp - 14.08 lbs Final Standings
Day 1 Team Canada - 125 Team USA - 86
Day 2 Team Canada - 144 Team USA - 66 Overall Totals Team Canada - 269 Team USA - 152 (Note - winner has lowest points) Day 1 - STS Qualifier Top 10 Finalists
Allen Leeson - 42.98 Chris Taglieri - 29.06 Larry Jones - 13.36 Mick Thill - 12.48 Jeff Kolodzinski - 12.18 Boguslaw Gradek - 11.96 Peter Gradek - 8.4 George Allen - 8.16 Simon Knebl - 7.04 Bob Esbensen - 6.48
Day 2 - STS Pickup Match Top 10 Finalists
Mick Thill - 22.82 Allen Leeson - 19.58 Ray Wilson - 19.02 Mark Piasecki - 12.64 Jeff Kolodzinski - 10.32 Renato Malafarina - 10.2 John Wilkens - 9.82 Ian Hooper - 7.1 Bob Esbensen - 6.76 Chris Taglieri - 5.9
The next STS event will be held at Desy's fishing preserve in Welland Ontario. Register early to reserve a spot.
For more information check out the STS website at http://www.iaw.on.ca/~fishing or direct questions to fishing@iaw.com
The Shorefishing Tournament Series is sponsored in part by Spiderline, Cory Trepanier's Line of Caught on Canvas Originals, Shadowear Rainwear, D&M Rods, COGECO Community Television and Niagara Fishing Tours Agency.
