Martoglio and Anderson win SKEBTT Classic

Veteran anglers Jerry Martoglio and Steve Anderson took top honors in the October 4 and 5 Strike King Ever-Bloom Classic on Evergreen and Lake Bloomington respectively. They were the 8th different team to win an event in 2008. Parity is indeed alive and well at the SKEBTT. They weighed 6 bass of 13.29 lbs for the honor. They edged out Jamie Maisenbacher and Brad Norris with 11.42 lbs and Terry Brown and Mike Blake with 10.84 lbs. Blake and Brown won two custom Setyr Froggin rods.

In fourth place were Fred Myers and Ken Petersen with 10.58 lbs.

The Sam Leman Heavyweight of the Year winners were Fred Myers and Ken Petersen with 56.35 lbs. In second were Terry Brown and Mike Blake with 52.71 lbs. Petersen and Tom Anderson had big bass honors for the year with a first tournament beauty at Lake Bloomington weighing 7.39 lbs.

The next years tentative schedule is available and will be posted very soon. Remember to keep priority entry, money must be in for the first tournament before March 15 at Wired2Fish Headquarters at 2024 Eagle Road B2, Normal, Illinois. We will begin taking money January 1, 2009.

Thanks to all who contributed with help and assistance this year, in particular thanks to Dusty Whitacre and Bryan Estes for assisting with the weigh ins.

We are also looking for volunteers, it pays zero, to help next year with set-up, check-in and miscellaneous dirty jobs. The volunteers chosen will be the 2009 Tournament Committee. Email Terry at TBrown@wired2fish.com if you are interested.

We are looking forward to another great season in 2009.

See all the details on the web site at http://www.everbloom.us.

The Strike King Ever-Bloom Classic begins this weekend at Evergreen Lake on October 4th followed by Championship Day on October 5th at Lake Bloomington. Weigh-ins will begin at 2:30 each day. The two-day championship culminates a year long test of the best. Comlara ramp on Day one and Lake Bloomington Ramp lot on Day two. Come out and see how the areas best fishermen fair out.

The SKEBTT is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Setyr Rods, Strike King Lures, Plano, Big Bite Baits, TTI/Blakemore Hooks, Berkley, All-Terrain Tackle, Gemini Sport Marketing, Vicious Eyewear, Wired2Fish.com, Gator Grip Weigh-in bags and measuring boards, Spro, and Minn Kota/Humminbird.

Bow season for deer hunting kicked off the first of October and the cooler temps should be a boon to the harvest. The rut is just around the corner so deer will be moving.

Be careful as you drive around areas where deer live during this time of year as rational judgement by deer in the rut is suspect at this time.

Send us pictures and stories of your harvest and we will get them posted on Outdoors with Terry Brown.

Be safe and good luck!

TheFutureFishesHere.org is the new IHSA website for fishing in Illinois via the high schools. It just went up today. Take a look at it.

GPS/Geocaching Workshop: This workshop is designed for beginners through intermediate GPS users, those saying “I have interest but don’t know much about GPS” to “I have a GPS and have used it some” The program is a well balanced combination of lecture, discussion, questions, and hands on activities which will be held in the class and in the field. Some of the content covered will be: GPS Applications, Buyer’s Guide, How a GPS Works, Basic Operation & Features, Compass & Map, GPS Navigation, GPS Accuracy, Software Use, and Geocaching. Use your own GPS unit and bring along the instruction book. There will be several available for use if you do not own a GPS.
Ages: 18 & over (12 & older with adult) Location: Miller Park Pavilion, main level Fee: $20 Class: #9501 Day Sat Date Oct. 25 & Nov.1 Time: 8:00 – 12:00 pm
Register 1. Online Log onto http://recweb.cityblm.org and register for almost any course. Credit card and family pin needed. 2. Automated Phone Call REC-Line at (309) 434-2732 to use our 24-hour automated phone. Please have your credit card, family pin and program information ready.
If you have any problems using either RecWeb or Rec-Line, please call our office at 309-434-2260 Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, and our customer service staff will be happy to assist you.

Yesterday the Governor announced he is closing several parks, the David Davis Mansion and laying off over 450 people in the process. In the same announcement his PR aide said that after November 1 people would be considered trespassing if they enter the parks. We have a simple question. Who will be there to arrest them? They are all laid off.

Make sure you send notes to your legislators to support David Davis Mansion, Weldon Springs, and Moraine View. Rest assured I did.

Sixth Event - Sixth Winners

On a beautiful sun-kissed Saturday in August, the sixth event of the 2008 Ever-Bloom Tournament Trail on Lake Evergreen was captured by Domenic Theison and Tom Cassel.

Even though the weather was ideal, the bass fishing was tough. Cassel and Theison ground out a limit of bass that weighed in at 11:02 lbs and according to Tom, they even culled one fish.

Second place went to the team of Loren Peters and Mike Blake with 4 fish that totaled 10:31 lbs. Peters and Blake had 4 keepers by 9:00 am but could not corral another in the remaining 5 hours.

In third, and winning two permium Setyr rods, were Richard (Call Me Dusty) Whitacre and Bryan Estes. Whitacre and Estes captured three bass that weighed 9.35 lbs, including the big bass of the event that tipped the scales at 5.34 lbs.

Fourth place went to seasoned anglers Greg Bayles and Dave Norris. Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Andy Wegner and Aaron (Triple X) Geherer. They won the Strike King One Out of the Money bags.

Theison and Cassel's win marked the sixth different team to win the six events on the 2008 trail to date. Parity is alive and well on the Ever-Bloom scene.

Patterns varied greatly on this day with teams flipping plastics, casting crankbaits, Carolina rigging lizards and Senkos, and even tossing topwaters.

The winners said they worked hard for six keeper fish and caught 3 in a span of one hour between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm. Two came on a buzzbait! Peters and Blake hooked their fish on large worms, 1/2 oz jig and a white crankbait. Dusty and Brian's large fish came to them via a Zoom Brush Hog pitched into 8-10 feet of water.

Congrats to the top five. The next event is set for August 30th on Lake Bloomington and the Sam Leman Auto Group's Heavy Weight of the Year race is tightening up with Ken Petersen and Fred Myers still in the lead by approximately 6 pounds.

Mike Blake and Terry Brown won the July 26th Strike King Ever-Bloom Tournament at Lake Bloomington with a 5 bass limit weighing 13.66 lbs. They caught their bass on Omega and Jewel Jigs with a Zoom Super Speed Craw and Strike King Rage craw trailer, respectively, A Zoom Worm, and a Gene Larew Mega-Ring tube in both shallow and deep water. They had the only limit of the event.

In second were the Sam Leman Heavyweight of the Year leaders, Fred Myers and Ken Petersen who caught their 4 bass weighing 10.27 lbs on a Mr.P Chatterbait and a frog. Myers and Petersen also are the Sam Leman Big Bass of the Year leaders with a 7.39 lber. Consistency in all tournaments has them in the leadership position.

Rounding out the top 5 were 3rd place finishers AJ Bailey and Scott Bree with 3 bass weighing 7.58 lbs. They won two Setyr Rods.

In fourth place were Rick McMahan and Matt Rice with 3 bass at 6.66 lbs and in 5th winning the Strike King Top to Bottom Awards were Andy Wegner and Aaron "Triple X" Geheber with 3 that weighed 5.85 lbs.

There have been 5 events this year and 5 different winners. Interesting.

There were 36 bass brought to the scales, all alive, weighing 78.78 pounds.

Our next event is at Lake Evergreen August 16 from 6 am to 2 pm. Please pre-pay before the event to secure your place in the tournament.

Go to www.everbloom.us for more details