Muskoka anglers win top prize at pike tourney

[Spiel]

Muskoka anglers win top prize at pike tourney

 

May 28, 2008 / bracebridgeexaminer.com

 

Photo by Matt Driscoll / LAKE MUSKOKA MONSTER. Huntsville’s Mike Bertelsen hoists a 41.25-inch pike he hauled out of Lake Muskoka during Saturday’s Lake Muskoka Pike Tournament hosted by Muskoka Bassmasters. The fish tied for the biggest of the day. Bertelsen and his partner Allan Weisberg finished third overall, behind the team of Mike Blewett and Brian Gardy, and winners Wes Foster and Mike Reid.

 

 

Saturday was the perfect day for fishing when 68 teams set out for the Muskoka Bassmasters’ annual Lake Muskoka Open Spring Pike Tournament.

 

After the anglers returned to Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst for the 4 p.m. weigh-in, the local team of Mike Reid and Wes Foster were declared the winners with five pike, measuring 173.5 inches in total. Their biggest fish of the day measured in at 39 inches. Reid and Foster took away $6,800 in prize money for their efforts.

 

The second-place team was Mike Blewett and Brian Gardy who recorded 171.75 inches of fish. Their biggest catch measured 41.25 inches, winning them $660. Blewett and Gardy walked away with $2,720 in prize money.

 

Third place belonged to Mike Bertlesen and Allan Weisburg, who won $2,040 in prize money, plus $660 for their biggest catch, which also measured 41.25 inches.

 

The team of John Meadowcroft and Shawn Morrissey claimed fourth place and $1,360 for a total of 164.75 inches in pike.

 

Rounding out the top five was the team of Chris Marling and Phil Curtis, who won $680 with a total catch of 158 inches.

 

Out of the three tagged fish to be caught, only one was captured, winning anglers Tim Ellis and Shane Labelle free entry into next year’s tournament. Muskoka Bassmasters reports the big winning, free Yamaha 4-wheeler tag was not caught.

 

Photo by Amberly McAteer / FAMILIAR FACE. Bob Izumi shows off his catch, a 25-1/2-inch pike, at last weekend’s Muskoka Bassmasters tournament in Gravenhurst. The TV show host placed 17th in the competition held on Lake Muskoka.