Fishing for school pride
By Joe Blondia
Sun contributor
Tournament bass fishing has exploded nationwide as a professional sport and there are numerous club events throughout northern Michigan. On May 21, the first bass fishing tournament specifically for local high school students was held on Green Lake in Interlochen. The inaugural event saw a competition between 11 teams from four area schools.
Fellow Leelanau School teacher Bob Sonnenberg and I originally had the idea for a tournament while running the Field and Stream sport at the private boarding school near Glen Arbor.
“Field and Stream gives us the opportunity to get outside with kids of all levels of hunting and fishing experience and take advantage of the amazing resources in this area,” said Sonnenberg. “Some of the students watch the tournaments on T.V. and know that champion angler Kevin VanDam is from right here in Michigan. So they wanted their own competition.”
Sonnenberg, who is Leelanau School’s Athletic Director, made calls to the other athletic directors who discovered there was a great deal of interest from their students.
On tournament day, the weather could not have been better as 11 boats gathered at the Green Lake boat launch. At 10 a.m. the horn sounded and they all motored off to their favorite spots.
“Because the tournament was before the opening of bass season, we could not keep the fish to weigh,” explained Sonnenberg. “Before the season, you have to do an immediate catch and release. So the winner would be the boat that caught the most bass of any size.”
That boat, it turned out, was the team from Benzie Central High School consisting of anglers Ron Egeler and Devin McPherson, as well as captain Joe Taraskavage. During the four hours, they caught 24 bass to win first place honors, as well as a tackle assortment from The Fish Hook in Lake Leelanau and a gas card from Blarney Castle.
Second Place went to The Leelanau School team of Scott Thompson and Conner Madison, who were captained by this writer. Thompson and Madison boated 14 fish during the tournament. The team from Suttons Bay of Nathan Kulpa, Noah Reyhal and captain Derek Kulpa came in third by pulling in 11 bass. Fourth place went to Mack Wolfgram and Scott Hoch of Elk Rapids, who registered eight bass.
Based on the fun, excitement, and interest that the first tournament generated, Sonnenberg said to stay tuned for more. He and Leelanau School students Conner and Scott will travel to the State Competition on Sunday, June 26, at Whitmore Lake in southeast Michigan. Stay tuned for more Tournament dates later in the summer and when school starts again in the fall.
