Oscoda

[Walleye Express]

BIG WINNERS - From left, Calypso II Captain Gene Kirvan of Oscoda and First Mate Kent Running of Bay City not only boated the largest fish during the weekend tournament, but also came from behind to win the two-day event. The two-man team displays a portion of Sunday’s catch, with Kirvan holding the 15.2-pound lake trout which topped the scale. - Photo by Holly Nelson

Oscoda boat wins LHS fishing tourney

by Holly Nelson

AuSABLE - The Lake Huron Sportfishing (LHS) Oscoda-AuSable Fishing Tournament crown has been restored to Iosco County with a come-from-behind catch by the captain and crew of Calypso II of Oscoda.

Captain Gene Kirvan of Oscoda and First Mate Kent Running of Bay City won the $1,500 top prize with a two-day catch which weighed in at 102.3 pounds.

The Calypso II was well out of the money after Saturday’s 29.55-pound catch, but Sunday was another matter. A big king came out of the cooler, then another. But it was the 15.2-pound lake trout which had the crowd oohing and ahhing. The laker turned out to be the biggest fish caught during the event.

Taking second place and $1,000 was the first day leader, the Fishing Fanatic team of Captain Wally Jambeck and mates Lance and Walt Jambeck, all of Highland. They boated 58.7 pounds of fish on Saturday and 40.8 on Sunday.

Another Oscoda boat, Big Dog, captained by Bill Carmichael and crewed by Ken Nelson and Doug Carmichael, took third, worth $500, with a 43.2-pound catch on day one and 33.35 on day two.

Fourth place and $250 went to Jim Witt and the Slug with a total weight of 75.65 pounds, while the fifth position netted $125 for High Hopes and Captain Todd Petipren, boating 71.55 pounds.

Big fish for Saturday was a 14.35 pound chinook salmon caught by mate Jim Groombridge of Flint, fishing the Spoonman, captained by Tom Groombridge.

Spoonman and Calypso II each won a mount of their big fish, donated by AuSable River Taxidermy.

The tournament broke a record - for the fewest number of boats ever entered.

Just 28 boats registered this year, something LHS member Byron English said was due to a combination of causes - decline in the fishery, gasoline prices and the economy in general.

It meant a smaller purse, but the captains and crews took it in stride and were, in fact, very complimentary of the organizers’ efforts, one man pointing out that similar tournaments are being cancelled all over the state.

All but one of the registered boats brought in fish. The lone exception, Loose Moose, reportedly had fish in the box on Sunday, but opted to forego weigh-in.

A very respectable 1,289.85 pounds of fish was weighed in, most of which were lake trout, including several naturally reproduced fish.

A few steelhead were weighed in, along with a couple of pink salmon and a lone brown.

LHS member Mark David, who was putting fish on the scale, noted that the brown and steelhead appeared, for the most part, malnourished, as did some of the kings.

Bunyan Town owner Bill Hjorth, who cleaned many of the fish, said he believes the salmon were larger than caught during the last tournament two years ago. The flesh was firm and pink, with bellies full of smelt, he advised.

Both David and Hjorth commented that they saw less evidence of lamprey scarring than in past years.

Also weighed in were a couple dozen walleye, most between two and three pounds.

None of the tournament participants managed to land the two specially tagged lakers, either of which came with a $5,000 prize. At the conclusion of the weigh-in, it was reported that one of the fish had been caught on Sunday by an angler who was ineligible to collect the prize, however, as he was not registered in the competition.

For the first time, LHS expanded the tournament to include a beverage tent with evening entertainment, “Steel Horse Country” and “Wild Hair”.

Also new was “The Dive,” a food booth staffed by members and family of the Oscoda Township Fire Department and its water rescue team, with proceeds to be split between LHS and the dive team.

Attendance was light, but respectable for a first effort, according to organizers, who are looking to break even.

Also new was the inclusion of two early tournaments sponsored by Bunyan Town.

The Pre-Tournament Tournament was held Thursday and drew 14 boats, which competed for a 100-percent payback to the top captain, who was Tom Morgan of Fishing Again.

The Ladies Tournament held on Friday divided the registration fees of 10 boats among the top three: Dirty Girl, captained by Jerry Perrin; Go Deep, Captain Bill Hjorth, and, in third, Calypso II. According to Hjorth, while men ran the boats, the all-women crews handled all of the fishing.