L.O.U.S.E.R.S Pro am

[FISHINMAN]

Well we (Ray K, Muskybob and myself) teamed up for our first pro-am tourny and managed a very respectable 6th place finish out of 28 boats

Myself having only met and fished with Ray 1 time and Ray and I had never met Muskybob so we really were a new amateur team.

We started out the first day boating a king early and letting a 10# king go because we felt good about the day. Well it took us a double on a rigger and a wire screamer in the last hour to box out :shock: and stop kicking ourselves for not keeping the small king early. Well we ended up with a nice first day total of 170pts and in 3rd place only 12pts out of first :shock: . Needless to say we were confident and cocky about day 2 :roll:

Day 2 starts out good for us, we go to our way point from day 1 and get a teen king in the first 30 minutes in the boat. 15 minutes later we get a good knock off (if there is such a thing?) but that's gone. Then it got UGLY UGLY UGLY for 1 member of this team :!:

ME :shock: :x :mrgreen:

To make a long story short I was absolutely exhausted from a lot of travel the day before and about 4 or 5 hrs sleep total over the two days and the lake was rougher than I have ever fished in my 25 years on the lake. I took a Bonine before leaving which has helped me in the past but not today. I was so tired I couldn't stand and needed to sit down and rest. Well close your eyes and that's it. I woke to help get a wire rod out of the way and that's all it took LOOK AWAY>>>>>>>>> PUKE TIME FOR TOM

So I was pretty much useless to help poor Ray (who worked his tail off back there both days but really extra hard on Sunday) and Bob the man on the wheel in those waves. Did manage to get up enough strength to land our biggest king 21# I am truly grateful to Ray and Bob for putting in the effort today to keep us in the hunt.

Well back to our day, we couldn't mark a fish to save our lives(at least that's what they told me, I was asleep ) until about noon when we got 3 fish going into the the ocean like waves, including a very small but tourney legal king (after Ray had turned around back into the waves much to this guys dislike). That last little king put us in 6th place 1pt ahead of 7th place. Ended up with 4 kings, a 92pt day and a first time total of 262pts

Here's a few photos (click on them to make larger)

Our 1st days fish

Our team with the observer the lovely JOY that was assigned to us :shock:

The final amateur board (sorry forgot the pro board)

and your L.O.U.S.E.R.S team excepting our prizes from left to right (or east to west) Muskybob,myself and the mighty Coors light drinking midget that captained this clan Ray K who also placed a king in 18th place on the LOC board on Thursday

I would encourage anybody out there that has never done this to sign up and do it at least one time. It was a great experience for the three of us and to meet fellow members from L.O.U. (Rick aka Bad Habit the observer that helped us out by volunteering, Capt. Rick aka Yankee Troller,L&M, Capt. Jerry from Rebel Charters who I think placed in the top 10 for the Pro division and won the biggest brown of the day and with that fish came in second I believe(?) for the summer LOC Brownie division, Fishstix (who was not in the tourney because of a sign up error ) Captain Pat aka Persistence, Mark aka Reel Jerks and any others I may have forgotten (Billy V, I looked for you on Sunday but you had left already ) and last but not least Chad aka Blue eye that helps keep this site going!

I am sure there will be more from Ray (about my lovely Sunday :roll: ) and Bob about their experience too. Congrats to everyone that was in the Pro- am .

There are 3 things I would change or improve on,

1st, give out the rule book to everyone to follow along with while they read them, so we can ask any questions afterwards not during and we can follow along better while all the rude people talked during the reading :roll: :x

2nd, put a orange or yellow vest on the person standing amongst the other 50 people on the pier that you need to show your team number to on the way in :!:

3rd,maybe do the LOC winners presentation AFTER the Pro - am awards :roll:

But it was run great from what I saw.

P.S YT 1st and 3rd with Jax on your boat and what places WITHOUT him on board? hmmmmm :shock: , and who won YT vs Billy V i know it was close :?:

[ray koziatek]

wow 2 rods that was long winded almost as if you spent the day on the lake sleeping,and you really need counseling about your bolemic problem,tho that chum line may have been the key to the afternoon bite. THANK YOU SIGGS RIGS that green hypnotist was smoking both days,those R&R spoons caught a few salmon off guard also great paint quality keep up the work on the .........opps one more derby dont want to spill all the beans

[muskybob]

Dang, what the heck did you do Tom, write notes? That was a great post. I'll post some pics of what I have as soon as I download them onto my puter. Great job guys!!!

[Persistence]

Hey Tom,Ray and Bob. Good to meet you guys and it was great to see that you guys fishinshed in the top 10 in your first Pro/Am. You should be proud of your accomplishment. Hope to see you around Sandy and in future Pro/Am's.

[Billy V]

Hey guys, congrats on your awesome finish! Great box of fish you weighed on day one. Yankee Troller called on Sunday after the weigh in and said he was with you and I thought he meant that he was down at the marina on his boat with you, so I hopped in the truck and drove down there to see you. Sorry that I missed catching up with you.

Oh, and YT now owes me dinner.

[FISHINMAN]

Bob my body may not have been working but the mind was going the whole time, just wish I could have kept an eye on the rods while sleeping on Sunday because we know what "buffy" Ray K. was keeping his eye on :shock:

Pat, I will try to do the Pro Am again if it fits my schedule that's for sure and I'm sure that we will see/talk down at Sandy more often.

I may have found out part of my sickness problem too. Come to find out there seems to be some sort of a bug going around as 2 people at work were sick this weekend and my wife woke this morning with stomach problems too and missed work. Though all of HER problems could be do to the pictures of Ray I showed her, trying to explain how we ended up with 1 of the only 2 female observers out of 65 boats and me talking to her about this whole weekend made her sick :shock: :roll:

P.S ditto on what Ray said about the Siggs flys (my first time using them) and the R&R spoons which I have come to love too.

[ray koziatek]

Tom,1 day off the lake and i think we got a corprate sponser,entry fee and gas,shirts, hats ,but no pants,as you know thats the norm for me, and some equipment maybe we can afford to get a place with horizontal beds :shock:

[Erbyjoe]

Great job you guys.It sounds like a good time(not for the sick part I have been there and done that )one of these days I will get to do that.Great job on your 6th place finish

[muskybob]

Opening morning of the Wayne Co. ProAm, Sodus Bay. Sunrise showing the Nuke Plant in Oswego on the horizon.

Boats returning safely to port.

Ray (Buffy) trying not to wake Tom (Two Rods) while he adjusts a rigger in 5' waves.

Thought you guys would like to see how the Pros made out also.

All in all this was one of the best fishing weekends I've ever had. Right from the start as soon as I got to Jerry's house where we stayed, through the end of the ProAm it was full steam ahead nonstop fun. Jerry, Tom and Ray are bunch of ballbreakers and excellent fishermen. I learned more about salmon fishing in two days of fishing with them than what I was able to learn on my own for the past 2 1/2 years. Jerry was a great host, Tom was a fantastic chef who prepared our meals, and Ray was..........um, well you know, Ray was all that he is here on the board, a great sense of humor that goes non-stop.

My memory isn't as great as Tom's, so I won't post their names for fear of forgetting someone, but it was fantastic to see a lot of the guys that post on this site and talk to them in person. Things were so hectic during the weigh ins and trying to talk to as many of them as I could that it makes me more anxious for next year's ProAm circuit and get to talk to them more. What a bunch of great guys. Everyone makes you feel like you've known them for years and aren't a bit afraid to share information on what's catching what.

Thanks for the great weekend guys.

[Fishstix]

Great to meet you guys ,and congrats on your strong finish.

[LIQUID PLUMBER]

GREAT JOB GUYS! DEL

[ray koziatek]

Thank you everyone meeting you all was cool, i always say fishing is great catching is the bonus, well getting in a PRO AM was my funnest fishing experience in 45 years of fishing well next to fishing with dad (rest his soul) for bluegills on lamoka lake 45 yrs ago..placing was a unexpecded bonus ..if he were alive he would of been on the team maybe he was ..if your fishing the fall derby between the 19th and27th give the PEGASUS a call ill spill my guts (not like tom) to help ya if i can...HONEST.. ill see ya next year guess ya could say im hooked.ill say it many times in the future if anyone wants a great time fishing...GET IN A LAKE ONTERIO PRO/AM DERBY ...Ray K. Team L.O.U.S.E.R.S. Lake Onterio United Salmon Excitment Rainbow Smashers

[Billy V]

Hey Guys,

I just got off the phone with Matt Siggeman of Siggs Rigs. He's away on vacation and doesn't have access to a computer, so he asked me to pass along his congratulations on your strong Pro-Am finish. Congrats!

[FISHINMAN]

Billy tell him thank you and I will be ordering some off those Siggs Riggs flies. I have been a Howie/Atomic guy (which I will continue to use ) but loved the way those Siggs held up. Fantastic :!: :!:

[muskybob]

Billy tell him thank you and I will be ordering some off those Siggs Riggs flies. I have been a Howie/Atomic guy (which I will continue to use ) but loved the way those Siggs held up. Fantastic :!: :!:

Ditto what Fishinman said. Great product.