13 Yr. Old Jeremy Edwards
Becomes The 2005
New York State
IGFA Junior Angler Champion
Sometimes the "weather god" looks down favorable on events and serves
up a super nice day. Such was the case last Saturday for the 28th
annual Take-A-Kid Fishing Contest in Clayton, held in conjunction with
the new Clayton's Kid's Fishing Weekend. On Saturday 20 young anglers
were on hand to fish in the International Game Fish Association's New
York State
Jr. Angler Championship with the winner earning the right to represent
NYS in the
National IGFA Jr. Angler Championship to be held in Key West, FL in
July,2006.
Ten anglers fished on the morning four hour trip and the remainder
fished in the afternoon. At 8 A.M. the river was dead still. No wind
and no current. Must have been that New York City didn't need any
Seaway generated electricity. Fishing live shinners and trying to drift
over weeded areas proved difficult, at best. Seldom the case, the
morning dragged
on as spot after spot was tried with no success. For the first time in
event history, not one fish was boarded on the morning trip. Although
it was a great experience for the ten youngsters who had never
experienced a guided fishing trip before, disappointment reigned as we
returned to the dock.
Returning the the fishing grounds for the afternoon trip held nothing
but the unknown in store. Hooks were baited and dropped in the river.
Fortunately, the wind had come up to a very nice and gentle breeze that
moved us well over the weeds and very quickly the favored words of
fishing
guides, "fish on" rang out. The drag ripped indicating a decent
fish. After the short fight the 22 1/2" northern pike was brought to
the net and into the boat. Thank goodness I thought, we had a champion,
although perhaps not the champion. Despite the congratulations, 13 year
old Jeremy Edwards of Syracuse remained calm. "I got drawn last year
and
saw what happened in the afternoon" young Jeremy said. "I'm not
counting my
chickens until they hatch." "Not a bad attitude for a 13 year old," I
remarked to mate Dave Goetz.
In hopes that it wasn't the only pike in the neighborhood we made one
more drift to no avail and moved on to another spot. Again lines were
baited and dropped. Not going over 100' another drag screamed. After
another short struggle we measured out 12 year old John Mondrick's 22"
pike. Although we didn't hear one "thank God" out of Jeremy, any
competitive angler knew it was going through his head. No more than
another 100' into the drift another drag sounded and 12 year old Nolan
Reese of Ft. Plain, NY quickly brought his 21"
pike to the net. Resuming fishing after pictures and the release we
didn't go another 100' and 9 year old Whitesboro angler Eric Lallier
hollered "fish on." Wow I thought, we hit the mother load, where the
heck were they this morning? Eric's fish measured out at 20" and was
released after some pictures.
With all the lines back in the water we continued the drift and soon we
heard another "fish on." After a short struggle 11 year old Cassie Pope
of Geneseo landed her 20" pike, matching Eric's catch. By then it was
close to 3 PM and time was growing short. "We'll make a move to another
spot for one more drift and then head back to the dock" I said. Again
hooks were baited and dropped into the water. The river had clouded up
nicely over the past week, making fishing in shallower waters much more
effective. It happens every year as the river warms. Despite the zebra
mussels, it seems the algae is getting more prevalent. That's good.
After moving slowly across Eel Bay we heard "fish on" for the last time
of the afternoon as John Mondrick chalked up his second catch of the
day, a 20 1/2 northern.
"This is just the opposite of last year" commented Amsterdam Reporter
outdoor writer Ron Kolodziej. He was right, last year the fish also
came in the afternoon but every fish was larger than the one before it.
This year they got smaller each time. I don't think Jeremy had any
problem with that. By 3:35 when we pulled in the lines for the last
time Jeremy's catch had held its first place position by a slim 1/4"
and we had another contender to represent NYS in
Key
West in July, 2006. Jeremy was accompanied to Clayton by his uncle
and grandfather. When I told them the trip included passage for Jeremy
and his chosen adult traveling companion his grand dad was quick to
interject "that would be me." The trip, valued at $3,500 was the first
thing Jeremy had ever won in his life. "If I were you" I said, "I'd go
right across the street tothe Inn and have your grandfather buy a Lotto
ticket for you tonight."
Being a co-operative effort of local organizations return air
transportation to Key West and accommodations at the super luxurious
Grand Key Resort,
Key West's newest and largest resort, will be made possible by the 1000
Islands Fishing Charters, Thousand Islands Inn, the
Clayton Lions Club and Clayton Chamber of Commerce. While in Key West
Jeremy will tournament fish for two days with one other young angler
from somewhere in the US towards becoming the IGFA National Jr. Angler
Champion. Although their adult companions are allowed to go on the
boat, they can not fish. The fishing trips and all meals are provided
by IGFA. Fishing outfits for runners up in the event were in
co-operation with the 1000 Island Bait Store, beverages were provided
by Pepsi Cola of Watertown and snacks by Gray's Wholesale of Clayton.
The Clayton event is one of only 38 qaulifying tournaments across the
entire U.S. The event was sought out by IGFA due to its longevity and
continued success. The event is 28 years in the running, the longest
continuous kid's fishing event in the state, if not the country and is
the only one of the 38 offering the Key West trip at no expense to the
championship winning participant and their adult traveling companion.
Good luck Jeremy!!
Held June 4th in
Clayton-1000 Islands , NY
