The Illinois Team Series went to Lake Jacksonville for the 4th event of the season on July 17th.
At takeoff the weather was not looking good as storms were going to roll through in a few hours.
The sky was overcast and temps were on the rise. The takeoff started at 5:30 and the anglers looked forward to the Jacksonville reputation for giving up big bass.
Around 9 am the thunder and lightning started and the anglers all headed for cover. The rain came down for about 30 minutes and close to 2 inches had fallen. This was going to effect the bite for sure and the fish were going to move. As soon as the rain stopped the boats headed out again with about 4 hours of fishing time left.
At 1:30 the field was in and the weigh in began. We were looking for some good bags to show off this fishery. After a few anglers weighed in Kevin Rebouche and John Czajkoski came up with 3 fish and one was a good one. Their Big Bass hit the scale at 6.85 and their 3 fish came in at 12.32 lbs. That was not going to hold up. The next 4 teams weighed and each time the top weight went up by about a half a pound. Then Rick Stanczak and Mike Utermark came up with the next limit. Their bag weighed in at 14.12 lbs. Allen Williford and Austin Moore made their way to the scale with 4 fish and they were the right ones. There big bass was a little short at 5.10 but the total weigh of 17.30 lbs. put them on top with only a few teams left to weigh in. The last threat came from Sam and Bob Stortz who also had a limit. There total weigh rang in at 15.04, putting them in second and Williford and Moore had the victory.
The top 6 teams receiving a payout for the event were:
1. Allen Williford & Austin Moore 17.30
2. Sam Stortz & Bob Stortz 15.04
3. Ric Stanczak & Mike Utermark 14.12
4. Herb Rush & Steve Parker 13.63
5. Jamie Maisenbacher & Scott Bree 13.04
6. Brad Norris & Ryan Robinson 12.49
The next Illinois Team Series event will be at Pool 13 on August 7th out of Savanna at the Savanna City Marina Launch. For More information on the Illinois Team Series Go to the IBN Facebook page or www.illinoisbassnation.com or www.bassmaster.com .
By Frank Labanowski – IBN Tournament Director