Published: June 20, 2009 10:40 pm      

HILTS: Top Gun team takes Orleans County title

The Professional team Top Gun, led by Capt. Greg Gehrig of Oswego, lived up to their name by setting the pace in the Orleans County version of the Lake Ontario Pro -Am Salmon Team Tournament held June 13-14 out of Point Breeze.

The Eastern Basin squad came in with 10 and 11 fish respectively in the two days of competition to win the second event in the Challenge Cup series. They scored 375.42 points (based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound) to narrowly edge out Screamer/A-Tom-Mik from Pennsylvania. Screamer was the only team to limit out both days of the tournament, but this is an event where size really does matter.

In the Amateur Division, it was Fish Nutz, led by Paul Powers of Oswego, setting the pace both days of the event with a two-day score of 271.91 points.

Recognizing that the top teams in Niagara caught not only numbers of fish but bigger fish as well, they scouted the waters off Point Breeze in search big king salmon on Thursday and Friday. They identified some pockets of fish out deep in 500-plus feet of water and also to the east of the tournament port. On the first day of the tournament, they headed east in 70 to 120 feet of water to catch 10 fish. Not quite the tournament limit of 12 for the day, but they were some bigger fish and they ended up in a respectable second after day one.

On Sunday, after looking at the satellite surface temperatures reading for the lake, they found that the water had changed. They headed north out of port and discovered that the information they were experiencing first-hand didn’t match up with the computer rendering. They had wasted precious time and decided to head east again to see if they could locate the water that was good to them the day before. It was their day to shine, collecting one fish short of a limit, which included two nice lake trout and an impressive mix of salmon and steelhead to round out their 11 fish.

The team had turned to an old standard on the lake, employing 00 size dodgers rigged with Siggs Rigs green Hypnotist flies. Top spoons were Michigan Stingers’ Natural Borner Killer and Alewife patterns for kings; orange crush, clowns and the shanster for the steelhead. “Our success is attributed to patience, persistence, a great team of guys who trust each other and, of course, good luck in making great decisions,” Gehrig said at the awards ceremony held at the Orleans County Marine Park.

Gehrig also proved to be captain for the most consistent team fishing both Niagara and Orleans. In the West End Challenge Cup competition, Top Gun was the top team overall among the 30 professional teams fishing between the two events combined.

In the Amateur Division, Fish Nutz led the division both days of the tournament by bringing a nine fish limit to the scales on day one for a score of 173.22 points, and a six fish box on day two for a tournament total of 271.91 points.

There were 16 amateur teams competing for the top prizes of cash and merchandise among amateurs. In the West Basin Challenge Cup, Liquid Plumber of Pennsylvania combined for an eighth place Niagara finish with a third place Orleans finish to win the Cup at this end of the lake.

The tournament series heads east for the remaining two events: July 11-12 in Oswego and July 18-19 in Wayne County out of Sodus Bay. Log on to www.lakeontarioproam.net for details.

Father’s Day Flurry Shoot is set

Area shooters looking to have a little fun while raising some money for a good cause can head on over to the North Forest Rod and Gun Club in Lockport for their first annual Father’s Day Flurry Shoot on June 27.

This unique event, which allows for two-person teams to shoot 30 birds in 60 seconds, is designed to raise money for the area’s Scholastic Clays Target Team. The Flurry Shoot allows participants to shoot as many times as they like. A winner will be announced every five rounds. The event includes skeet, trap and sporting clays. The club is located off Stone Road on the north side of Lockport. Shooting will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, contact John Butcher at 716-433-1014.

Hilts Sr. wins Ham Brown Award

Congratulations are in order for Bill Hilts Sr. of Sanborn, who was recently honored by his peers at the 82nd Annual Outdoor Writers Association of America Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich., last week.

At the final awards banquet, Hilts was recognized as this year’s recipient of the coveted Ham Brown Award, symbolic of the member who has done the most to support and nurture this organization — the largest outdoor writers group in the world.

Hilts Sr. is a past president and also served on the board at one time for 16 consecutive years. Another milestone during his membership, which began back in 1961, was a string of attending 39 consecutive conferences, an achievement that still stands. Seeing “Big Bill” speechless at the podium was worth the price of admission!

Free Fish Days Next Weekend

It’s the Free Fishing Days weekend in New York June 27 and 28. These special days will allow all people who want to wet a line to fish, without having to worry about a license. However, you still have to worry about the regulations. For more information, contact the DEC at 851-7010 or visit their Web site at www.dec.ny.gov.

In celebration of this special weekend, the Newfane/Olcott Lions Club and the Town of Newfane Tourism office, along with the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association, will be hosting a kids fishing derby at the Town of Newfane Marina from 8 a.m. to noon. Call 778-8531 for more information.