Cole overcomes major setbacks to claim pro lead on Detroit River

Pro Cecil Cole of Durand, Mich., finished the semifinals in first place after landing a whopping catch of 17 pounds, 7 ounces. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Cecil Cole.

July 25, 2003 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Youngster Lemle lands top spot in Co-angler Division, top-10 cut announced

TRENTON, Mich. – When asked about this week’s competition on the Detroit River, Cecil Cole of Durand, Mich., could only shake his head in disbelief. After all, few anglers, if any, have undergone quite the series of highs and lows that Cole has endured since arriving in the Motor City. Not only did Cole have a disastrous pre-fishing experience, but he also managed to blow his boat motor, forget his fishing equipment and spend half the night running around Canada trying to salvage his boat. But in the end, when all was said and done, Cole miraculously left all other pros in the dust in today’s competition – finishing the semifinals in first place after landing a whopping catch of 17 pounds, 7 ounces.

“It feels really good to be where I’m at considering all of the stuff I had going on this week,” said Cole. “It’s been kind of crazy, but everything has worked out pretty good.”

Roller-coaster week begins at practice

After catching only four fish after four long days of practice, Cole didn’t exactly enter the tournament in the best of shape. However, things quickly turned around after the first day of competition where he quickly managed a monster catch of 17 pounds, 5 ounces – a feat good enough for a third-place finish after the day’s events. Finally, it seemed, things were back on track.

“But then I went out there yesterday and my engine quit on me after only 45 minutes,” he said. “I had less than an hour of fishing, and I had to leave my boat with all of my equipment in it. Luckily, I still made the cut. But I was dealing with my boat until about 1 a.m. I really didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m still exhausted.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, Cole learned that the mechanics wouldn’t be able to repair his boat until one or two weeks time at the earliest.

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do and then this guy came up to me, John Zubkoff of Ohio, and said, `Hey, I don’t want to see you lose this tournament because of your boat. Why don’t you take mine?'” said Cole. “I don’t know John that well – I fished against him in the BFL a couple of times – but he gave me his boat anyway. It was a really nice thing for him to do. And it allowed me to keep going.”

Set up with a new boat, Cole believed that he had finally put all of his troubles behind him. Or so he thought.

“So I get out there on the water today, and I realize that I left nearly all of my equipment in my other boat,” he said. “I only had a few rods and one small tackle box with me. In fact, I really only had one bait – a tube bait. And had the fish not bit that tube today, I would’ve been in big trouble.”

Somehow though, Lady Luck shone on Cole one more time. Not only did he turn in one of the biggest stringers of the tournament, but he also found himself atop the pro leaderboard heading into Saturday’s finals.

“It’s been a pretty amazing week to say the least,” said Cole. “My goal all tournament was to make the top-10 cut and I did that. I’m not sure how to describe it. Everything has gone wrong all week, but somehow, I’m moving onto the finals.”

Sparkman rebounds to gain berth in finals

After turning in an 18-pound, 1-ounce stringer to grab the overall lead in the Pro Division after the first day of competition, John “Randy” Sparkman of Taylor, Mich., struggled on the second day, qualifying for the semifinals by a mere 8 ounces. Today, however, Sparkman wouldn’t disappoint. Using a catch of 16 pounds, 12 ounces, Sparkman returned to form, storming into the finals in second place.

“It feels great,” he said. “Coming into this tournament, I was as relaxed as I’ve ever been. And so far, everything has worked out. I’m having a lot of fun.”

Sparkman, who is fishing tube baits like the majority of anglers, said that he’s not exactly sure why he’s been so successful this week.

“I’ve been going for broke every day, and I haven’t fished the same spot twice all week,” he said. “Basically, I’ve been winging it the whole time. I’m not even sure where I’m going to fish tomorrow. But so far, I’m happy with the way things have gone. I’m just going to go out there, have fun and see what happens in the finals.”

Best of the rest

Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., finished the day in third place after landing a catch of 16 pounds, 7 ounces.

Meanwhile, Mark “the Z-Man” Zona of Sturgis, Mich., continued his mastery of the EverStart Northern Division, turning in a catch of 15 pounds, 11 ounces – good enough for a fourth-place finish.

Fifth place belonged to Mike Trombly of Perrysburg, Ohio.

“It’s been a pretty tough week,” said Trombly, who recorded a total catch of 15 pounds, 10 ounces in today’s competition. “I’ve been working pretty hard to catch what I’m catching. But tomorrow, I think it’s time to start swinging for the fences.”

FLW Tour pro Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., finished the day in sixth place with a catch of 15 pounds, 6 ounces.

“I guarantee you that I’m having more fun out there right now than any of those guys,” Hibdon said. “I’m fishing shallow, and it’s just crazy how these fish are biting. I’m just having a great time right now.”

Bob Izumi of Milton, Ontario, finished the semifinals in seventh place after landing a catch of 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

“All I’m trying to do in this tournament is to make enough money to buy my wife a new lawn mower,” joked Izumi, who also hosts his own fishing show on the Outdoor Life Network. “If I keep doing this well, I might even be able to buy her a riding mower.”

Rounding out the top 10 pro qualifiers were Brian Hensley (eighth) of Edwardsburg, Mich., with a catch of 14 pounds, 12 ounces; David Hayward (ninth) of Sylvania, Ohio, with a catch of 14 pounds, 6 ounces; and Randy Ramsey (10th) of Battle Creek, Mich., with a catch of 14 pounds, 4 ounces.

Lemle nets first place in Co-angler Division

Coming into the Detroit River event, Andrew Lemle of Perrysburg, Ohio, had never fished an EverStart tournament in his life. Not only that, at the tender age of 18, Lemle was clearly the youngest angler remaining in the field. However, none of that stopped Lemle from turning in the most extraordinary performance of the day. Not only did he finish the day in first place in the Co-angler Division, but he also managed to land the biggest stringer of the day – an 18-pound, 4-ounce catch – outfishing some of the best FLW Tour pros in the process.

“It’s really unexpected,” said Lemle of his stellar performance. “But it feels really great. My pros just put on fish all week. And when you get good pros, it’s a lot easier to catch fish.”

Lemle had his share of woes as well. During the opening round of competition, Lemle’s pro’s boat broke down. And after leaving the boat anchored in the water, Lemle and his pro returned only to find that someone has stolen all of their gear.

“That was pretty bad,” he said. “They took almost everything. We had to spend that night shopping for all new stuff.”

However, Lemle rebounded and is now preparing for his very first EverStart final.

“It’s actually been a tough week for me,” he said. “The fishing has been kind of slow, and I’m really not catching a lot of fish. But I’ve managed to get some good bites when I do get them. I’m pretty excited about tomorrow. I get to go out with Cecil Cole again. Somehow I think we’ll finish pretty high up there tomorrow.”

Jancasz snares second place

Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., finished the day in second place after landing a total catch of 15 pounds, 5 ounces.

“It feels great,” he said. “This is my second top-10 finish in a row so I’m pretty excited. Now, I just have to go out there and do my thing tomorrow.”

Jancasz said he’s fishing tube baits in about 9 to 13 feet of water.

Virgil Grant of Findlay, Ohio, finished the day in third place after landing a catch of 14 pounds, 6 ounces.

Meanwhile, James Dixon of Southfield, Mich., grabbed fourth place with a catch of 14 pounds, 3 ounces. Mike Graalman of Genoa, Ohio, finished in fifth place only 1 ounce behind Dixon.

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler qualifiers were Philip Borsa (sixth) of Redford, Mich., with a catch of 13 pounds, 5 ounces; Jim Parker (seventh) of Jonesville, Mich., with a catch of 12 pounds, 13 ounces; Troy Sprague (eighth) of Lincoln, Neb., with a catch of 12 pounds, 6 ounces; Dominic Gambardella (ninth) of North Haven, Conn., with a catch of 9 pounds, 11 ounces; and Grant Hatfield (10th) of Wadsworth, Ohio, with a catch of 9 pounds, 11 ounces.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6 a.m. at Elizabeth Park Marina, located at 200 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton, Mich.