Claims title in Co-angler Division after partnering with friend and tournament buddy, McGahan
CLAYTON, N.Y. – Bolstered by the camaraderie of longtime fishing partner Steven McGahan as well as a weighty five-fish catch of 17 pounds, Mark McNeil of Ledyard, Conn., handily won the Co-angler Division title on Thousand Islands. McNeil, who won his first-ever EverStart title in the process, walked away with a first-prize check of $6,000 in addition to a lifetime’s worth of memories.
“It was just awesome,” said McNeil. “This is an unbelievable fishery. Once we found the fish it was just `Action Jackson’ the rest of the day.”
McNeil, who finished in fifth place at the same tournament a year earlier, said he had a lot of confidence coming into the Thousand Islands event.
“I figured I would do pretty well here, but I didn’t really expect to win the whole thing,” he said. “This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever won.”
McNeil said it was a tournament he will never forget.
“I had a fantastic week and great partners. The fishing was incredible,” he said. “At one point, I had a smallmouth bass on the line that jumped out of the water higher than your head. I probably caught over 200 bass, easily. It was amazing.”
However, there was one drawback.
“My elbow is killing me right now from hauling in all those fish,” he said. “But I’ll take it.”
Jancasz nets second-place finish
Fishing in only the second EverStart tournament of his career, Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., used a 15-pound, 3-ounce catch to grab second place and take home a check for $4,000.
“I did the best I could,” said Jancasz. “I prefished with four different guys, so I really got a lot of experience coming into the tournament. It feels great.”
Jancasz, who fished a Senko bait most of the week, said this is one of the best lakes he’s seen in a while.
“This is just a great fishery,” he said. “I really had a lot of fun.”
Kevin McClurg of Huntertown, Ind., finished the tournament in third place after landing a total catch weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces. He won $3,500 for his efforts.
In fourth place was Greg Cloud of Cumming, Ga. Cloud used a catch of 11 pounds, 7 ounces to take home a check for $3,000.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Cloud. “This is just an amazing place.”
Ted Will of Zeeland, Mich., finished in fifth place after netting a catch weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces. Like most of the others, Will was amazed with the sheer number of quality bass that inhabited the Thousand Islands region.
“The fishing here was phenomenal,” he said. “I probably caught over 60 bass. I had a great time.”
Will won $2,500 for his efforts.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists were Tom Turner (sixth) of Bowie, Md., with a catch of 9 pounds, 5 ounces; Chris Wade (seventh) of Preston, Conn., with a catch of 9 pounds, 1 ounce; Dan Luman (eighth) of Manchester, Conn., with a catch of 8 pounds, 14 ounces; Carl Litzenberger (ninth) of Bangor, Pa., with a catch of 8 pounds, 13 ounces; and Jason Putman (10th) of Brentwood, Mo., with a catch of 6 pounds, 8 ounces.
EverStart Northern Division action resumes Sept. 25-28 on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich.
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