Parker emerges victorious after co-angler slugfest on Detroit River
Day's two heaviest limits caught from back of boat
TRENTON, Mich. – Although the Pro Division gets the lion’s share of attention, the real story on the final day of the Stren Series Midwest Division tournament on the Detroit River happened on the co-angler side. The two heaviest stringers of the day came from the back of the boat, and half the co-angler field improved their weight from day three, one by almost 14 pounds.
When the slugfest finally came to a close, the winner turned out to be a guy who today brought in his lowest weight of the tournament at 17 pounds, 14 ounces. But his dominance on day three was enough to carry Dick Parker over the top with a two-day total of 37 pounds, 6 ounces.
Parker ended day one in fifth place, but moved up to first on day two and never relinquished his throne. Parker credits his success to his pro partners, and indeed, he had some good draws, but never underestimate Parker’s own ability to fish the Detroit River and Lake Erie. He has competed in 13 events over the years and has scored four top-10s, all of which were on this fishery.
He competed today from the back of pro winner Mike Trombly’s boat, and the rest was history.
“Today we actually stayed in the river,” Parker said. “I started off drop-shotting and already had my limit when there were still boats running by.”
Parker’s good fortune continued, as he was able to improve his catch throughout the day.
“It slowed down, and then we started making some runs, and I culled out there (in Lake Erie),” he said.
And though Parker does deserve ample credit for his own natural ability and knowledge, it is true he fished behind some mighty fine competitors this week, including No. 3 pro Dick Shaffer, whom he fished with on days one and three.
“I got lucky,” Parker said. “Four days in a row I had some top-notch partners. Today was a fun day.”
Parker’s preferred baits this week included an ISG tube and an ISG goby, and he credits his presentation with a lot of his success this week.
“I like to stay vertical; that’s my style,” he said. “The wind didn’t blow too hard, and that helped me.”
Parker took home $4,400 as the first-place co-angler.
Kuipers steps it up, moves to second
Todd Kuipers of Lafayette, Ind., caught 13 pounds, 13 ounces on day three and sat nearly 6 pounds behind the leader heading into the final day. Not content to languish near the bottom, Kuipers stepped it up in a big way today and brought in 22 pounds, 2 ounces to bring his two-day total to 35 pounds, 15 ounces, good for second.
Kuipers’ limit was the second-heaviest of the day in either division and beat the day’s heaviest pro limit by more than 2 pounds. He fished with Shaffer today, and both of them improved their standing with their day-four performance.
“I had the right partner,” said Kuipers, explaining his success. “Dick was on big fish. I think he had three co-anglers weigh in more than 20 pounds.”
Kuipers also credited other pros he fished with this week, including high finishers Chris Cox and Jonathan Newton, with his near-win situation. Also helping things out was his choice of bait – the Senko.
“The Senko seemed to be the bait for me,” he said. “I fished it Texas-rigged, wacky-style – every way. I caught a lot of fish on the Senko.”
Kuipers also benefited from a relaxed fishing day, created by the fact that he found his keeper bass early.
“We were culling fish by 8 o’clock,” Kuipers said. “I relaxed and just went fishing. It really comes down to the pros I drew. It was just a fun time on the water.”
Kuipers earned $3,400 for his second-place finish.
Fisher has incredible day, jumps from last to third
Yesterday’s 10th-place co-angler, Dale Fisher of Watsontown, Pa., was almost a lost cause. That is because no one could have predicted that, after catching only four bass worth 10 pounds, 5 ounces yesterday, he would come in today with the day’s heaviest limit.
His five-bass, 24-pound, 2-ounce day-four haul weighed almost 14 pounds more than his day-three catch and was the heaviest catch of the day by 2 pounds. It brought his two-day total weight to 34 pounds, 7 ounces, and he explained it merely by saying that he fished tubes and drop-shots in Lake Erie.
“I had a blast,” he said. “It was down to the last minute. I only had four, and all of a sudden, there it was, and then we tied our gear down and left.”
Fisher went out in boat No. 10 this morning with pro David Hayward, who also improved his position and ultimately finished fifth.
“I had nowhere to go but up,” Fisher said. He earned $3,125 as the third-place co-angler.
Taylor, Hasty round out top five
Finishing fourth and earning $2,240 is Kenneth Taylor of Shelby Township, Mich. Taylor caught 16-4 yesterday and improved his catch today with a limit of bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces that brought his two-day total to 34 pounds, 2 ounces.
Behind him in fifth is day-one leader Charles Hasty of Toledo, Ohio, with a two-day catch of 33 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him $1,740. Hasty caught 17-3 yesterday and brought in five today that totaled 16 pounds, 3 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on the Detroit River:
6th: Barry Baldwin, Dayton, Ohio, 10 bass, 31-15, $1,640
7th: Mike Lawrence, Toledo, Ohio, 10 bass, 31-9, $1,540
8th: James Richardson Sr., Harrison, Ohio, eight bass, 26-12, $1,440
9th: Ron Fabiszak, South Bend, Ind., seven bass, 24-7, $1,340
10th: Timothy Vieth, Marthasville, Mo., nine bass, 20-11, $1,240
Fabiszak named Co-angler of the Year
This season’s top co-angler in the Midwest Division is this week’s No. 9 finisher, Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind. Fabiszak came into this tournament with a six-point lead over No. 2 Bud Strader, but extended that lead to 45 points, as Fabiszak ended the season with 758 points and Strader wound up with 713.
Fabiszak put together an incredible season that brought three top-10 finishes in four events, including a win at the season opener on Kentucky Lake. His worst finish was a not-too-shabby 29th place on the Mississippi River in July.
Coming up
The Stren Series will next visit Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y., for a Northeast Division event that will close out the regular season. That event takes place Sept. 27-30.