The waves were flat for the two day Pro-Am, held off shore from Sodus Bay in Wayne County. Like Oswego, competing teams historically endure 6 to 10 footers rolling on the “Big O.” making for some intense fishing conditions.
The wave action was minimal; however action on shore for sixty eight teams during the 8th Annual Wayne County Trout and Salmon Team Tournament Series (Pro-Am) was electrifying. Teams fishing for the prestige Challenge had only points separating them from the cup.
How close were the final scores? An amazing .08 of a point separated the first and second place in the Amateur Division. The winner, Prize Fighter, beat Coldwater Affair 348.72 to 348.64. Scores for the Pro-Am competition are calculated by adding 10 points for each fish, then one point per pound.
The Pro Division in the Wayne County contest was won by Screamer, lead by team leader Dave Antenori. Antenori, who lives in Clarks Summit PA, headed west out of Sodus Bay for Day One fishing. “We ran 4 miles west, marked fish, and punched in the waypoints,” Antenori said.
“We got away from the fish and when the tournament started at 6 am we turned and passed through those waypoints.
“We were running our full spread and during that first pass we had five fish on and landed four.”
The Screamer team continued to use that presentation all morning. “The fish were scattered and we would find pockets. We marked the fish, passed by and then turned and fished the pocket with our full spread.
“These fish were appearing as streaks on the screen…not arcs…they were very active fish.”
The Screamer team boxed out at 11 am with 12 fish, the maximum catch for a Pro team.
Day two saw another calm day on Lake Ontario. Antenori and team decided to return to the same location. “The thermocline rose dramatically over night, and we were also fighting a strong current,” Antenori said.
“The temps were up so we decided to slip in to shallower water. We concentrated on 130 to 140 feet of water. We also ran a higher program and used more spoons.”
The water temperatures were coming-up all day and Antenori notice a bunch of boats headed towards shore. “They were going for the close-to-shore brown trout,” he said. “We needed three more fish for a full box of twelve.
“We took a team vote and decided to stay where we were and ‘grind it out.’”
The Screamer team finished the day at 1:15pm with a lake trout, a king, and a brown.
Pro teams need to make the Sodus Bay pier head by 2 pm and Antenori crossed the finish line with a full box of trout and salmon.
The Screamer won the Wayne County Pro-Am with a two day score of 525.59 and took home $5000 in cash for his efforts. He also brought in the biggest fish for the event, pocketing another $500 and $100 from Siggs Rigs. Dave Antenori and Screamer also took the East End Cup and the Lakewide Challenge Cup.
Philip Marsh and his Prize Fighter team not only took first place in the Amateur Division of the Wayne County event, they took the Challenge Cup for having the best score compiled from the entire four port series. In Niagara County they won first place during the action June 4-5, 7th place June 11-12 in Orleans County and 3rd place in Oswego County before nabbing the title with a first place finish in Wayne County.
Complete listings for the entire Lake Ontario Pro-Am Team Tournament Series and the Challenge Cup results are on the official web page at lakeontarioproam.net
The web page also has the action from 2010 Pro-am. It was filmed for a possible reality TV show. Check out the page and see the footage under LOPA TV.
