 What a year these guys had!! Captain Karl Chmilnitzky from Caledon On, Team Two Fish was crowned King Of The Lake overall champion. Doesn't that sound good EH? This is the first time since the inception of our overall multiple tournament series that a Canadian Team has taken this crown. Karl, along with teammates Wayne and Luke Hazelwood, Steve Craggs, and his son Kyle have been competitively fishing for 6 yrs together. Luke has fished with them since he was a weimaraner puppy and they can't leave home for a tournament without him. They have had some success fishing Salmon but definitely this is the crown they were after.
Two Fish was very consistent in their catches this yr with a good showing in St. Catharines Spring, Oswego, N.Y. And a great catch in Whitby. Let me tell you it was needed! Out on their tails was Vision Quest and Get It Wet who respectively finished 2nd and 3rd. This field of anglers that go from Port to Port is some of the best on the lake and are very dedicated Salmon fishermen. Karl fishes mostly the waters from Bronte to Whitby and is versatile in his ways to adapt the techniques needed to be a winner.
2010 was a change for team two fish who regularly fished hard out of a 22 Lund Baron but this past season they decided to fish Wayne's boat which was a 23ft Sportcraft. I ask Karl what was the biggest difference and he replied " we all know how important the guy that drives or directs the boat is and putting Wayne there made a big difference for us" He also talked about the presentations used at times saying "we are not afraid to try new things and a testament to that is in Oswego we had a hot combo that we threw out and it was a Greasy Chicken Spin Doctor and a Goby Atommik fly. How many people own one of those let alone throw it out on tournament day. It took some good fish to help us win."
Going into the fall and fifth tournament Two Fish had the lead. With 2 days of fishing up ahead the pressure was on but for some teams chasing him it was anticipation. The weekend comes and the forecast is bad so bad that both tournament days are cancelled and the only bad thing to this win was the part where the ceremony was at 5:00am and was done very quickly as weather and timing was a factor. I personally want to congratulate Karl and his team on their accomplishments and want to give them the accolades they deserve.
We are very proud to have Karl as part of the Big Jon team and wish them the best for next year where they now have the ball and everyone is trying to tackle them!
Sponsors are very important for us as they are for them and that's why they wanted to make sure they had a chance to mention them, Big Jon, Apple Auto Glass, Okuma, Tuff Line, Chmilnitzky Construction and Atommik.
2011 will bring heart wrenching times for this team as Kyle is taking an aviation course in Thunder Bay and is studying to be a Pilot and Steve who will be taking a leave from the team at the end of the year to join the Army, his tournament career on hold to serve our country. I would like to be the first to say good luck Steve and thank you. These kind of decisions are not easy and Lake Ontario will be here and waiting for you when you get back.
These guys are some of the nicest guys on the water. If you get a chance to talk to them and ask a few questions, they will help you. They will go out of their way to make sure you are better off than before you ask the question. Karl wanted to finish off by saying "we all love fishing and hunting but mostly having a good time with good friends in the out doors, that's what matters to us."
Good luck in 2011 from all of us at
King Of The Lake and Big Jon
1. Two Fish 723.36
2. Vision Quest 653.06
3. Get It Wet 638.27
4. Striker 618.64
5. Pandemonium 585.01
6. Pacific Time 552.78
7. Royal Flush 546.39
8. Thrillseeker 540.07
9. North Shore 467.68
10. Rockets 453.71 |
