Otter Lake Tournament Series

Congratulations to the following teams who have qualified for the Otter Lake Tournament Series 2014 Classic!

Teams are listed in the order in which they will take-off, based on total accumulated points.

1 )  King - Caselton

2 )  Rosentreter - Overmeyer

3 )  Hartman - Pocklington

4 )  Hankins - Revelle

5 )  Law - Wiley

6 )  Manning - Goodman

7 )  Archer - Gretak

8 )  Leitschuh - Leitschuh

9 )  Wyatt - Fyalka

10 )  Dickson - Dietrich

11 )  Bearden - Bearden

12 )  Boston - Barto

13 )  Korunka - Durbin

14 )  Royer - Royer

15 )  Viehweg - Grejtak

16 )  Machota - Billings

17 )  Meyers - Snow

18 )  Fawns - Venturini

19 )  Augustine - Augustine

20 )  Bartels - Tate

Congratulations to Team Royer/Royer for winning the Raffle and securing their spot into the "Classic."

CLASSIC NOTES

- The "Classic" will be held Sunday, September 28th, 2014 at Otter Lake.

- Please try to arrive at the boat ramp by 5:30 AM.

- We will wate until "Safe Light" to take-off, and the tournament will last no less than 8 hours.

- If you know you will not be able to make the "Classic," please let me know ASAP so that I can fill your spot with the next team in line.

- There will be NO pre-fishing Otter Lake the week before the "Classic."  Saturday, September 20th will be the last day you are permitted to fish before the "Classic."  Some people live a couple hours from the lake and others have jobs that won't permit them to pre-fish.  This gives everyone an equal oppurtunity come Sunday.  I do not believe it will be an issue, but if you are caught pre-fishing during this time, you will be disqualified from the "Classic."

-If you have any questions... Please contact me at 217-473-5698

- PAYOUTS

1st Place - $900

2nd Place - $540

3rd Place - $360

Big Bass - $140 + Side Pot

Payouts are based on 20 boats. 

Well as we all know, with the summer months usually comes a difficult bite.  This year has been no exception at Otter Lake.  It seems like you are either on the fish or you're not, so as a result, the number of fish being weighed in has tailed off a bit as of late.  With that being said, the guys who have found fish have managed to find quality fish.  There have been several 4 to 5 pounders weighed in over the last few tournaments, which is good to see.  Another challenge this time of year is keeping your fish alive with the high water temps.  Make sure you keep your aerators running and pick up a bottle of Rejuvenade.  Rejuvenade is a product that revitalizes, replenishes and re-energizes fish, preparing them for release. By replacing lost energy and helping to return proper balance to the fish's system, it helps decrease recovery time and also helps to increase the survival rates of fish caught and held during tournament angling.  You can pick up a bottle of Rejuvenade at your local tackle shop for less than $15, and it should last you all year. 

This season has been very competitive at Otter Lake.  We have had 7 tournaments so far, and 7 different angler pairings have notched wins, and punched their ticket to the Classic.  Everyone else has been fighting hard to make the top 10 and qualify for the Classic.  The top 10 has changed every week, proving that every fish counts!  If the season ended today, the following teams would be qualified for the Classic:

King - Caselton (Tournament Winners)

Rosentreter - Overmeyer

Hartman - Pocklington

Law - Wiley (Tournament Winners)

Leitschuh - Leitschuh

Hankins - Revelle

Manning - Goodman

Wyatt - Fyalka

Archer - Gretak

Bearden - Bearden

Korunka - Durbin

Dickson - Dietrich

Viehweg - Grejtak (Tournament Winners)

Machota - Billings (Tournament Winners)

Bartels - Tate (Tournament Winners)

Fawns - Venturini (Tournament Winners)

Meyers - Snow (Tournament Winners)

With 4 tournaments remaining, there is still plenty of time for that to change!  The Classic will be held Saturday, September 20th from 6am-2pm.  Remember, $5 from every entry fee during the season is added to the Classic purse, so it is definitely something to shoot for!

Good luck to everyone the rest of the season, and safe fishing!

I hope all of you can come out, have a good time, and contribute to a great cause!

Any questions... please call me.

Thanks,  Levi

15 teams managed to sneak out of the house on Mother's Day weekend to participate in our 4th tournament of the year on Otter Lake.  Once again, we were lucky to have a beautiful day to fish.  11 of the 15 boats weighed in fish on what proved to be one of the tougher tournaments of the year.  Bob Wiley and Steve Law notched their first victory of the year, with a 5 fish limit weighing 14.94 lbs.  The victory secured a spot in the "Classic" for Wiley and Law.  Levi Rosentreter and Colin Overmeyer came in a close 2nd place with 14.24 lbs.  New to circuit was the team of Dickson and Dietrich.  They didn't waste any time getting in on the money, as they caught 3 fish weighing 11.17 lbs, which was good enough for 3rd place.  Dickson and Dietrich also took "Big Bass" honors, with a 5.20 lb fish.  2nd "Big Bass" was caught by Butch Revelle and Aaron Hankins, which weighed 4.35 lbs.  All together, there were 32 fish weighed in, totalling 86.09 lbs.  Thanks to everyone who made it out to participate.  Now its time for everyone to recharge their batteries, as we have almost a full month layoff before the next tournament, which will be held June 8th from 6 AM to 2 PM. 

18 boaters came out to participate in our 3rd tournament of the year on Otter Lake.  Once again it was a beauiful day for fishing, as the temperature reached 80 degrees.  16 boats managed to bring fish to the scales.  There were 57 fish weighed in, which is nearly twice the number of fish brought in the previous tournament.  That being said, the female bass were hard to find.  Gary Fyalka and Bob Wyatt, however, were able to find one weighing 5.61 lbs, earning them "Big Bass" honors.  The team of Bartels and Tate took 1st place, with a 5 fish limit, weighing 16.28 lbs.  The tournament win helped Bartels and Tate jump 7 spots in the standings.  2nd place went to newcomers, Bob Wyatt and Gary Fyalka.  Wyatt and Fyalka weighed in a 15.97 lb limit of bass.  3rd place went to David King and Mark Caselton, who weighed in 13.95 lbs of Otter Lake bass.  This tournament really shook up the yearly standings, proving that everyone still has plenty of time to make a push for the Top 10!  Thanks, once again, to everyone who came out and participated.  There's not much  time to rest, as the next tournament in this coming Saturday.  I hope to see all of you there!

Otter Lake tournament Series had their 2nd tournament of the year on April 19th, 2014.  Once again, it was a perfect day for fishing!  14 teams of anglers competed, and although the bite seemed to disappear as the day wore on, everyone managed to weigh in at least one fish!  Water temperatures are on the rise, and ranged between 57 and 63 degrees.  A couple of newcomers, Machota and Billings, were able to find a steady bite of big fish and took 1st Place with a very impressive sack, weighing 21.60 lbs!  2nd Place went to King and Caselton, who also caught a limit of fish, which weighed 17.71 lbs.  3rd Place was taken by a couple more newcomers, Castelli and Johnston.  They weighed in 4 fish for a total of 16.53 lbs.  Castelli and Johnston also took Big Bass honors with a 6.52 lb pig!  Rosentreter and Overmeyer weighed in the 2nd biggest bass of the tournament at 6.17 lbs.  Although the bite was not as great as what we are accustomed to at Otter Lake this time of year, it is definitely coming around!  This tournament really showed off the quality of bass that Otter Lake can produce.  Once again, thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations to all the money winners!  The next tournament is scheduled for Sunday, May 4th, 2014.  I hope to see everyone in a couple of weeks!

Otter Lake Tournament Series kicked off it's 2014 season on April 6th.  It was a beautiful day for fishing, however, it proved to be a challenging one!  Water temperatures were between 48 and 54 degrees.  15 teams of anglers participated, but only 4 teams were able to bring fish to the scales. Kyle Fawns and Ben Venturi took 1st place, with an impressive 5 fish limit, weighing 19.17 lbs.  Fawns and Venturi also took "Big Bass" honors, with a nice fish, topping the scales at 6.05 lbs.  2nd place honors went to Levi Rosentreter and Colin Overmeyer, who weighed in 2 fish for 6.35 lbs.  David King and Joe Petrelli rounded out the top 3, with 2 fish and a total weight of 4.51 lbs.  Although it was a frustrating day for many, warmer temperatures and better fishing is just around the corner!  Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to the money winners.  The next tournament scheduled is Saturday, April 19, 2014.  Hope to see you all there!

Alright guys, in order to help things run as smootly and quickly as possible, I am going to explain how registration will work on the morning of the tournament.

I will be at the boat ramp a little before 6:00 AM.  I will be in the northeast corner of the parking lot area.  To be sure we get everyone registered on time, please try to show up plenty early.  As soon as you get there, come find me.  You will pay your $40 entry fee.  I will then give you a copy of the rules and you will be required to sign a release from liability waiver.  Once I have you and your partner registered, you may then unload your boat.  There will be someone at the ramp, checking livewells.  Do not put your boat in until your livewell has been checked.  Once everyone has registered, you will draw a take-off number.  I will quickly go over a couple things while we wait to takes off.  Whoever draws the last number will be responsible for calling out boat numbers at take-off.

Weigh-in will be in the southwest corner of the parking lot area.  I will have extra weigh bags in case you do not have your own.

*Remember* 4 random anglers will be selected as tournament committee.  You will be notified of this at registration.  If you are on the tournament committee, please do not leave until the weigh-in is completely over.  If there are any protests, it will be the tournament committee that resolves it.

Thanks!

Join us on Facebook! "Otter Lake Tournament Series."

Hey guys... I am having t-shirts and koozies made that you can order.  Click the link on the homepage to print off the order form.  You can mail your order to me or give it to me at the tournament.  I will wait until everyone who wants one submits their order before I have them made.  Cash only please.

Levi Rosentreter

200 W Hickory St

Benld, IL 62009

T-Shirts - $20

Koozies - $6