SENECA FALLS, N.Y. – Rick Pell, 44, of Binghamton, N.Y., out-fished 190 competitors Saturday to earn $5,784 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Northeastern Division event on Cayuga Lake.
Pell caught five bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces during the one-day event to top David Livingston of Scottsville, N.Y., who finished with a five-bass catch of 15-4 worth $2,892. Pell caught his limit, including a 6-pounder that earned him $950 as the Abu Garcia Big Bass in the Boater Division, fishing shallow weeds in the north end of the lake with a plastic worm.
Garold Oakes of Kane, Pa., took third place and collected $1,446 with five bass weighing 14-5. Donald Rotondo of Seneca Falls, N.Y., placed fourth and earned $1,253 with five bass weighing 14-2.
Kraig Kettelkamp of Clifton Springs, N.Y.; Kevin Kartesz of Ludlow, Pa.; Gary Huston of Johnson City, N.Y.; and Barton butts of Naples, N.Y., tied for fifth place with five bass apiece weighing 13-15. Each man received $916.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,892 went to Dennis Sikorski, 25, of Voluntown, Conn., who topped 190 competitors with five bass weighing 16-12. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,446 went to Rich Onofre of Waverly, N.Y., with five bass weighing 16-0, while Chad Montgomery of Cortland, N.Y., took third place and $723 with five bass weighing 13-15.
Wesley Hall, 31, of Lakeville, Pa., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $475 with a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass that he caught fishing deep grass on the north end of the lake with a plastic worm.
Barton Butts of Naples, N.Y., won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures. He caught five bass weighing 13-15.
On July 15, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Lake Champlain for the third of five events in the Northeastern Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 16-17 on the Potomac River, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.