Gray, Mueller in third at fishing tournament
By BOB LAMB / Tribune Outdoors Editor
Al Gray and Mike Mueller from La Crosse set the pace for Coulee Region teams entered in the fifth annual Team Supreme National Bass Fishing Championship on Lake Shelbyville in Findlay, Ill., that began Thursday. Advertisement
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Gray and Mueller caught four fish weighing 13.29 pounds after the first round of the three-day competition. The catch was good enough for third place in the 155-team field. Gray and Mueller also caught the largest fish of the day, a 6.99-pound largemouth that earned them an instant $723.
Mike Valster of Pella, Iowa, and teammate Bill Gretten of Blue Grass, Iowa, lead the tournament with four fish weighing 15.41 pounds.
Jeff Ritter and his father, Sam, from Prairie du Chien, Wis., and the 2003 Mississippi River North Division champions, are in eighth place with two fish totaling 8.75 pounds. More important, the Ritter duo leads eight other division championship teams in the chase for a new boat and motor at the end of the three-day competition.
Wind, rain and cold temperatures hampered anglers all day. There were 70 teams that failed to weigh in a
14-inch minimum length bass.
“They are predicting the same kind of weather the next two days,” said Ed Stellner, who with his partner, Tom Monsoor, failed to weigh in a fish.
“It’s miserable. We’re just trying to dry out all of our stuff,” said Darren Zumach, from Onalaska. “The wind hasn’t stopped blowing since we got here Saturday night. It even blows all night.”
The winning team wins $25,000, while the runner-up tandem earns $15,000.
