Great Lakes Salmon Series - Huntington ODC Big Lake Classic

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Although there are more tournaments yet to come in the northern part of the lake, the Huntington Big Lake Classic in Saugatuck this past weekend marked the end of the 2008 season for the GL2S crew.   Long known as the Waypoint/Tower Marine Pro/Am, this tournament had new management this year from the great folks at Saugatuck's Outdoor Discovery Center (ODC) and new title sponsorship from Huntington Bank. The ODC is a non-profit organization devoted to wildlife and fisheries conservation and education.   Assisted by Waypoint tournament founders, Denny and Linda Allen, the ODC gang did a fine job with their inaugural big lake fishing event.

All in all, it was a great way to close out the season for many tournament anglers; a weekend to remember, with some drama, some unpredictable weather, great friends, great food and great fun all playing big roles. As in previous years, the weigh-in was handled at Tower Marine on the south side of the Kalamazoo River. But new this year, the Captain's meeting, meals, and other festivities and awards were moved across the river to Coral Gables restaurant in downtown Saugatuck. This was a great venue for the Huntington Big Lake Classic, with locals and tourists alike stopping to see what was going on, and joining the tournament anglers in some adult beverages, good food and great conversation.

Day One of the Big Lake Classic was sunny, warm, but somewhat windy with 2-4' waves. As the day went on, the wind continued to build and by the end of the fishing period, it was 4-5' with some larger rollers mixed in.   Since the Big Lake Classic allows boats to leave from either Saugatuck or Holland, the fleet was fishing some different waters. The Holland-based boats went north toward Grand Haven and Port Sheldon, while the Saugatuck boats went south toward South Haven. The boxes on Day One showed that fish were prevalent in both areas, with JJ (Holland) bringing in the big box of the day in the Pro division with 117.24 lbs. and 247.24 pts. They were followed in the pro standings by Profishient (Saugatuck) and Team Huntington on the Black Betty II (Saugatuck). On the AM side, the Day One leader was Bonaventure with 246.82 pts., followed by Chuck Wagon (Saugatuck), Pier Addiction (Holland), Giv-n-In (Saugatuck) and Double Down (Zeeland).

As the scoring was completed and teams strategized for Day Two, the big topic was the weather. The overnight forecast called for 4-7' waves and a stiff WNW wind. There was much speculation that Day Two might be cancelled and the Day One leaders would win the tournament by default.

As Day Two dawned, it was apparent that those who wanted to fish were going to get their wish. The winds were down from the night before, and the waves were only 2-3'.   The temperature had dropped considerably, leading many teams to don their foul weather gear to try and stay warm. As the day went on, the wind began to build, and by the end of the fishing session, the waves were in the 4-7' range with some 8 footers mixed in. But by then, the fish had all been caught, the teams were on their way back to port, and everyone had done their best to move up.

In the Pros, Living the Dream (Grand Haven) brought in a box of 100.3 lbs. and made a huge jump into the lead from their spot in 5th place after Day One. But they had to wait for Blue Chip (Saugatuck) and JJ (Holland) to weigh-in before they knew their ultimate fate. Blue Chip almost caught the Dream boys, but fell a mere .42 pts. short. JJ, the leader after Day One, could not catch the Dream team either, and ended up in 4th Place, with Profishient (Saugatuck) sliding into the 3rd spot. (Click here for full Pro results)

1. Living the Dream
2. Blue Chip
3. Profishient
4. JJ
5. Black Betty II

There was plenty of Day Two drama on the AM side of the tournament as well, with Giv-n-In (Saugatuck) coming in with a huge 109.60 lb. cooler to move up from 4th into 1st Place.   Team Double Down (Zeeland) also had a great second day that propelled them into 2nd, with Chuck Wagon falling to 3rd. (Click here for full AM results)

1. Giv-n-In
2. Double Down
3. Chuck Wagon
4. Pier Addiction
5. In Pursuit

Saugatuck also marked the final stop on the season-long Huntington GL2S Championship Points Series.   Once again, there was plenty of drama to be had.   Going into this event, Best Chance Too (Saugatuck) was holding a slight lead over Living the Dream (Grand Haven). Living the Dream elected to use their last cull and discard their 9th Place finish in Manistee in hopes of catching Best Chance Too. Best Chance Too decided to stand pat with their series lead and hope that Living the Dream stumbled. But as it turned out, the Dream boys put together 2 good days of fishing and not only won the tournament, but passed Best Chance Too to take home the Huntington GL2S Championship Points Series' 1st Place honors and the $10,000 first prize.   Hour Time (Sturgeon Bay) ended the season in 3rd Place while Sea Flea (Grand Haven) took 4th Place honors. (Click here for Big Jon Sports CPS Scoreboard)

1. Living the Dream
2. Best Chance Too
3. Hour Time
4. Sea Flea
5. Blue Fairways