Oak Lawn Pair Place Second in Bass Fishing Tournament

Sometimes when the fish aren't biting, it takes a little extra work to land a big catch.

"We were fishing a weedy flat and we were working our baits hard," Oak Lawn Community High School's Andrew Jensen said after he teamed with John Neubauer for a second-place finish in the Spartans' Rayjus Outdoors Bass Tournament Saturday on the Kankakee/Des Plaines River at the Des Plaines Conservation Area.

The two freshmen combined to catch five fish weighing a total of 6.13 pounds.

"It took some work and a lot of patience to get those fish to bite, but it all paid off in the end," Jensen said in a news release.

Of course, it helped that boat driver Al Brenicky of Unique Bassmasters found a hot spot for the boys to work right from the get-go. Neubauer caught a 14-inch bass on his second cast. It wasn't until a bit later that action on the water slowed down.

"Mr. Brenicky taught us a technique called a wacky rig that Andy (Jensen) and I have never used before," Neubauer said. "We made some long casts and worked our baits over a weed edget to catch our limit. We were determined to catch fish."

Seneca's Nick Kirkton and Nick Stuedemann won the tournament. The two caught five fish weighing 8.90 pounds. Their big bass came in at 2.42 pounds.

Brother Rice's Joe Hayes and Brendan Moriarity placed fourth with four fish caught and a total weight of 5.03 pounds. Oak Lawn's Ben Masek and Omar Adbulla finished seventh with two fish weighing 2.20 pounds and Brother Rice's Brian Lee and Mike Slakis also cracked the top-10. Lee and Slakis placed eighth with one fish and a weight total of 1.98 pounds.

For the second year in a row, Lemont's Chris Walker caught the biggest bass of the tournament, weighing 2.47 pounds. Robert Malloy of De La Salle won the casting competition sponsored by the U.S. Air Force.

"The turnout for this tournament and the results were awesome," Oak Lawn fishing coach Chris Kuchyt said. "We had a lot of great people and business come together for this event. I'd like to thank Rayjus Outdoors, Unique Bassmasters and Illinois B.A.S.S. Federation Nation for helping organize this tournament and giving the kids this opportunity."

Bass Tournament Results:  http://www.olchs.org/assets/athletics/2011%20Rayjus%20Outdoors%20-%20Oak%20Lawn%20High%20School%20Bass%20Tournament%20Results1.pdf