Wilson, Lafferty advance to state fishing tournament

Illini West bass fishermen Brian Lafferty (left), Travis Wilson and coach Darrin Olin (right) wait during weigh-in Friday at the West Prairie Sectional at Argyle Lake. Wilson and Lafferty advanced to the state bass fishing tournament.

The Illini West bass fishing duo of junior Travis Wilson and sophomore Brian Lafferty are headed to the first-ever IHSA state bass fishing tournament.

Wilson and Lafferty finished in third place on Friday, April 24, at the West Prairie Sectional held at Argyle Lake State Park in Colchester. The duo caught five fish that weighed 5.75 pounds, fishing from 8 a.m. to about 3 p.m. The top three boats from each sectional advance to state.

Moline won the sectional with 8.9 pounds of fish. West Prairie was second with 8.2 pounds.

The two were one of 19 boats on the water Friday. Illini West had one other boat manned by Dominic Jones, Jared Crim and Ron Aanenson. West Hancock also had fishermen at the sectional.

The slow spring warmup made it more difficult to catch anything.

“The weather right now is tough for fishing,” said Northup. “The storm fronts play a big role right now. Water temperature is also very important. It's still a little cool.”

Wilson and Lafferty are long-time fishing partners and have competed in other tournaments. They consider Argyle Lake a “home court.”

“We fish there quite a bit because it's close. It's a fun lake,” said Lafferty. “It was kind of nerve-wracking because it was our home lake and we expected to do well. Now the pressure is off.”

The two fished there the day before the sectional, hoping to come up with a few hot spots.

“We could tell early on that they had moved,” said Lafferty. “They weren't biting where they had been during pre-fishing.”

The two caught nine bass, six of which met the minimum length of 12 inches. Each boat can keep up to five fish in a live well. Both fishermen can fish. A coach also rides in the boat and is the only one who can operate the larger boat motor. The fishermen can only operate the trolling motor.

Wilson said they would catch two or three fish at a time, then not see a bite for a few hours. He wasn't hopeful for the weigh-in.

“I thought we were done,” he said.

All fish are released back into the lake after weigh-in.

“If a fish dies, it's a half pound penalty per fish,” said Northup.

Participation in fishing is different than other sports since fishermen have to supply their own equipment. Illini West coaches Harold Northup, Jr., Darrin Olin and Dale Schamberger provided their boats for Illini West.

The state tournament is Fridays and Saturdays, May 8 and 9, at Carlyle Lake in Carlyle. Competitors get to meet a pro fisherman, courtesy of the IHSA. There is also a concert, plus the award ceremony at the conclusion of the tournament. A casting competition takes place each day.

Wilson and Lafferty plan to attend an official pre-fishing period on Thursday, May 7, to try to get a good feel for the largest man-made lake in Illinois.

“It's always fun to fish a new lake,” said Lafferty.

“It's great to compete in something that you love to do so much,” said Wilson.