Demon bass fisherman win title

PALO - Fisherman have been known to tell tall tales or expand the length of their fish's tail when telling of their catch.

Washington's bass fishing team didn't need to lie at all when they were awarded the title of a fishing tournament May 11 at the Pleasant Creek Lake by Cedar Rapids.

Nathan Matthes coached Demon team members Evan Horak, Brady Knutson, Caleb Tanner, Brock Sobaski, Griffin Wood, John Prochaska, Grant Sobaski and Ben Loy.

'The sport isn't yet sanctioned by the high school association, but I'm hoping it is coming,” Matthes said. 'Colleges have teams and they are handing out scholarships. Illinois has quite a number of high school teams.”

There were 30 boats on the lake competing May 11 and it was deemed the state tournament. The farthest a team traveled was from West Des Moines Valley. Most were around the area.

The next tournament is already scheduled for September on the Mississippi River.

The hope is to have six or more tournaments throughout the year, then have the final one be the state title.

'This tournament was put on to gauge interest and it was much more successful than they thought it would be,” Matthes said.

The Demon team of Brady Knutson, Evan Horak, Caleb Tanner, Brock Sobaski won the initial year-end tourney despite landing only one fish, but it had the most weight.

'It was kind of luck,” Matthes said. 'It was a crappy day. It was raining. The temperature was 45 degrees. It was not a very good fishing day. Caleb and Brock caught the biggest fish of the day. The winning fish was 3 1/2 pounds. They caught it in the very first spot they pulled up to and on one of the first casts they made.”

Tanner was disappointed with what they had, but then found out they won so it was a roller coaster of emotions while they were out there on the lake. They missed a couple fish and one of them got off.

They caught more in the presentation of winners than they did when they were out on the boat.

'They just kept getting handed stuff,” Matthes said.

For their victory, they won a rod and reel, a bunch of bait, some gear, T-shirts, sweatshirts and a bunch of other stuff.

Most of the guys have been fishing for a year or two, so practice is important but practice often consists of meetings.

'I called them informational meetings,” Matthes said. 'We might work on how to cast or find fish, break down water or talk about techniques. We don't really practice, it's just more about me giving them information.”

They do have competitions where Matthes will put a little jar in the hallway and have them cast into it. Accuracy is important in casting because you don't want to end up in a bush and get snagged.

'We do go to Lake Darling occasionally and go out on boats,” Matthes said.

Mattes was pleased with the support of sponsors Mose Levy, Jet Physical, Horak Insurance, EBD, Channel Seed and Custom Impressions. Without their help, the season would have been a much bigger struggle.

'Our sponsors are important because it's not a school sport or a school-sponsored sport,” Matthes said. 'Our sponsors have been fantastic with donations.”