The Shawnee Muskie Hunters Chapter of Muskies Incorporated sponsored the Fourth Annual I.H.S.A Muskie Tournament on October 14. The weather was beautiful for a day of young muskie hunters to fish on a lake. The entrants must have an adult in the boat during the event. There were 5 boats and teams that participated. High Schools that participated this year included: Marion Central Catholic from Woodstock, Hinckley-Big Rock, Neuqua Valley from Naperville, East Peoria, Morton, and Marmion from Aurora. The challenge of catching muskies can be a tough task at times but the kids were up for the challenge. There were two boats that caught muskies. At 8:40 A.M. Mike Abbot from Marmion High School in Aurora, IL. caught a 36 inch muskie. The excitement was on as the first fish was caught. The other boats knew that they had to fish hard to get a chance at taking the lead. Later in the morning at 9:08 Aiden Savitski of Hinckley Big Rock High School had a nice hit on his bait and let his fishing partner know to get the net! His partner Jake Anderson of Neuqua Valley High School swiftly picked up the net and after a great battle the beautiful muskie was netted.
The rest of the day the participates beat the water to a froth despite the upper 80-degree air temperatures. The fish however did not cooperate for the anglers the rest of the day. By rule the first and second place winners are determined then by time of catch. So, this year’s State Champion of the Illinois High School Muskie Tournament is Marmion High Schools Cole Abbot. Congratulations on your win. In second place was Aiden Savitski of Hinckley-Big Rock High School in Hinckley and his partner Jake Anderson of Neuqua Valley High School of Naperville. These two boys and their fathers are also members of the Quad County Hawg Hunters Chapter of Muskies Inc. in Plano. Other muskies were seen but not caught. The third-place team was determined by a coin flip between Morton High School and Marian Central Catholic High School. Both caught a 16″ bass. Morton won the toss so that determined the 3rd place for the event. All the schools are planning on returning to our event next year that will be held the Saturday after Columbus Day or October 13, 2018. Some of them said they will have two teams from their school.
