Southern Shootout
Cave Run Lake - Kentucky
April 5th & 6th, 2008

Nash & Ebersole Win Southern Shootout on Cave Run Lake!
 PMTT 1st timer helps to end slump at the Cave!

Click Here for the 2008 Cave Run Lake Tournament Photo Album

Click Here for a complete list of Teams that caught fish

Click Here for details on the Cave Run Lake Event

                                    Ranger Cup Winner                     Event Big Fish - 47                        Sunday Big Fish - 45"
                              James Stella & Ty Sennett     Nick Cammarta & Rob Frechette   Gary Treadway & Dan Newman

Final Results - PMTT Q-1 @ Cave Run Lake, KY April 5^th & 6^th, 2008

Field safely released 25 fish - 18 Sat & 7 Sun - Event BIG FISH 47 inches

Nash & Ebersole Capture a PMTT - 1st at the Cave!
Tournament Director,
Tim Widlacki 

The beginning of the 2008 season and 10 year anniversary of the Professional Musky Tournament Trail (PMTT) couldn’t have started out more exciting. The PMTT chose to kick the season off right where they ended it last year on Cave Run Lake, Ky. Hosted by the Morehead Tourism Commission and with more then 200 anglers from 12 different states registered to compete on April 5th & 6th, the anglers had to battle a variety of challenges, with most of them caused by weather.

The weather conditions were less then favorable with large storms bringing heavy rains through the area for two days preceding the event. The rising water was coffee colored in many areas, which put visibility at about six inches to a foot. With cloudy skies on the first day and air temps in the low fifties followed by high skies and seventies on day two, the anglers managed to register 25 fish during the two day event. With water temps in the high forties, rattle, twitch and spinnerbaits in bright colors seemed to be the ticket.

The team of  Kevin Nash of Aurora, IL and Josh Ebersole of Oswego, IL. knew what they were going to do. They fished shallow and tight to shore in search of active fish. They cast Jakes and worked them back erratically to the boat. “With the water rising over four feet during the tournament, we tried to keep the bait tight to shore” stated Nash. Nash continued, “With the water rising so fast, it was clearest next to shore”. They cast right up next to shore and worked the baits as hard and erratic as they could. “We were trying to trigger them in the clearest water we could find”, stated Ebersole.

Nash and Ebersole were definitely on to a pattern. They were the only team to catch three fish and it was enough to catapult them into first place for the event. They are also the Mercury Bonus Bucks winners for an additional $500 to go along with their trophies and a first place check totaling $15,500!

Coming in second was the team of Nick Cammarata of Cary, IL and Rob Frechette of Winthrop Harbor, IL with two fish on consecutive casts of 38” and 47” with the ladder also being big fish for the tournament. They too were working tight to the newly changing shorelines, but with rattletraps. Camarata & Frechette scored the 38 incher first with about one hour left on day one and caught the 47” fish on the very next cast. This would be good enough for the lead after day one, but blanking on day two would move them out of the top spot but still more then strong enough for second and over $4200.

Third place went to James Reiter & Cesar Saucedo, both from Illinois with a very heavy 45 inch fish. The big girl ate a spinnerbait worked slowly through the shallow water timber in the back of a cove. For their efforts they took home the third place trophies and a check totaling $2,700.

Fourth place was taken by the team of Gary Treadway & Danny Newman who caught the day two big fish of 45 inches trolling and a check for almost  $2,375. Following next in fifth place is a local team of Dwayne Dillon & Jason Hamm. They boated a very heavy 43 inch musky on a spinnerbait and took hook nearly $1,600 for their effort.

The winner of the $1,000 Ranger Cup was Jim Stella and his partner Ty Sennett, who boated two fish of 30” & 31.75” and also took home the eighth place honors.

On hand to speak to the crowd was Terri Alderman, Executive Director for the Morehead Tourism Commission. Terri addressed the crowd and spoke about how happy tourism was too have everyone there and that the entire community is excited when the PMTT and its anglers come to town. The PMTT is equally excited to be there as Morehead and Cave Run Lake is the only place the PMTT has held a tournament in each of its first ten years.

Tournament Director Tim Widlacki thanked all of the PMTT’s incredibly fantastic sponsors, especially the Morehead Tourism Commission for hosting the event. In addition Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Musky Hunter Magazine, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce, Heckel's Marine, Keyes Outdoors Television, Rollie & Helens Musky Shop, Shelbyville Tourism, Wildlife Energy Drink, Extreme Muskie Expo's, Bemidji, Crash's Landing and all the associate and contributing sponsors. Please let these fine folks know that you appreciate their promotional efforts in support of freshwaters most challenging fish … and those extreme anglers who chase her on the first, best and only truly National Professional Musky Circuit … the PMTT!

To obtain more information on becoming a member of the 2008 PMTT, or to view event photo album, please visit them on the Web @ www.promusky.com or call PMTT Director, Tim Widlacki @: 815-478-4351