VanAken wins Belleville

When Belleville Lake was put on the schedule it was determined that a river fishery such as this would fish a little easier in the dog days of summer than some of the lakes that were on this years lineup. But the August 2nd event was anything but easy, maybe one of the toughest bites the club has ever encountered in which only 6 anglers weighed in fish. But the brutal conditions didn't phase Jim VanAnken as he pulled out his first club victory after coming close several times in the past.

Jim had never been on Belleville before but he is highly confident in throwing a texas rigged weightless senko. His home lake is Michigan Center and he has perfected the senko technique there and it can be deadly when the bite is tough. "I threw the senko to anything I could, rafts, laydowns weeds, anything" commented VanAken when describing his fishing day. "I probably only caught 7 to 10 fish during the day but got the bigger bites". Jim caught the big bass of the tournament at 3.33 pounds under a willow tree on the purple senko and added a 1.73 lb smallie under a dock to accumulate his winning 5.06 pound weight. Jim had also caught the second big bass a few weeks earlier at St. Clair and brought a 3 1/2 pounder to the scales at Goguac so he definitely has the bigger fish dialed in. "My partner couldn't believe there was a fish under the willow tree and it was tough getting him out but that ended up being my big fish of the day."

With the win, VanAken climbed into the top ten in the AOY race and has him looking good for his first classic appearance. Also making a move up the leaderboard was Jim Rice Jr. who came in second by also throwing a senko to the few visible weeds at Belleville. Jim Jr. brought in a tournament best 3 fish to the scales for 4.72 lbs and set him atop the Angler of the Year list by 6 pounds over Mark Dereadt. It was the first time Rice had not weighed in a limit all year.

VanAkens gear: Jim throws his senko on spinning gear spooled with 10 pound Cajun Red monofiliment and a 3/0 Gamakatsu off-set worm hook. He throws Yamamoto senko at times but also pours his own. The best bait at Belleville was a purple 6 inch senko.