Janousek and Johnson Win International Falls Bass Fishing Tournament
By Bonnie Harris
John Janousek of Nisswa, Minnesota and Chad Johnson of Rogers, Minnesota
clinched the top spot at the 2nd Annual International Falls Bass Fishing
Championship today. Janousek and Johnson delivered two consistent days of
fishing. The duo brought in a record breaking combined weight of 30.75
pounds for the tournament. The two anglers have been fishing together for
the past ten years.
"I think it was a combination of perseverance and experience," said
Janousek. "We knew coming into the competition this morning we had a good
shot at it, but everybody here could win." Janousek and Johnson have won a
number of tournaments on Rainy Lake. Johnson commented he fished a total
of 20 days on Rainy Lake so far this year.
Canadians Dale Labelle of Devlin, Ontario and Karl Howells of Fort
Francis broke the bag record with a combined weight today of 17.01 pounds
today. The two anglers sat in the leader position for most of the
afternoon until Janousek and Johnson weighed in. "Today was Karl's day to
shine," said Labelle, who added Howells brought in the majority of the
fish today. Labelle and Howells ended up in second place with a combined
weight for the tournament of 28.57 pounds.
The event weigh-in was completed before a packed house in Smokey Bear
Park in International Falls. Announcer Chip Leer was enthusiastic about
the turnout. "People are finding out about the quality of fish we've got
up here, both on the lake and on the river," Leer said. "It was a day of
records, from the biggest bag today to the biggest bass yesterday." Leer
was referring to the 4.91 pound bass caught yesterday.
"We are ecstatic," said Tournament President Gary Potter when asked for
his opinion of the event. "The level of community involvement has been
second to none." Potter mentioned plans were already underway for next
year's event.
Fishing for the first time on Rainy Lake, Ross Taylor of Burnsville and
Brent Carlson of Brainerd ended with a combined weight of 23.29 after a
disappointing first day. "We just had no experience on the lake and on the
river," said Taylor, considered by many in bass fishing circles to be a
rising star in the sport. "We had much better luck on the river today."
