What can browns do for you?
They can win you the top prize in the Oswego County Pro-Am Salmon and Trout Team Tournament.
That was the strategy used by the Red Line team, which took first place in the Pro Division of the 14th annual Oswego County Pro-Am.
The two-day fishing tournament, which included 38 Pro Division teams and 24 Amateur Division teams, wrapped up with Sunday's awards ceremony in back of the Best Western Captain's Quarters in Oswego.
Red Line, which fished out of Mike's Marina in Mexico, received $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in merchandise for their winning score of 381.25 points.
Captain Patrick Thayer, of Vermont, said the team started out on Saturday going for salmon, but then switched gears and went for brown trout.
"The first day, we fished in 300 to 400 feet of water for kings," Thayer said. "We stayed on kings until we thought we weren't going to accomplish much. Then we moved in and caught a limit of browns."
Entering the second day of fishing, the team decided to just concentrate on brown trout.
"We knew what our score was, and we didn't know what the outcome of the tournament was going to be because of the weather, so our plans were to go out and get our 12 fish and call it a day and let the chips fall," Thayer said. "We knew if we got 12, we'd be in the money."
The strategy worked. Red Line on Sunday caught 12 brown trout in Mexico Bay, earning 10 points per fish plus a point per pound. In addition to Thayer, the Red Line team included Oswego County anglers Tim Sherwood, Toby Workman, Glen Peschler, and Dan Peschler.
"Brown trout fishing in Mexico Bay is exceptional this year," said Thayer, who has run a charter in the area for six years.
He said the team caught the fish using Michigan Stingers, and caught one on an A-TOM-MIK fly.
Even with its big point total, the Red Line team was nervous until the end of the weigh-ins.
"There are a lot of good fishermen here," Thayer said. "Believe me, we were biting our nails."
Red Line edged out T-K for the Pro Division crown. T-K finished with 373.84 points. Rounding out the top five were Hi-Voltage (299.81), Top Gun (297.35), and Vision Quest (288.04).
Completing the top 10 Pro teams were Royal Flush (259.03), Candy (242.49), Rebel Charters (241.81), Dream Chasers (228.04), and Sea Devil (223.12).
The tournament paid cash and merchandise prizes to the top 10 teams in each division.
The first-place team in the Amateur Division was Team Sparks from New Jersey. Members of the team included Captain Larry Williams, Scott Wagner, Lester Zimmerman, and Guy Kuhns. Their first-place score of 223.01 points won them $1,400 in cash and $2,200 in merchandise.
They fished about 16 miles west of Oswego Harbor.
"We were fishing the one area the last two days, and we had to stick to it," Williams said. "Today, we found the bigger kings."
Team Sparks won comfortably over Amateur Division runner-up Dodger (186.60). Rounding out the top five Amateur teams were Horsin' Around (185.99), Lousers (159.13), and Trophy Teasers (145.03).
Completing the top 10 were Five More Minutes (117.94), Team Spoonfed (82.90), Hook N Up (82.43), Grand Slam (75.30), and Oh Baby (74.89).
The biggest fish caught in the tournament was a king salmon in excess of 28 pounds, netted by the Royal Flush team.
More information and complete results will follow when we have it.