US Open 2002

The United States Match Fishing Championships

The 5-th Annual United States Match Fishing Championships took place on May 18 and 19th, 2002. This year the event was held on the Fox River canal at Montgomery, IL. Due to the weather conditions the fishing was very hard on both days of the competition. But that only added to the excitement of the event as every fish could make a difference in the final results. Day one saw Gary Fritz win section 'A' with 3 quillbacks and some bits. In section 'B' Renato Malafarina caught a nice carp in the first hour of the match that help him to a section win. Kevin Gray from UK won section 'C' with 13 lbs. of quillbacks. On day two, Robert Wolan won section 'A', Mike Arndt won section 'B', and Kevin Gray once again took the top place in section 'C'. With two section wins (2 points) and heaviest total weight of the competition, Kevin Gray became the 2002 United States Open Match Fishing Champion. Gary Fritz followed as the first runner up and Robert Wolan finished in the third place. Long pole was the leading method, fished over small amounts of groundbait with various baits on the hook including maggots, red worms and corn. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all the participants and spectators that made the 2002 Open an exciting and fun event.

From left:  Robert Wolan, Kevin Gray, Gary Fritz

Kevin Gray  - US Open Champion in action.

Gary Fritz fished well both days of the competition

Robert Wolan sorted things out on day 2.

Renato Malafarina won section 'A' on day 1.

Mike Arndt winning section 'B' on day 2.

FULL RESULTS:

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