News

September 1, 2007

Bass expert moves on to deeper waters

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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HARVEYS LAKE – After seven years of spending his Thursday nights hosting a bass tournament for area anglers, Warren Gensel is giving it up to pursue his own tournament dreams.

The Shavertown resident, who founded Gensel Fishing Adventures, hosted the tournament every summer on Thursday nights at Harveys Lake. He started the event as a way to give local anglers a chance to learn about tournament fishing and, if they wanted to, advance to the upper levels.

On Thursday, Gensel told the 60 anglers competing in the season’s final tournament that he won’t be back next year.

“It’s the end of something I created, so there’s going to be an emptiness,” he said. “But it’s time to further my career.”

Gensel started his tournament after he saw the local interest generated by other events in the area. He had some experience fishing in BASS (a national organization that is considered the governing body of bass fishing tournaments) sanctioned events and wanted to share what he learned with anglers interested in going to the next level.

“It’s satisfying just knowing that I’ve been able to prepare anglers to move on to the next level of tournament fishing and, at the same time, give them a chance to compete locally with the flair of a large tournament atmosphere.”

Gensel’s tournament might have had a “big time” atmosphere, but it was still a family-run operation. Gensel’s mother, Shirley, came out every week to record weights and post standings. His father, Roland, was charged with inspecting boats and marking down the times they returned.

They will share Gensel’s emptiness next summer.

“We’re proud of him and we really looked forward to doing this every Thursday,” Shirley said while Warren dismantled the weigh-in tent for the last time. “But I understand his decision; he’s ready to go on.”

Gensel said he is in the process of finding a successor and guaranteed the tournament will be held again next summer.

Still, that doesn’t mean he won’t be missed by the anglers, some of whom fished his tournament every summer since it began.

Greg Mikulski said he will miss Gensel because he ran a tournament that was not only professional, but was a social event as well.

“I made a lot of friends here. I can’t imagine a Thursday night without a tournament,” he said.

“Warren does an awesome job,” said fellow angler Rich Harris. “It will be a big change next summer not having him here. Whoever takes it over has some big shoes to fill.”

Next summer Gensel will increase his tournament fishing and compete in BASS open tournaments throughout the country. The schedule will keep him on the water from February through October and allow him to fish alongside some of the biggest names in the sport.

It will be a way for Gensel to replace that emptiness.

“The BASS anglers just finished fishing the Red River in Arkansas. I would have loved to be there,” Gensel said as he took down his tournament banner. “Next year I will be.”

Tom Venesky, a Times Leader sports writer, may be reached at 829-7230.

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