Stacy Zhelesnik is out for lunkers, unusually large game fish. But you won’t find them hanging on her wall; she sets them free once the catch is made.
She’s all about the thrill of the chase, but the release is just as important to her. It completes the circle of life in the sport fishing world.
Zhelesnik is a professional bass fisher, among other things, who competes in ESPN’s Women’s Bassmaster Tour (WBT) and is currently ranked seventh out of 109 co-anglers in the tour points race.
On May 24, in the second event of four this year at Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Ala., Zhelesnik took second place out of 83 co-anglers. She missed first place – and $25,000 toward purchasing a boat – by only six ounces. Second place did take a cash prize of $3,000, but obviously Zhelesnik really wanted the boat.
“It was really exciting,” she said. “This is all a numbers game, down to the ounce.”
Her next stop will be from June 19 though June 21 at Old Hickory Lake, Gallatin, Tenn.
The top twenty co-anglers in the points race will enter into the championship this year October 23 through October 25 at Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark.
“I would be over the moon,” Zhelesnik said of her opportunity to make the championship. “I’m gonna keep whacking ’em.”
The tour is broken into two categories: those with boats and those without boats. Co-anglers are those without; they do not drive the boat during the tournament, nor do they choose where to fish. The co-anglers are paired randomly with a boater and fish from the rear of their boat for that day. The tournament lasts four days and every day the co-anglers find themselves paired with a different boater.
Casting her line
The 36-year-old Zhelesnik has been a Hoboken resident for seven years and in the New York City metro area for 13 years. She and her husband of three years Louie Zhelesnik, who also fishes regularly, own the Frozen Monkey Café on Washington Street.
They both work in television production and met ten years ago while working the production booth at Yankees Stadium.
She was born in Arizona and lived in California before moving east to attend film school at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
“Fishing’s a very zen thing.”
– Stacy Zhelesnik
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“I’ll fish every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” Zhelesnik said. “It is fun, but it’s hard work. My hands are all cut up.”
Zhelesnik joined the Bergen Bassmasters of New Jersey fishing club two years ago, becoming the first female member. “When I walked in they said, ‘Are you in the right place?’ ” Zhelesnik said of her joining the club.
“They’re a great group of guys,” she said, adding that joining a club is a “natural step” for any aspiring angler.
Zen and the art of bass fishing
“Fishing’s a very zen thing,” Zhelesnik said. “A lot of times, it’s a battle with yourself. It requires you to slow down.”
“Every day’s different out there,” she said. “Fish have stages, forever changing their patterns.”
Zhelesnik said that she spends hours building a game plan. “It requires a lot of study,” Zhelesnik said.
She checks maps and satellite photos looking at water color, depth changes, and underwater structures. She looks at fishing reports to see what’s biting; she finds out when dams release to create current; and she stops in bait shops to see what the locals are using.
She said one thing people probably don’t know is that professional anglers don’t use live bait. The sport is very equipment intensive, according to Zhelesnik. She carries six poles and fills half of her Toyota FJ Cruiser with hundreds of baits and lures, not to mention hooks, lines, and sinkers, for an event.
Bass fishing can be a lifelong pursuit; Zhelesnik said there is an 82-year-old woman on the tour called ‘The Cisco Kid.’
The women’s tour has only been around for about two years, and Zhelesnik said it needs to catch up to the men’s tour in terms of media coverage and prize payouts.
“We really need to build up the tour,” she said. In her opinion, the tour needs a major sponsor to bring it in line with the men’s side.
Zhelesnik herself has numerous sponsors; some are local, like Hoboken Hockey League and International Cuisine Delivery Service, and some are national, Kamakazee Bait Company and On2 Technologies.
If you are interested in bass fishing, visit Zhelesnik’s website at www.lunkergirl.com or contact the Bergen Bassmasters on New Jersey at www.bergenbassmaster.com.
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