This is one “reel” competitive fishing team.

The Cold Steel/A-TOM-MIK/Fat Nancy’s team is off to a good start in its quest to win the Lake Ontario Challenge Cup. It’s the grand prize of the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Pro-Am Team Tournament series.

The series consists of four two-day events hosted by Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, and Wayne counties. Pro and Amateur teams try for the most and biggest fish. There are prizes for each of the county events, and the Pro and Amateur teams collecting the most points throughout the series will be crowned Challenge Cup champions.

“We have wanted it for a long time,” said Tom Allen, a member of the Cold Steel/A-TOM-MIK/Fan Nancy’s team. “We really look forward to this. It’s a strong passion for us as a team.”

The team is comprised of boat owner Captain Tom Burke of Pulaski, Captain Andy Bliss of Oswego, Dave Fallato of Pulaski, Rick Drosihn of Oswego, Rob Ripka of Pulaski, and Allen of Oswego.

The team began this year’s Pro-Am series in grand style, finishing first among Pro Division teams at the Niagara County event. Cold Steel/A-TOM-MIK/Fat Nancy’s earned 494.49 points, beating out the second-place team A-TOM-MIK Meatheads, who had 468.88 points.

The scoring for each county team event is based on 10 points per fish and a point per pound, stretched out over two days of fishing. There were 46 Pro Division teams in competition at Niagara County.

“It was a really big field and the fishing was really good,” Allen said. “We used more eastern basin tactics. We’re used to fishing deeper water. The fish were down deeper because of the temperature. We were running mostly copper presentations.”

Allen attributed the success to outstanding teamwork and pre-fishing. At Niagara County, the team won over $15,000 in cash and prizes.

Completing the top five Pro teams at Niagara County were Reel Pleasure (444.95 points), Cortland Machine/A-TOM-MIK (439.71), and Salmon Bound (438.09).

Rock N Reel placed first among the 42 Amateur teams with 247.39 points.

While he was pleased with his team’s win, Allen also took extra pride in the fact that seven of the top 10 Pro Division teams were A-TOM-MIK teams.  Allen’s business is A-TOM-MIK Manufacturing (www.atommiktrollingflies.com), and for 22 years he has sold trolling flies and other equipment to area tackle shops.

This past weekend, Orleans County hosted the second Pro-Am tournament in the series. Although Cold Steel/A-TOM-MIK/Fat Nancy’s placed 10th in the Pro Division, the performance was good enough to win the West End Cup, which goes to the team getting the most points from the combined Niagara and Orleans events.

“We’re excited,” Allen said. “We don’t look serious, but we are serious.”

Vision Quest, led by Captain Pete Alex of Pennsylvania, won the Pro Division crown at Orleans County.

Halfway through the four-tournament series, Cold Steel/A-TOM-MIK/Fat Nancy’s is at the top of the Challenge Cup standings. The team finished second in 2007 and fourth in 2006.

“We’re looking to win the Cup this year,” Allen said.

The team has hooked its share of success, winning the Pro Division of the Oswego County event in 2001 and 2004.

Allen, Burke, and Bliss have been fishing on the team since 2001. The other current team members are also key contributors, Allen said.

“We really work well together. We all know what our jobs are,” Allen said.

The Challenge Cup is in their sights, but the team knows it will need to be at its best for the Oswego County Pro-Am July 12-13 and the Wayne County Pro-Am July 19-20 in order to achieve the ultimate goal.

“It’s not a ‘gimme’ by any means,” Allen said. “We’ve got four more days where we will have to score very well. There are a lot of teams right on our heels. There are 31 teams racing for the Cup.”

For 2008 tournament information, visit the Lake Ontario Pro-Am Web page at www.lakeontarioproam.com.