All the Usual Ingredients, Plus a Few More

That's how I would describe today's Region 7 tourney held out of Munden Point Park in Virginia Beach. There were the boats--39 in all--and the fishermen--78, to be exact, and, of course, what would a bass tournament be without a little rain, which greeted all the anglers at 0-dark-30 this morning as they were trying to get their boats in the water.

But there also were a couple other items in full view today, neither of which could be classed as "usual" ingredients at a bass tournament. The first item was this nose-in-the-air jet ski that a pleasure boat towed into the Munden Point ramp area while tournament boats were starting to recover today. The story I got was that the jet-ski operator had hit a piece of rope somewhere on the water, causing the craft to flip and fill with water. Supposedly, no one suffered any injuries. Given my own experiences to date with jet-ski operators, I couldn't help wondering if this incident didn't involve someone who was, for lack of a better word, hot dogging.

The other item "slithered" into view during the weigh-in--that's right, I'm talking about a snake, a bright green one. The weighmaster, Wayne Hayes, had turned around to say a few words to a friend during a break in the weigh-in festivities. When he turned back around to resume his duties, there lay the green snake on the platform where he had to stand while weighing fish. Another fella grabbed the snake and returned it to an area a safe distance away from all the participants and onlookers.

Other than that, it pretty much was business as usual for a Region 7 bass tourney.

Here's what things looked like this morning as anglers were dumping their rain-soaked rigs in the water. With the rain coming down steadily, I sat in my vehicle this morning, watching anglers don their rain gear and rig their boats while thinking to myself, "Golly but I'm glad I'm not fishing today."

As you readily can see from this photo, the water level was, as I like to describe it, "sky high." With all the southwest winds we've had in recent days, it was a given that all the anglers would be working with a "full pool" today.

Finally, to everyone's delight, it was time to let the anglers go fishing, a job handled today by Rob Chatham (holding clipboard far right).

With their fishing day done, anglers started making their way back into the basin.

The first 6-pounder to be weighed in today was this fish. Unfortunately, it wouldn't hold up as best of the tourney.

Mark Ingram (third from left, foreground) checks one anglers's fish for alive/dead status, while weighmaster, Wayne Hayes (far right, background), checks another angler's total weight.

With the weigh-in complete, the tourney raffle kicks into high gear.

Concluding the day's events was the presentation of trophies. Here are the 1st place winners, with 23.39 lbs. They also claimed big fish with a 6.39-lb. bass.

These are the 2nd-place winners. They weighed 21.57 lbs.

Rounding out the top winners was this team. Their 3rd-place weight was 19.75 lbs.








My heartiest congratulations go out to all the winners and to everyone who fished today.

The Early Bite Was the Only Bite

That's what Jerry discovered this morning during his trip to West Neck Creek Marina. Before he got serious about his search for bass, though, he couldn't help stopping en route to his first hole to shoot this picture of the sunrise. I've done the same thing several times over the years. It's just one beautiful sight that never gets old, no matter how many times you've been lucky enough to witness it.

Today marked Jerry's first trip to West Neck since May 22. On that occasion, he couldn't find any bite at all. Hoping for better results, he ran to Pocaty, where he was surrounded by "chocolate milk" and no bite. He spent two hours looking for fish but couldn't find any, so he wrapped up and headed for home.

Jerry's venture this morning started at 6 a.m. "I caught three fish rather early, then the bite just ceased," he said. His best fish was this one, which, as you can see, weighed a nice 2 lbs. 7 ozs.

Not content to leave before again checking out what Pocaty had to offer, Jerry made the short run. He nearly changed his mind when he got to the mouth of West Neck and saw how rough the water was, but he kept going, only to once again find muddy water and a lot of wind. He fished just a short while before battening down and running back to West Neck to put his boat on the trailer.

Once he was loaded up and ready to roll, he paused long enough to shoot a photo of the current ramp conditions at West Neck. If you're interested, take a gander at the "West Neck Water Level Report" on the right side of my homepage.

As Jerry noted, "Hope the conditions improve for the tourney there this weekend." The tourney he's referring to is a club tournament of the Bass Chasers.

There's also a Region 7 tourney on Saturday at Munden Point Park. That event, as I learned this morning, is supposed to see about 40 boats competing for top honors. I'm not fishing, but I will be there covering the tourney with my camera for a blog article.

A Slow Bite But Still a Good Day

It's always a pleasure for me to publish a fishing report from someone other than myself, and I have such an opportunity today. This report comes from one of my regular blog readers, Jerry, who, along with his son, made a trip to the Northwest River today.

In five hours of fishing, these two anglers boated a total of seven bass, with this 4-lb. 10-oz. swamp dog held by Jerry being not only his best of the day, but his best so far this season. He also caught three more besides this one.

Given what you clearly see in the mouth of this beauty, Jerry didn't try to fool me with talk about the lucky bait being something bizarre like a purple-with-pink-polka-dots spinnerbait or crankbrait. Don't laugh too loudly, 'cause you wouldn't believe how many fishermen have tried such things with me over the years--and with a straight face, too.

Meanwhile, however, getting back to the facts of this matter, Jerry's son also did well today, contributing three fish to their final tally. His best of the day was a bass that tipped the scales at a healthy 2 lbs. 15 ozs.

As I told Jerry in our email swap, he and his son had the kind of day (even if it was a slow bite) that my partner and I would have welcomed with open arms in our tourney last Saturday. You have my congrats on what I consider a very nice day. Tight Lines! on all your future trips, too.

One of Our Best Turnouts of the Current Season

Nineteen boats with 28 anglers showed up to fish our 10th event of the current season. Here's a look at the day's big winners:

1st Place, with five fish weighing 12.20 lbs., (from left) Al Napier and Red Bruun. Their big fish weighed 3.13 lbs.

2nd Place, with five fish weighing 11.80 lbs., (from left) Jon Guzman and Jesse Munden. They also weighed big fish at 3.30 lbs.

3rd Place, with five fish weighing 11.14 lbs., (from left) Bob Glass and Randy Conkle. Their big fish weighed 3.00 lbs.







My sincere apologies go out to the 2nd and 3rd place finishers today. I let distractions interfere with my review of the final tallies and ended up announcing them backwards of what their placements really were. As if that wasn't bad enough, I also announced the wrong big-fish winners. It wasn't Duane and Donny Kessel, as originally reflected in this blog post. Rather, it was Jon Guzman and Jesse Munden, the 2nd Place finishers, who, as you see above, weighed a 3.30-lb. bass, compared to Duane and Donny's bass that tipped the scales at 3.15 lbs.

I take full responsibility for these mistakes and offer assurance that I will do everything in my power to avoid any repeats. My thanks go to all the parties involved for being so gracious and understanding and for helping me to right the wrongs. I knew from the git-go that trying to fill the shoes of Dewey Mullins was going to be an awesome undertaking, and this debacle on my part--and I emphasize "my part only"--has confirmed all those fears. I couldn't and wouldn't rebuff any efforts to appoint a new tourney director. Please believe me when I say, "I'm so, so sorry!!!" to everyone for everything.

All that aside, here's the way the other contestants finished the day:

     * Jared Allbritten and Chris Napier had five fish weighing 10.90 lbs. Their big fish weighed 3.11 lbs.
     * Chris Fretard and Mike Miller had five fish weighing 10.15 lbs. They didn't weigh a big fish.
     * Jim Wilder had five fish weighing 8.60 lbs. His big fish weighed 3.00 lbs.
     * Duane and Donny Kessel had three fish weighing 7.50 lbs. Their big fish weighed 3.15 lbs.
     * Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff had five fish weighing 7.10 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.10 lbs.
     * Michael Sims had four fish weighing 6.90 lbs. His big fish weighed 3.10 lbs.
     * Bryan Dear had four fish weighing 6.70 lbs. He didn't weigh a big fish.
     * Jim Bauer and Rob Powell had five fish weighing 5.11 lbs. They didn't weigh a big fish.
     * Paul Starcher had one fish weighing 1.15 lbs.

These participants didn't weigh any fish: Steve Bailey, Gary Coderre, Ronnie McLaughlin, Mark London and Lee Scearce, Tim Ackal, Wayne Hayes, Bobby Moore.

Those 20 anglers who participated in the weigh-in accounted for 52 bass with a combined total weight of 99.25 lbs., for an average of 1.9 lbs. per fish.

Two more anglers joined the ranks of those qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic by virtue of having fished four tourneys. Those two are Rob Chatham and Tim Ackal. They join Bob Glass, Randy Conkle, Chris Fretard, Mike Miller, Gary Coderre, Steve Bailey, Al Lemieux, Noah Alford, Al Napier, Jim Wilder, Duane Kessel, and Ken Testorff.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for Saturday, July 13. Start time will be safe light (or approximately 5:30 a.m.). Weigh-in will be at 2 p.m.

A Personal Best

That's how Donald described this 5-lb. 13-oz. bass that he caught last summer. The story unfolded like this:

After reading about Charlie's success in Godfrey's Creek, Donald had launched at West Landing Marina with plans to try Godfrey's for himself. As luck would have it, though, his outboard wouldn't start. Because he was forced to rely entirely on the trolling motor, he simply headed straight across the river, and once there, he started fishing at the dead tree located just off the bank on the edge of the channel. His first cast with a motor oil-colored Senko went right up next to the tree, and the monster pictured here nailed it.

After landing this fish, Donald started trolling a Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow toward the creek and caught a 16-inch striper and another small bass.

"It was then," said Donald, "that I realized why the outboard motor wouldn't start--the emergency-cutoff switch had gotten pulled out. I felt a bit silly, but I think the fishing gods were looking out for me that day," he concluded.

If it's of any consolation, Donald, let me share my own little personal embarrassing moment. I just had turned left out of West Neck and started downriver when, without any warning, my outboard suddenly sputtered and died. I subsequently cranked and cranked with no luck at all. Finally, I hailed a passing boater and his wife, and they happily agreed to tow me back into West Neck.

It was after I had thanked them and they had gone their way that I took a good look at the outboard and realized my problem: I had forgotten to hook the gas line to the outboard (back in earlier days, I always disconnected the gas line after an outing but no longer do). I simply had gotten as far as the gas already in the motor would get me. I hooked up the line, and after priming the bulb, the motor fired right up. Rather than go back out on the water and perhaps have a lot of explaining to do to the good folks who had towed me, I decided the better part of valor was to put my boat on the trailer and call it a day.

My Guiding Today Wasn't Half Bad, But My Fishing Stunk--In More Ways Than One

 

Nearly everywhere in Albright's I took Rob today, he managed to catch fish. Here are his two best ones for the day. We didn't take time to weigh any of our fish today, 'cause we were just trying to develop a game plan for the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney scheduled this coming Saturday.

Rob caught a total of 10 bass, with all but one of them a keeper. He also bagged a white perch, a grindle, and, believe it or not, a baitfish that couldn't have been more than an inch long. One barb of the crankbait's treble hook went completely through this baitfish when a pod of them jumped just as Rob's lure hit the water. I've been fishing a lot of years, but I can truthfully say this was the first time I've ever witnessed a baitfish impaled that way on a hook.

All of Rob's fish came on a Yo-Zuri SS Minnow, a spinnerbait, and a Bandit Footloose crankbait. He was putting fish in the boat left and right, when all I could muster were a couple of ol' grindle, a pickerel and a small striper.

I truly was beginning to think that the way my day had started was having this adverse effect on my luck. You see--Rob and I had decided to launch at first light, which means it still was dark as we hustled around the boat inside my shed, getting it rigged and ready to go.

We hadn't been going about these chores more than a few minutes when I started detecting a foul but all-too-familiar smell--"dog crap," to be exact. Unknown to me, Rob also was smelling the same thing. Neither one of us was saying anything about it at this point, though.

When I climbed behind the wheel of my van to move the boat down to the ramp, the odor became overpowering. I was unhooking the strap when I looked down at my feet and saw the tell-tale evidence. It was all over both my shoes. Rob saw me splashing water with my feet and scraping my shoes on the ramp's surface and asked what was wrong. It was then he told me that he, too, had noticed the odor but couldn't figure out where it was coming from after checking his own shoes and finding nothing.

Once I had removed the last remnants from my shoes, we launched the boat and shoved off, none the worse off. As the day wore on, though, and I hadn't boated a single bass, I began thinking that the stink I had started the day with perhaps was transcending down to the bass, who were just thumbing their noses at everything I threw at them.

Finally, however, in the proverbial 11th hour, I finally hooked and landed this fish on a Yo-Zuri SS Minnow to dodge a fifth skunk this season.

I've always said that it doesn't take a big fish to make me happy, and that certainly was the case today. I can't tell you how happy I was to see Rob shove the net under this fish and bring him aboard for me.

There's one more thing I feel compelled to mention in this post, and it's aimed at the four people on two jet skis who were running a short ways ahead of Rob and me as we came back into West Neck Creek this afternoon, getting ready to call it a day. We watched these "idiots"--and I don't use that term loosely--cut every marker in the creek on the wrong side. Maybe they feel invincible, but stupid tricks like this, especially in a hazard-strewn creek like West Neck, could buy you the farm. Be smart--boat safe. Otherwise, the next funeral you attend may be your own.

Remembering a Quieter, Gentler, Far Less Busy Time

This past Sunday, my wife asked if I minded taking her to Munden Point Park. I've always enjoyed spending time there with her, so I didn't hesitate to agree. I figured that would be a super way to spend a Father's Day.

One thing we both still remember vividly is the time we, on the spur of the moment, grabbed some Col. Sanders' Kentucky Fried Chicken and headed to Munden Point for a little weekday picnic--just the two of us. Everything was great until we opened the box of chicken and discovered that a few pieces still had feathers attached, even after cooking. Rather than get upset about this turn of events, we both got a good chuckle from it, and to this day, can't let a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial on TV pass without making a crack about "with or without feathers."

All that aside, we walked down to the dock there on Oakum Creek this past Sunday, and because one of the benches there was empty, we decided to sit and talk a while. What appeared to be a family-fishing outing there kept us entertained. They all appeared to be fishing with worms and such, and all but one young girl and one young boy seemed to be fishing with heavy sinkers attached to their line. The air was filled with constant ker-plunking from those chunks of lead.

As I sat there watching those folks make cast after cast, I remembered some of my own childhood fishing adventures with Pop and my brother. Once our lines were in the water, Pop kept a close eye on my brother and me--not just to make sure we didn't fall in or wander off, but to ensure we left our lines in the water "long enough to catch a fish," as he always would tell us. There was none of this constant throwing it out and reeling it back in that I was witnessing Sunday as we sat there.

The gent who looked to be the elder member in this family gathering eventually caught a small catfish and, on his next cast, hung up in a stump or some other kind of trash on the bottom. In an effort to free his line, he started circling the bank to get a different angle on his pull. That action, too, also brought back a lot of memories. I couldn't tell you how many times I witnessed my dad or brother doing the same thing. I took my share of turns in that barrel, as well. And, as demonstrated by the gent Sunday, this action does pay off--at least some of the time.

After my wife and I had sat there on the bench a good spell, a young fella, his wife (I'm guessing), and their baby showed up at the dock. While the mom watched the baby, the fella readied his spinning rig for a cast. He finally was all set, but Murphy must have been sitting on his shoulder. As he snapped the rod forward, the line immediately went into the nearby tree and created one of the worst messes I've ever seen. He diligently tried to get the line free, so he could try again, but, alas, it wasn't in the cards. He eventually took the path of least resistance--the same one I would have taken much sooner--and reached up to snip the line. He then turned around and looked at me.

My only remark was, "Hey, don't feel bad. I've done the same thing more times than I can tell you."

He evidently just wanted to get away, though, 'cause they grabbed up all the fishing gear and young 'un and headed up the walkway.  Soon thereafter, my wife and I also got up and started for the parking lot. It had been a nice day, we had enjoyed ourselves, and for just a few minutes, I had been able to relive a time in my life that I've always looked upon fondly. I'm so grateful my wife suggested this outing. It was the perfect way to spend Father's Day.

Rocky Start But Solid Finish

First, there was the issue of a headlight being out on my van. Then, I couldn't find my digital scales this morning. I figured those were only precursors of bigger things to come during my fishing day. However, I just drew in a deep breath, and said, "Oh well! Won't the first time and darn sure won't be the last, either."

Fortunately, things settled down from that point forward, and I had a good day after all. Here are photos of my best two fish. Since I didn't find my scales until I was cleaning out my boat this afternoon (they were back under my console), I'll have to settle for estimating their weight. I'm guessing the one at the top would have gone about 1.5 lbs., and the one at the bottom probably would have weighed about 1.75 lbs.

While it wasn't a "quality" type day, I can say the "quantity" wasn't too bad. I ended up with these two bass, plus 14 more. I also caught two medium-sized grindle and a small white perch. Both grindle ended up going free without any knots on their ol' noggin'--guess I'm getting soft in my old age.

If I had to pick a highlight of the day, it would be the period between about 8:15 and 8:30 when I boated a total of seven bass and lost one more. They were whacking my bait as soon as it splashed down.

There was no one magic lure. I caught fish on all of the following: Yo-Zuri SS Minnow in green herring, Bomber Square A in chartreuse with brown back, Strike King 1XS in sexy shad, and Senko SwimWorm in pumpkin with black flakes. Once I knew all of these baits would work, I just kept rotating them throughout the day.

A chatterbait in chartreuse/white with a Ribbitt frog trailer in chartreuse/white drew several strikes today. I had momentary hook-ups with four of the fish but didn't get any of them to the boat.

All of my fish came out of Albright's--some off wood and some off the grass line. It didn't seem to really matter where I tossed my lures.

I certainly have no regrets about how this day turned out, even after considering the couple of hiccups I encountered at the beginning. It's seldom that I have a chance to enjoy an all-day bite like I had today.

How To Set Up a "5 Alive" Tourney Livewell in Your Jonboat

There's an old TV commercial that goes, "When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen." I'm here to tell you that when Tim Ackal talks, people likewise would do well to "put their listening ears on" (sorry, but I couldn't help borrowing that Judge Judy phrase). As this seasoned Navyman and avid bass angler gladly will tell you, "I do not lose fish and am proud of this fact." Here are the details of why he's able to make this boast--it's a primer for those with jonboats who want to keep their 5-fish limit alive during tournaments.

By Tim Ackal

My livewell is rather large. It extends from one side of the boat to the other and is probably 12 inches deep. In the bottom of the livewell is a drain hole that I plug with a piece of PVC pipe, which I can pull out to drain the water when needed. This pipe also serves as an overflow--if the water rises above the top, it just drains out without my having to do anything, a feature that I like to have.

A 500-GPH pump fills my livewell with water from the lake or river in no time. I also have a 750-GPH recirculation pump. When I catch my first fish, I fill the livewell, then turn on my recirc pump and leave it on all day.

Here are some tricks that I use to keep my catch healthy throughout the fishing day:

     * I check on my fish every 20 minutes...because equipment will fail.
     * I always check the intake filter on my recirc pump for debris, which can suck up against the filter and cause the pump to slow down. I want that thing "rockin' and rollin'," so I keep an attentive ear on it at all times. I absolutely hate losing any fish.
     * If it's hot, I will drain the livewell and add fresh water from time to time--just because it is hot. I even freeze small bottles of water and will add one of those when it's really hot. Note: I never open the bottle and let the frozen water thaw and go into my livewell because chlorine in tap water can hurt your fish.
     * I always add "Please Release Me" to my livewell.

Here are some other things to consider for keeping your fish alive:

     * When you gut-hook a fish, DO NOT try to remove the hook. Fisheries biologists advise to leave it there, and the fish will get rid of it on their own.
     * Don't ever mess with the gills of a fish.
     * Don't handle your fish anymore than necessary. Don't let them flop around on the deck of your boat too much because they get stressed and lose their protective slime, which can lead to further issues.
     * When fishing soft plastics, especially Senkos, one way to avoid gut-hooking fish is to become a line watcher. Fish, especially big ones, many times will inhale a bait without your ever knowing it unless you're watching the line. Kevin Mills will tell you the same thing. I bring this matter up because we're now getting into the time of year when people fish more soft plastics...and, unfortunately, we see more gut-hooked fish.

If anyone reading this article would like to get hooked up with Tim for additional info, just email me, and I'll forward your contact info to him so he can get in touch with you. My email address is kenneth34@cox.net.

For Most, It Was a Tough Day

With high water and the fact that most bass likely have spawned, I figured today's tourney might prove to be a lesson in frustration, and it was for several. Sixteen anglers in 10 boats showed up to fish this morning, but the anglers in four of those boats didn't weigh a single fish this afternoon.

Here are the ones who "put it on" all the rest of us today:

(From left) Bob Glass and Randy Conkle claimed 1st place with five nice bass weighing a total of 13.26 lbs. Their big fish tipped the scales at 3.87 lbs. The secret to their success: Senko worms.

(From left) Eddie Sapp and Paul Celentano walked away with 2nd-place prize money with five bass weighing a total of 12.28 lbs. Their big fish weighed 3.24 lbs. I didn't hear what they credited for their winning ways, but I'm guessing it probably also was soft plastics.

Last but not least was the big-fish winner, Jim Wilder, who weighed a 4.93-lb. bass. His total weight for three fish after a 0.25 deduction for a dead fish was 6.96 lbs.





Everyone else finished as follows:

     * Al Napier, five fish, total weight 9.62 lbs., big fish 2.39 lbs.
     * The team of Steve Raynor and David Fleenor, four fish, total weight 3.95 lbs., chose not to weigh their big fish.
     * Gary Coderre, three fish, total weight 3.83 lbs., chose not to weigh his big fish.

These anglers didn't weigh any fish:

     * The team of John Matyiko and Hayden Capper.
     * The team of Al Lemieux and Noah Alford.
     * The team of Chris Fretard and Mike Miller.
     * Ken Testorff.

Those nine anglers who participated in the weigh-in caught a total of 25 bass weighing a grand total of 49.90 lbs., for an average of 1.9 lbs. per fish.

Two more individuals qualified today to fish our season-ending two-day Classic on Oct. 12-13. Those two are Al Napier and Jim Wilder.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for Saturday, June 22. Start time will be safe light (probably about 5:30). Weigh-in will be at 2 p.m.

Oh Where Would We Be Without Good Ol' Yankee Ingenuity?

That's a thought I had Wednesday while I was at West Neck Marina.

I just had come in from a day on the water and was getting ready to recover my boat when I saw a couple of young boys tow a boat trailer to the parking lot, unhitch it, then drive away. I had wondered what they were doing but figured it was none of my business, so just continued with what I was doing.

It wasn't until I had parked my boat in the shade and was preparing to clean it up that everything about that trailer the boys had left in the parking lot came into focus. A few yards down in front of me, I could see the same two boys, along with a couple others, working feverishly on another trailer. It wasn't long before all my questions were answered.

While one of the boys climbed behind the wheel of the tow vehicle, the others aligned themselves on either side of the trailer, up close to its tongue. Then, ever so gently, the boy behind the wheel started inching the trailer out from its parking space, as his friends walked along with it. I quickly discerned the trailer was listing to one side, and part of it also was dragging the ground.

As it passed where I was standing, I saw what only could be described as a fine piece of yankee ingenuity. Their problem was this: The tongue of the trailer nearly had rusted off the rest of the frame. Their solution was this: Using a few pieces of lumber and some rope, they had fashioned a support brace that allowed them to half-drag, half-tow the broken-down trailer to the ramp.

I didn't follow them there, but I feel pretty safe to say that, when they arrived, they somehow slid their ski boat into the water, unhooked what was left of the old trailer, and recovered the boat onto the newer trailer in the parking lot. What they ultimately did with the old trailer is anyone's guess, but I feel certain they didn't take it out onto the road. If so, I wouldn't have wanted to be in any of the cars following it.

I found it refreshing to see that young folks still resort to some of the tricks of their forefathers, even though they likely have found a new name for it. I chuckled a bit to myself when I figured I'd probably only get a "deer in the headlights" look if I mentioned the term "yankee ingenuity" to these boys. I know I'm showing my age--I see it every morning as I look in the mirror.

So Glad the First Two Casts Didn't Dictate My Whole Day

I had a backlash on my first cast, and the second one went straight into a tree, so I wasn't betting how the day would turn out. Fortunately, it was pretty decent.

This 2-8 was my first fish of the day. My other keepers included two that weighed 1-2, plus a 1-6, 1-11, and 1-15. I also boated five dinks. Besides the 11 bass, I caught seven white perch, one pickerel, and one striper, so I was anything but disappointed.

Eight of the bass came from West Neck. The other three came from Pocaty. I caught everything this morning on the Yo-Zuri SS Minnow in gold with black back. A Bomber Square A in firetiger accounted for everything this afternoon. I also had several fish slap at a Rage Shad bait first thing this morning, but only one of them felt a hook, and he stayed buttoned all of maybe five seconds.

For a change, the wind today was light and pleasant. I didn't have to work the trolling motor hard at all; I can't remember the last time I could make that statement.

This likely will be my lone trip this week before our next tourney on Saturday.

Lake Gaston Is Being a Bit Kinder This Trip (Knock on Wood)

As you'll probably recall, Jim Bauer's last trip to Lake Gaston was one that hit him square in the wallet when he had to replace the blown head on his Yamaha. He's back there again this week--on the property owner's dime--to see if he can't have what one legitimately could call a "vacation." It would seem that Lady Luck is smiling on him.

I had a report late last night, saying that he had gotten out a couple hours last evening. His tally for that period amounted to five bass, four of which were dinks. The one keeper weighed in at 1.2 lbs. He caught two of the five fish on a Buzzjet Jr., two on a Rage craw, and one on a French fry.

Earlier this evening, then, I got an email from Jim, along with this photo, showing his best five of 10 total bass today. These keepers weighed in at 1.12, 1.8, 1.4, 1.2 and 1.0.

He started at the mouth of Pea Hill Creek this morning and worked his way back to where he's staying, using the Rage baby craw and French fry. He also tried some topwater baits but didn't stir the first fish with them.

Jim told me he saw two big pods of fry today--one around the dock where he ties up his boat each evening. He saw a nice 2-lb. "momma" herding this bunch around. He also got to watch some bream "doing their thing" on the beds, too.

All that fishing today, coupled with getting another hour of break-in time on the Yamaha, has pretty much put Jim at parade rest tonight. He says he'll be back on the water tomorrow morning, though, looking for some more bass to put a bend in his rod.

Tight Lines! my friend.

12th Annual Cancer Classic in the Record Books

Chris Vitovich (left) really knows how to throw a party, especially when it's designed to honor the memory of his very special fishing buddy, Steve Gambill, who died of lung cancer on Jan. 7, 2001.

After 12 straight years of organizing this charity event, he has it running like a well-oiled machine. Part of his success can be attributed to the fact that he has surrounded himself with a staff of helpers who share his passion for doing everything possible to battle cancer. They all know how much they're appreciated because Chris makes a point of reminding them repeatedly. He kept thanking all of them publicly over and over this past Sunday, June 2, as he masterfully kept the day's events moving along without a single hiccup. It was a precision demonstration by a man who truly believes in what he's doing in memory of his late friend.

From that first tournament more than a decade ago, when $2,030 was raised for the American Cancer Society, the Cancer Classic has been growing by leaps and bounds. Donation totals for the past 11 years topped $109,700 at the conclusion of the 2012 event.

How the Classic Day Unfolds

 

The day's festivities at West Landing Marina, which is "Home of the Cancer Classic," get started with a fishing tournament, consisting of three separate divisions (Bass Only Division, Open Division and Junior Division). The blastoff is at 6 a.m. (or later, if waiting on acceptable light). Those who come early have access to free coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

 

There's a five-fish limit for all three divisions.

 

Weigh-in for the Bass Only Division begins at 2 p.m. Contestants in the Open Division have to be at the scales by 2:15, when the weigh-in closes. Winners in all three divisions are determined by the cumulative weight of their catch.

 

While the weighmaster totals up all the scores, everyone else makes their way to the picnic area. Here, they are treated to the sights and sounds of live music, along with a pig roast that is second to none.

 

A picnic is just the thing to wrap up an excellent fishing day. You can meet your family there, or perhaps share the complimentary food and drink with a buddy while talking about "the one that got away."

 

Whether you throw some good picnic stuff in with your tackle, or just help yourself to all the great free food under a hospitality tent, Chris says, "We hope you'll stay after weigh-in and hang out for an hour or more."

 

If the food and music aren't enough to keep you entertained, there always are other things available. A sampling this past Sunday included the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A classic 1957 Chevy parked on the grounds was drawing its share of admirers. I saw a couple of the fishing contestants drive off in the car. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There also were horse rides available for the children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concluding the day's festivities were

the awarding of trophies to the winners of the fishing tournament:

 

 

and the drawing for raffle prizes:

 

 

I would encourage anyone who hasn't been a part of one of these Steve Gambill Cancer Classics to mark your calendars and make plans now to attend the 2014 event. Here's the link to their website: http://www.daparak.com/cancerclassic.

In an email I received from Chris on 8/2/2013, he updated the Cancer Classic numbers. The final tally for the 2013 event was $14,300. The 12-year total is $124,000.

It All Started With a Big Bang...

To borrow that line from the theme song for the hit TV series Big Bang Theory is a good way to describe the way today's tournament day at West Neck Marina started.

Rob and I were in my boat shed at the marina making preparations to launch my boat at 4 a.m. this morning when, all of a sudden, we heard tires screech loudly out on the roadway, followed by a sickening thud. We both knew a car just had crashed out there. Rob turned to me and said, "I suppose I'd better go see if everyone is OK," and I agreed. Shortly after he got to the scene of the crash, he called and said the two vehicle occupants were pretty shook up and one appeared injured, so I called 9-1-1 and reported the accident. In just a few minutes, police cars with sirens and lights going were racing to the scene.

While Rob filled the police in as best he could on what had happened, I continued getting my boat ready and launched it. Moments later, while motoring slowly toward the boat basin, I saw a piece of fishing line hanging from one of the tall cypress trees along the water. It was hanging in a position that likely would have caused some problems for a boat or two if the operators hadn't seen it. They probably would have ended up having the line wrap around their props. I tried unsuccessfully to snatch the line from the tree and decided the only safe thing to do was to secure the end of the line to one of the cypress knees along the shore.

I barely had gotten into the store and had everything ready to go when the police relaxed the roadblock they had set up after the wreck, and anglers started arriving with their rigs, ready to sign in and get ready to fish. The next several minutes proved to be really hectic for me because I had 27 anglers in 18 boats waiting to pay their fees and sign up to fish today's tourney. A few minutes before 6 a.m., I was shoving everyone off for the day's fishing.

Given today's huge participation, we were able to pay three places--the first time this year that we've had that privilege (except for the first two tournaments of the season when the marina owners made bonus money available to pay two extra places). If only three more anglers had shown up, we would have been paying four places.

Walking away with the 1st-place cash today was Tim Ackal (right), who fished by himself. He brought a bag of five fish to the scales. They weighed 12.20 lbs. He elected not to check the weight of his biggest fish, instead deciding just to put all five fish in the weigh-in basket. We always leave that decision to the individual anglers.

Second place today went to this team of (l-r) Mike Miller and Chris Fretard, who are becoming regulars in the winners' circle. They, too, weighed a five-fish limit of 11.83 lbs. Their total weight would have been 12.33 lbs., but they were penalized 0.50 for two dead fish. Their big fish tipped the scales at a hefty 4.50 lbs.

The team claiming 3rd-place prize money today was Red Bruun (pictured below) and his partner, Al Napier.

Red and Al also had a sack containing five fish. Their total weight was 10.84 lbs. Meanwhile, their big fish weighed a solid 3.56 lbs.

Here is how the other participants finished today's contest:

     * Jesse Munden had five fish with a total weight of 10.51 lbs. He chose not to weigh his big fish separately.
     * The team of Paul Starcher and Shawn Thompson had five fish with a total weight of 9.80 lbs. They had 10.55 lbs. before a 0.75 penalty was assessed for three dead fish. Their big fish weighed 3.44 lbs.
     * The team of Lenny Hall and Gary Coderre had five fish with a total weight of 8.41 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.74 lbs.
     * Jim Wilder had five fish with a total weight of 8.38 lbs. His big fish weighed 2.40 lbs.
     * The team of Paul Donnelly and Harry Twiford had five fish with a total weight of 8.20 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.49 lbs.
     * The team of Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff had five fish with a total weight of 7.64 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.13 lbs.
     * The team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle had five fish with a total weight of 7.33 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.48 lbs.
     * The team of Thomas Wright and David Dozier had five fish with a total weight of 7.09 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.38 lbs.

Bryan Dear (left) had only one fish, but it weighed a nice 4.64 lbs., which was good enough to earn him the big-fish pot today.

Those who didn't weigh any fish included the following:

     * Duane Kessel
     * Wayne Hayes
     * Bobby Moore
     * Kevin Mills
     * The team of Al Lemieux and Noah Alford
                                                                  * Steve Bailey

Those 20 anglers who participated in the weigh-in accounted for a total of 56 bass weighing a grand total of 106.87 lbs., which translates into an average weight of 1.9 lbs. per fish.

Three more participants qualified today to fish our season-ending two-day Classic on Oct. 12-13 as a result of having fished four tourneys. Those folks added to the list include Duane Kessel, Noah Alford, and Steve Bailey.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for next Saturday, June 8th. Start time will be safe light (probably about 5:45 a.m.). Weigh-in will be at 2 p.m.