A Classic Reminiscent of Days of Yore

I only can speak for myself, but this year's Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Classic gave me the same feeling I used to get when Dewey was running things. Despite today's wind and what some found to be tough fishing, everyone seemed to have a good time, and the cookout following today's finale definitely would have made my late friend proud. Marina manager Steve Winfree gets my pat on the back for putting on an excellent spread for all of us. I also must thank the anonymous person who footed the bill for everything. For me, it was the perfect ending to another successful tourney season, and I feel pretty sure all 22 other Classic competitors in a total of 14 boats would agree with me.

Here are the anglers who walked away with money envelopes today for their two-day totals:

1st Place, Chris Napier, 10 bass, 29.63 lbs. total weight, 4.11-lb. big fish.

2nd Place, (from left) the team of Al Napier and Allen Napier, 10 bass, 20.08 lbs. total weight, 2.58-lb. big fish. Al also won the 2015 seasonal lunker pot with a 4.72-lb. bass he caught during our April 11th tourney.

3rd Place, (from left) the team of Sid Ryan and Paul Celentano, 10 bass, 19.62 lbs. total weight, 3.32-lb. big fish.

4th Place, (from left) the team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, 7 bass, 18.86 lbs. total weight. They also had a 4.23-lb. big fish, which earned them bragging rights as winner of the Classic's big-fish pot. This duo further won 2015 Anglers of the Year honors.

Winner of the Classic mystery-weight drawing is Duane Kessel. His total weight for the two days was 6.96 lbs. That number was closest to the 7.70-lb. tag that was drawn. His big fish for the tournament weighed 2.95 lbs.







Here is how all the other contestants finished the day:

     * The team of Rob Peppers and Don Carter, 10 bass, 18.05 lbs. total weight, 3.72-lb. big fish.
     * Wayne Hayes, 9 bass, 15.97 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall, 8 bass, 14.28 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Jim Wilder and Chris Vitovich, 5 bass, 9.03 lbs. total weight, 3.64-lb. big fish.
     * The team of Skip Schaible and Mitch Portervint, 4 bass, 4.97 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff, 4 bass, 4.78 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Jim Bauer (who fished only one day), 2 bass, 3.65 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Marjorie and Nathan Gottsch, 1 bass, 1.35 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Bobby Moore only fished part of Day 1 and no part of Day 2 as the result of family issues.

Overall, these anglers weighed a total of 84 bass during the two days for a total weight of 167.23 lbs. total weight. The average weight was 1.99 lbs.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who came out and supported this year's series.

This year's Classic wasn't without some amusing moments, not the least of which was the fact my partner, Rob, and I spent both days dodging huge numbers of birds that kept flying overhead and darting around us on the boat. While we managed to escape without any "souvenirs" from Day 1, the same couldn't be said about Day 2.

Rob, as well as my boat seat and outboard cover took some direct hits today. It happened purely by accident, but Rob's hat subsequently got cleaned up when one of today's strong wind gusts tossed his hat into West Neck Creek. He recovered the hat without any further incidents.

The other funny thing I'm talking about occurred shortly after friends and fellow competitors Skip Schaible and Mitch Portervint had happened by our location in West Neck Creek. The four of us had spent a few moments bemoaning the fact we couldn't seem to find any protection from all the wind and cool temperatures, then we proceeded on our respective ways.

Moments later, while we all still were within easy earshot of one another, Rob and I heard Skip utter a couple of expletives, then sink to his knees, picking up something from the floor of his boat.

Turns out that while Skip had been searching for a crankbait, the wind had seen fit to catch the lid of his storage compartment and slam it into the box full of crankbaits, sending them flying everywhere. The photo at right gives you an idea of the kind of mess he still was dealing with as we trolled off in the opposite direction.

As skip explained to me a little later, during our cookout, hooks on a couple of the lures had gotten hooked into his cotton glove and one pant leg. "Gotta love that wind!" he lamented.

So if you happen to run into Skip sometime during the next one or two days and find him a little "cranky," you'll know why he's that way. Just tell him you read about it on my blog.

As we parted company today, Skip said he always knew he was gonna get paid back one of these days for all the grief he's always facetiously heaping upon me. In all honesty, Skip is one of the nicest friends a person ever could have, and I always enjoy hearing from him.