And the Rains Came...and Kept Coming

Also throw in a good measure of wind, and you have the conditions that greeted the 17 anglers in 11 boats who showed up to fish today's third tourney of the 2016 series.

Those who walked away with pay envelopes from today's soggy event included the following:

1st Place, the team of (from left) Al and Chris Napier. They had five fish for a total weight of 15.98 lbs. A 4.29-lb. bass anchored their limit.

2nd Place, the team of (from left) Paul Celentano and Hal Scott. They, too, had five fish for a total weight of 14.74 lbs., including a kicker that tipped the scales at 5.28 lbs.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Randy Conkle and Bob Glass. Their five-fish limit weighed a total of 12.19 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.71 lbs.

Walking away with today's lunker award was Jim Wilder, who had this bass weighing 5.32 lbs. His five-fish total weight, after a 0.25 deduction for one dead fish, was 11.30 lbs.

The event's mystery-weight winners were the husband-wife team of Nathan (not pictured) and Marjorie Gottsch. They had a total weight of 5.85 lbs., which matched the weight drawn. Their day's big fish weighed 3.30 lbs.







Here is how everyone else finished the rain-soaked day:
     * Gary Coderre, five bass, 10.22 lbs. total weight, with a 3.25-lb. big fish.
     * Steve Bailey, five fish, 9.65 lbs. total weight, with a 3.45-lb. big fish.
     * The team of Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff, four fish, 5.63 lbs. total weight, with no big fish.
     * The team of Alexander Garman and Brock Bittner, one fish, 1.49 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Duane Kessel reportedly had three bass but decided not to weigh them.
     * Luke Cooper had four fish that weighed 6.51 lbs. but was disqualified for returning late to the boat basin.

My congrats go to all the winners, along with a vote of thanks to everyone who participated. Hope to see everyone again next Saturday, when we once again match wits with those wily bass. Start time will be sometime between 6:15 and 6:30, with weigh-in at 2:30.

Suffice it to say that, if you polish your fiberglass boat with Bass Boat Saver, you need to be extra careful on a wet day like we had today. We had one participant who learned that lesson first-hand. Fortunately, he didn't incur any injuries, and his time in the water was limited by the fact his partner has an emergency step mounted on his transom. The wet angler was returned to the dock post-haste, so he could get home to change clothes, enjoy a nice lunch, and eventually return to the tournament site for our weigh-in.

This event was eerily similar to another one I read about online. In that case, an angler's buddy had hung his crankbait in a tree...6 feet straight down. He was reaching over the side trying to free the bait when he, too, learned how slick Bass Boat Saver can be.

In the words of the non-victim, "He slid right over, then I grabbed him and got him around the back of the boat to the ladder. Water was about 50, and the air temp might not have been that high. All the wet clothes made him heavy, but with a ladder and everything he could muster, plus me pulling on him, we finally managed to get him in the boat."

It seems the victim's only concern at that point was about his rod and reel. He asked his friend if he had saved it, to which the friend replied, "Nope. I saved you instead."

There was a funny ending to that story, but it turned out to be three years in the making. It was almost three years to the day when the friend was fishing the same lake and, given the low water level that particular day, spotted the rig. He subsequently got out on the bank and reclaimed the rod and reel, then took it back to the fella a few days later. The rod was shot, but as offered the friend, "He may be able to clean up the reel."

The victim of yesterday's overboard situation also lost a rod and reel in the evolution. I have to wonder if, somewhere down the road, his partner also may find the missing rig.