Only Little Over 2 Pounds Separate Top 3 Places

The 19 anglers in 11 boats we had on hand for today's contest was about 50 percent more than I really expected, considering I knew of at least three other tourneys taking place, but that's a good thing.

Those competitors who walked away this afternoon with a winning smile were as follows:

1st Place, the team of (from left) Wayne Hayes and Al Napier, five bass, 12.35 lbs. total weight. The same team also took home the day's lunker pot with a bass weighing 4.18 lbs.

2nd Place, the team of  (from left) Zach Rhodes and Jack Rhodes, five bass, 11.19 lbs. total weight, 3.89-lb. big fish.

3rd Place, Mike Evans, five bass, 10.08 lbs. total weight, no big fish.

And capturing today's Mystery Weight was the team of (from left) Randy Conkle and Bob Glass. Their three-fish total weight of 4.77 lbs. came closest to the 2.45 tab that was drawn. Their big fish weighed 2.55 lbs.






Here is how all the other competitors finished the day:

     * Steve Bailey, five fish, 9.55 lbs. total weight, 3.97-lb. big fish.
     * The team of Paul Celentano and Hal Scott, five fish, 9.35 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Skip Schaible and Mitch Portervint, five fish, 9.19 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Duane Kessel and Bobby Moore, five fish, 8.24 lbs. total weight, 2.01-lb. big fish.
     * Ken Testorff, five fish, 8.23 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Lenny Hall and Gary Coderre, five fish, 8.09 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, five fish, 7.43 lbs. total weight, no big fish.

Overall, today's anglers weighed a total of 53 bass for a total weight of 98.47 lbs. The average weight was 1.85 lbs.

One more name was added to the list of those anglers now qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic, bringing the total to 18.

Congrats to all of the winners and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next event is scheduled for Saturday, June 25, from safe light (about 5:15 or 5:30) to a 2 p.m. weigh-in.

My day started with a couple of nice crappie (one of 'em likely better than a pound) and a bowfin, along with a string of missed strikes on my new I'll-never-tell bait (INT). It wasn't until I eventually tied a Pop R onto another rod that I finally tamed some of those missed strikes. And for most of the morning, I used the INT bait more as a search bait. I'd throw it until one blew up on it but missed, then toss my Pop R into the same spot and catch a fish.

About noon, the fish started getting enough of the INT bait I could set the hook on 'em with that, so I put down the Pop R and never looked back. I ended the day's pursuits with only eight bass total but feel like I can improve on that number once I get my timing fixed on those missed strikes. In the meantime, I'm just happy to finally be bringing more than a couple fish aboard on my outings. It's funny how fast all those frustrations start fading when you start having a few good days on the water.