Talk About Being in a Feeding Mood

I didn't hear a single grumpy comment from the 13 anglers in 7 boats who fished today's tournament, despite the fact their day began with some strong winds. At blastoff, the trees were swaying in a breeze that was running about 19 mph, with gusts to more than 30.

The anglers adjusted their game accordingly, and everyone brought five-fish limits to the scales. The overall weight of their 35 bass totaled 103.48 lbs., which translated into an average weight of 2.95 lbs. per fish. (Note: By comparison, Bob's top 7 tournament places today weighed a total of 97 lbs., so there were lots of nice fish caught everywhere. Makes me wonder if maybe there's something to those Astro Tables after all. They show June 22, 23 and 24 as "excellent" fishing days, with values at 93, 99 and 89, respectively.)

Walking away with all the marbles were the following two teams:

(From left) Mike Miller and Chris Fretard, 1st place, 18.40 lbs. total weight, 4.85-lb. big bass.

(From left) Duane Kessel and Bobby Moore, 2nd place, 17.77 lbs. total weight, 5.35-lb. big bass, which captured the day's lunker prize.

Mystery-weight winner was Jim Wilder, who had a sack weighing 9.79 lbs. That weight came closest to the drawn weight of 3.75 lbs.








Here is how everyone else finished the day's compeition:

     * Chris Napier and Al Napier, 17.47 lbs. total weight, 4.90-lb. big bass.
     * Randy Conkle and Bob Glass, 16.73 lbs. total weight, 3.78-lb. big bass.
     * Rob Peppers and Don Carter, 12.46 lbs. total weight, 3.76-lb. big bass.
     * Andy Morath and Diana Mendez, 10.86 lbs. total weight, 3.35-lb. big bass.

Duane Kessel is the 7th competitor to join the list of those eligible to participate in the two-day, season-ending Classic as the result of today's tournament.

Congrats to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who joined us. For planning purposes, our next scheduled event is Saturday, July 8, from safe light to 2 p.m. Look forward to seeing you.

I've always had bad timing for one reason or another, and today marked yet another such occasion. Because of the predicted strong winds, I had decided I was going to take the day off. Boy! Did I ever make a mistake!

I can't remember the last time I saw so many 3-plus-lb. bass coming to the scales for weigh-in. Those fish weren't just in a feeding mood...they evidently were starved. And the best part of all is that they really didn't seem to mind what you were throwing at 'em. I heard several different baits mentioned. It truly was the kind of day that takes a lot of the sting out of all those occasions when the only thing that seemingly would work is a stick of dynamite.

It also was the kind of day that would have put a big ol' smile on Dewey's face. He always enjoyed seeing the guys have a banner day, and today certainly was that.