Ever Wonder How a Lobster Feels in That Pot of Boiling Water?

Well, wonder no more if you are one of the 21 anglers in 13 boats who fished today's tourney in those scalding temps. Suffice it to say we all were "well done"  by the end of eight hours on the water, when we weighed in our 56 bass for a combined total weight of 117.57 lbs. and an average weight of 2.09 lbs. per fish.

Here are the anglers who took home a pay envelope at day's end:

Capturing 1st place was this team of (from left) Wayne Hayes and Al Napier, who brought a five-fish limit to the scales, weighing 17.58 lbs. Wayne also had the day's lunker, with a bass that tipped the scales at 6.82 lbs. 'Twould appear that Wayne has this "big bass thing" figured out. In case you haven't heard, he just recently took Region 7's Lunker of the Year honors for 2017 with a 7.80-lb. bass he pulled from the waters of Kerr Reservoir earlier this year. Bravo Zulu!

Claiming 2nd place was this team of (from left) Nelson Anderson and David Dozier, who also had a limit. Their five fish weighed in at 15.37 lbs., anchored by a bass weighing 4.64 lbs.

Finishing in 3rd place was this team of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers. Their five-fish limit weighed 11.43 lbs. They had no big fish.

Today's mystery-weight prize went to Gary Coderre, who made his first appearance since having knee surgery here a few weeks ago. He weighed four bass (no big fish), with a total weight of 5.94 lbs., which was closest to the drawn weight of 6.15 lbs.






Here is how everyone else finished the competition:

     * The team of Andy Morath and Diana Mendez, five bass, 11.17 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, five bass, 9.52 lbs. total weight, 3.79-lb. big bass.
     * Jim Wilder, five bass, 9.04 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Duane Kessel, three bass, 8.60 lbs. total weight, 5.17-lb. big bass.
     * Zack Rhodes, five bass, 8.03 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Bruce Taylor and John Harmon, five bass, 6.58 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Paul Celentano and Paul Higgins, five bass, 6.47 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Randy Conkle and Bob Glass, two bass, 4.94 lbs. total weight, 4.13-lb. big bass.
     * Ken Testorff, two bass, 2.90 lbs. total weight, no big fish.

Three more anglers joined the ranks of those now eligible to fish our season-ending two-day Classic in October.

Congrats to all of the winners, and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. I have to admit I was a little surprised at how many turned out for today's event, given the weather conditions. For planning purposes, our next event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, from safe light to approximately 2 p.m. I hope you can join us.

It has taken me a long while, but I've finally figured out it's smarter just to lock my boat up after a tournament, then go back two or three days later when I'm well rested to clean up everything. Today marked the third tournament in a row in which I've applied that mindset, and I can't tell you what a difference it has made in the way I feel when I get home. Not spending that extra hour or hour and a half wiping the boat down from stem to stern allows me a chance to jump on these tournament blog posts with a lot more enthusiasm than I ever had before. Just wish I would have gotten smarter a little faster.

Now all I have to do is figure out a way to start putting some quality fish in the boat on tournament days. I'm not sold on the idea that ever will be anything more than a pipe dream, but alas, I haven't given up yet. I've always been a believer in that saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way." That's my motivation to keep trying.