For Most, It Was the "Best of the Best" Competition...

For others, though, it was a moment marked by an Epiphany of sorts--realizing we were playing "out of our league." That's the way I see our 2017 Classic, which concluded yesterday with a traditional cookout at West Neck Marina, paid for by our anonymous benefactor and served courtesy of Steve Winfree and staff.

For the benefit of all those who can't read my mind (which I hope includes everyone), when I refer to the "best of the best," I include anglers who either single-handedly, or as a member of a team, demonstrated their prowess with a stick in their hand by finishing in place money at least once during the course of the regular season. For the record, the only Classic angler who didn't achieve that mark was yours truly, and if I don't turn things around next year, I very well may be watching our Classic from the sidelines. That's because I'm considering a change to our rules for 2018 that would require anyone fishing the Classic to have had at least one place finish, in addition to fishing a minimum of seven qualifying tournaments. Won't make my final decision on that matter, though, for a few months.

That being said, this year's season-ending event was a bit different from most, in that we were forced, because of low-water conditions on Saturday, Oct. 14, to move our Day 1 launch and weigh-in to Pungo Ferry. Thanks to a shift in wind directions overnight Saturday, however, we were able to start and finish Day 2 at West Neck.

Those laying claim to Classic payouts yesterday afternoon included the following:

(From left) Wayne Hayes and Al Napier, 1st place, with a five-fish limit both days, resulting in a record-setting two-day total of 32.69 lbs. Their big fish, a 5.19-pounder, which came on Day 1, earned them the tournament's lunker award. They also walked away with the seasonal lunker award for a 6.82-pounder they caught back on July 22.

(From left) Rob Peppers and Don Carter, 2nd place, with a five-fish limit both days, resulting in a two-day total of 25.25 lbs. Their big fish, a 4.63-pounder, which also came on Day 1, proved to be a tie-breaker.

(From left) Gary Coderre and Andy Morath, 3rd place, with a five-fish limit both days, resulting in another two-day total of 25.25 lbs. Their tournament big fish, a 4.07-pounder, came on Day 2.

Skip Schaible unfortunately was saddled with yours truly as his team partner and ended up with the mystery-weight award. Our two-day total for only four keeper fish was 4.70 lbs., which was closest to the drawn weight of 3.25 lbs. To his credit, Skip opened our 2017 season on March 18, with a 1st-place win. Hmmm...guess that means he only fell from "place," not "grace," by having me as his partner. Only jokin', my friend. I truly look forward to all your friendly "digs."




Here is how everyone else lined up at the conclusion of two very misty days on the water:

     * The team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, with a five-fish limit both days, resulting in a two-day total of 22.80 lbs.
     * The team of Duane Kessel and Bobby Moore, with a five-fish limit both days, resulting in a two-day total of 22.15 lbs.
     * The team of Steve Bailey and Mitch Portervint, with a five-fish limit both days, resulting in a two-day total of 18.27 lbs.
     * The team of Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, with a five-fish limit on Day 1 but nothing to weigh on Day 2, resulting in a two-day total of 11.46 lbs. It should be noted that something came up Saturday night, which prevented Mike from joining his partner for Day 2.

Overall, Classic anglers posted a grand total of 69 keeper fish, with a combined weight of 162.57 lbs. The average weight was 2.35 lbs. per fish.

My heartiest congratulations to all the winners, and sincere thanks to everyone who participated throughout the tournament year. And while I'm passing out thanks, let me also express my sincere appreciation to those fellow anglers who contributed to the gift I was presented at yesterday's festivities. You're all the best. Here's hoping everyone comes back next year.

As Skip and I were talking yesterday evening, while I removed my gear from his boat, we came to the realization that we feel pretty much the same way at the end of this tournament year. That realization is, as I've already stated, that we're fishing "out of our league." We both still enjoy bass fishing, in general, and we enjoy the camaraderie with fellow anglers, but just to continue mindlessly contributing to tournament payouts isn't very smart.

Accordingly, both of us are of the mindset that we're probably going to fish at least seven events in 2018, maybe more, depending on how things go. And we may participate in the Classic, provided we feel we actually can "compete."

Whether I fish or not, there will be no change in my involvement with tournament-director duties. I still will organize and launch all the events, and I'll take care of the weigh-ins. At the same time, I'm guessing that Skip likely will continue being seen around all the events but, in some cases, only as a spectator.