Tell a fisherman that he/she is apt to get wet if they go fishing, and they will flock to the water like a band of mosquitoes. Take today's Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney for example.
Despite all the predictions we had heard for days, 22 anglers in 15 boats showed up for this morning's blastoff. And as I learned this afternoon, about four or more anglers showed up this morning for the tourney after all of us had shoved off for our honey holes.
And as for those anglers who fished today, they, for the most part, were generously rewarded for their efforts. Collectively, we boated 65 bass, for a grand total of 143.14 pounds, which translates into an average weight of 2.20 pounds per fish and 9.54 pounds per boat.
Here are the folks who finished in the money today:
(From left) Rob Peppers and Don Carter claimed 1st place with five fish weighing 17.40 pounds, anchored by a 5.09-pound bass, which garnered them the day's lunker prize.
(From left) Dave Anderson and Ken Testorff finished in 2nd place with five fish weighing 16.92 pounds. Their kicker fish was a 5.06-pound bass.
(From left) Steve Bailey and Bobby Moore secured 3rd place with a five-fish limit weighing 13.67 pounds. Their big fish tipped the scales at 3.58 pounds.
Zack Rhodes claimed 4th place with a five-fish limit weighing 11.62 pounds (after a 0.25 deduction for one dead fish). He didn't weigh a big fish.
Winner of the mystery-weight award was Nathan Gottsch. He had two fish weighing 3.17 pounds, which was closest to the weight drawn: 2.95 pounds. He didn't have a big fish.
Here is how everyone else finished the competition:
* Stan Krason, five fish, total weight 11.55 pounds, 3.17-pound big fish.
* Chris Napier, five fish, total weight 10.80 pounds, no big fish.
* Gary Coderre, five fish, total weight 10.50 pounds (after 0.25 deduction for one dead fish), 4.82-pound big fish.
* Skip Schaible, five fish, total weight 9.45 pounds, 3.00-pound big fish.
* Wayne Hayes and Mike White, five fish, total weight 8.57 pounds, 2.55-pound big fish.
* Andy and Diana Morath, five fish, total weight 8.55 pounds, no big fish.
* Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, five fish, total weight 7.82 pounds (after 0.25 deduction for one dead fish), no big fish.
* Rusty Girard, five fish, total weight 7.16 pounds (after 0.25 deduction for one dead fish), no big fish.
* Jim Crist and Eric Killian, three fish, total weight 5.96 pounds, no big fish.
* J. P. Twohig didn't weigh any fish.
Congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. Let me also express my gratitude to all those who helped orchestrate today's event.
For planning purposes, our next scheduled event is next Saturday, May 18. Tournament hours will be safe light (about 5:45 or 6 o'clock) to weigh-in at 2 p.m. Hope you can join us.
I felt certain I would get wet before today's tournament weigh-in results were recorded, and while I ultimately did get wet, it was my own fault. As usual, I got involved in conversations with some of my friends afterwards, and before I realized it, raindrops were falling on my head.
I hustled around and quickly had my boat parked in its storage shed and was headed home for a much-needed shower.
As "Dynamo" Dave and I learned today, it sometimes does help to pre-fish some areas before a tournament. We went on a scouting expedition this past Tuesday, and then returned to those areas today. To our delight, quality fish were still hanging around. In looking back at how today turned out, I'm convinced part of our success can be chalked up to the fact we didn't wear the fish out last Tuesday. Instead, we moved on to a new spot after catching only a couple of fish at each site. If we had sat there and tried to give all the fish a sore jaw, I feel certain today would have turned out much differently.
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