Gunshots, Raindrops and Good Food

That could describe our 2020 annual season-ending tournament Oct. 10 and 11, which involved 24 anglers in 14 boats vying for the biggest payouts of the year. This group brought a two-day grand total of 118 bass to the scales, weighing a combined 227.83 lbs., for an average weight per fish of 1.93 lbs. and an average weight per boat of 16.27 lbs.

Just to prevent any mistaken notions of the "gunshots" I referenced in my title, I'm referring to the fact this weekend began waterfowl hunting season, and the hunters...and their decoys...were in abundance in a lot of places anglers ventured.

That being said, those who walked away from the event with a pay envelope in their pocket included the following:

1st Place, the team of (from left) Fred Crawford and Gabe Himmelwright, 10 bass weighing 28.13 lbs., and a big fish weighing 5.62 lbs.

2nd Place, the team of (from left) Allen Napier and Chris Napier, 10 bass weighing 23.84 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.80 lbs.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, 10 bass weighing 23.34 lbs., and a big fish weighing 5.70 lbs., which also earned them the tournament's Lunker Award.

4th Place, the team of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers, 10 bass weighing 19.63 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.33 lbs.

Going home with the annual Seasonal Lunker Award was the husband-wife team of Andy and Diana Morath, who, this weekend, had 10 bass weighing 19.08 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.10 lbs. They caught their 6.93-lb. seasonal lunker back on Aug. 8.

Here is how everyone else finished the contest:

     * Bobby Moore, 10 bass weighing 17.54 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.02 lbs.

     * Jim Wilder, 10 bass weighing 17.40 lbs., and a big fish weighing 5.31 lbs.

     * The team of Gary Coderre and Dave Anderson, 7 bass weighing 16.78 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.29 lbs.

     * The team of Eddie Sapp and Steve Bailey, 10 bass weighing 16.05 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.70 lbs.

     * James Calhoun, 9 bass weighing 12.95 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.88 lbs.

     * Rusty Girard, 6 bass weighing 12.23 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.26 lbs.

     * The team of Mark Ingram and Ken Testorff, 9 bass weighing 11.83 lbs., and a big fish weighing 1.98 lbs.

     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Eric Killian, 7 bass weighing 9.03 lbs., and no big fish.

     * The team of David Dozier and Richard Hall didn't weigh any fish on Day 1, and they didn't fish on Day 2.

Congratulations to all of the winners throughout this year, and a big "thank you" to everyone who participated in our tournaments.

At this time, let me also honor some more folks for all their hard work, which made this adventure a success.

First, I want to say "thanks" to Wayne Hayes (left), who stepped up and assumed the duties of tournament director this year. He was assisted by Rob Peppers (a member, as pictured above, of the 4th place team this weekend).

Let me also thank Leslie Schaible (right), who served as official score-keeper for our tournaments again this year. For her invaluable services, Wayne presented her a little memento today.

Further, I must thank Steve Winfree (left), who, along with an assistant, prepared all the food for today's annual cookout.

And last, but certainly not least, I must offer the sincere thanks of all of us to David Winfree (right), who, year after year, allows us the use of his West Neck Marina property to hold our tournaments. He has been "Rock Solid" (if you'll forgive the pun) in his support of our efforts to find some relief from the frustrations of life by spending quality time on the water. To David, his wife, Teresa, and all the others, our hats are off. Thank you for providing the playground we get to use, chasing those "little green fish." 

One Last Cast

I'm devoting this season-closeout column to the gentleman and friend who allowed me to fish with him these last two days. I'm talking about Mark Ingram (left).

This guy is a real gentleman in every respect. For example, at one point today, we were fishing in the vicinity of some folks' personal dock, when a lady got her rig hung on the bottom. My partner easily could have gone on by, without paying her no nevermind, but not Mark. He offered a pleasant greeting and asked if he could help get her rig unstuck. She heartily accepted, and in no time, Mark had returned the rod and reel to her so she could continue her pursuit of a "fish dinner," to use her own words.

Furthermore, throughout the course of our two days on the water, Mark extended me a hand to get up from my seat each time we stopped to begin fishing a new area. His Skeeter seats are much lower than the ones in my Skeeter, and they thus were difficult for me to negotiate on my own. The most important point to this situation is that Mark performed the courtesy each time without my ever asking. For that, I was and am indeed grateful.

But Mark's calm and helpful demeanor isn't the only thing that garnered my attention over the last two days. For example, I quickly picked up on the fact he's a darn good "stick." He can pitch, flip and skip lures effortlessly, and his accuracy is second to none. To put it simply, I was awed by some of the places he put his lures--not just once, but also on succeeding follow-up casts with soft plastics when a fish had missed something like a topwater lure. I was awed even more by his ability to cast extremely long distances with the same accuracy as short pitches.

He also has nearly fail-safe control of a trick for dislodging hung lures. He takes the line in one hand, while pointing the rod tip toward the water and allowing it to slide down the length of line to bang into the snagged hook and free it, while simultaneously pulling on the line. His success ratio easily is 95 percent or greater. This guy needs no lure knocker--I assure you.

Beyond any doubt, Mark is an angler others would do well to emulate. I thoroughly enjoyed myself this weekend and hope that we may be able to team up again somewhere down the road. In every respect, he's "da man."