Blowin' in the Wind--It's a Lot More Than a '60s Tune by Bob Dylan

Don't take my word for it. Just ask any or all of the 22 anglers who participated in today's Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tournament out of West Neck Marina. Those 20-knot sustained winds and gusts that felt all of 35 or 40 knots made for one tough fishing day. Nevertheless, all but three of the 14 tournament boats weighed fish, and two of those boats suffered casualties.

At day's end, the tournament field brought a total of 47 bass to the scales, for a combined weight of 92.97 pounds, which translates into an average weight of  1.97 pounds per fish.

Here are the anglers who walked away with a payday:

1st Place, Andy Morath, limit of five fish, total weight 15.65 pounds, and a big fish weighing 4.05 pounds. Andy also claimed 60 percent of the Side Pot.

2nd Place, Kevin Mills, limit of five fish, total weight 12.90 pounds, and a big fish weighing 5.54 pounds, which also garnered him the day's Big Fish honors. He further was the recipient of 40 percent of the Side Pot.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Rob Peppers and Don Carter, limit of five fish, total weight 12.12 pounds, and a big fish weighing 3.12 pounds.

4th Place, (from right) Eddie Sapp, as presented by the tournament director, Wayne Hayes (left), limit of five fish, total weight 9.13 pounds, and a big fish weighing 2.89 pounds.

Here is how everyone else lined up after the weigh-in:

     * Mark Ingram, limit of five fish, total weight 8.48 pounds, and a big fish weighing 2.63 pounds.
     * The brothers team of Allen and Chris Napier, limit of five fish, total weight 7.46 pounds, and a big fish weighing 1.85 pounds.
     * The team of Dennis Dean and Steve Bailey, limit of five fish, total weight 7.37 pounds, and a big fish weighing 1.82 pounds.
     * The team of Dave Anderson and Gary Coderre, limit of five fish, total weight 7.30 pounds, and a big fish weighing 2.01 pounds.
     * The team of Ken Mathers and Jim Leavis, three fish, total weight 6.85 pounds, and a big fish weighing 3.91 pounds.
     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken T., four fish, total weight 5.71 pounds, no big fish.
     * Chris Fretard, Bob Clarkson, and the teams of Craig Jones and Rob Chatham, and Jim Calhoun and Gabe Himmelwright didn't weigh any fish. Both Clarkson and the Calhoun - Himmelwright team suffered boat casualties today.

Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. Special thanks also go to Andy Morath who went and towed the boat with Calhoun and Himmelwright aboard back to the dock at day's end.

For planning purposes, our next event is scheduled for Sunday, April 3, from safe light (about 0630) to weigh-in at 1430. We hope you can join us.

One Last Cast

Angler Gabe Himmelwright is fast becoming our roving photographer. He seems to have a knack for catching fellow competitors without any knowledge on their part that they are in the viewfinder of his smart-phone camera. In this photo, he has captured what appears to be competitor Mark Ingram as we all were making our way out the channel from the marina store for blastoff this morning.

Gabe and his partner, Jim, had the unfortunate luck to experience outboard problems as they tried to crank up and head back for weigh-in. Their outboard simply wouldn't fire, and so Andy Morath volunteered to go get them.

Accordingly, the tournament director had no option but to disqualify them for not making the 3 p.m. deadline. That's a tough reality for anyone who has a nice bag of fish "cooling" in their livewell.

I still remember one of our Classic contests from the distant past when I failed to make it back for Day 2 weigh-in...simply because I had a brain f**t and forgot what time weigh-in was scheduled for. Can't remember ever feeling so stupid...before or since.

Here's wishing Gabe and Jim best wishes for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Current Overall Statistics