Bigger Turnout Than We've Had in Awhile

The moisture in the air this morning was nearly thick enough to cut with a knife, but that didn't stop 22 anglers in 13 boats from showing up for another tournament in the Dewey Mullins Memorial Series. These anglers brought a total of 58 bass to the scales, with a total weight of 120.39 pounds, and an average weight per fish of 2.07 pounds.

Claiming the day's top honors was the familiar duo of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers. They weighed a five-fish first-place limit that tipped the scales at 15.06 pounds. They also took big-fish honors with a 5.49-pound bass, in addition to winning 70 percent of the side pot.

Finishing in second place today, also with a five-fish limit, was the team of (from left) J. P. Twohig and Bobby Moore. Their big fish weighed 4.24 pounds, and they further laid claim to 30 percent of the side pot.

In third place, again with a five-fish limit, was the team of (from left) Dennis Dean and Steve Bailey. Their big fish weighed 3.85 pounds.

And completing the list of winners, in fourth place, was the team of (from left) Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff. They, too, had a five-fish limit, and their big fish weighed 3.72 pounds.

Here is the line-up for the remainder of participants:
     * Heath Parker, five-fish limit, total weight 10.86 pounds, no big fish.
     * The team of Gary Coderre and Alan Napier, five-fish limit, total weight 10.53 pounds, no big fish.
     * Mark Ingram, five-fish limit, total weight 10.31 pounds, 4.35-pound big bass.
     * Jim Calhoun, five-fish limit, total weight 9.32 pounds, no big fish.
     * The husband-wife team of Andy and Diana Morath, five-fish limit, total weight 9.15 pounds, no big fish.
     * The team of James Leavis and Ken Matthias, five-fish limit, total weight 8.28 pounds, no big fish.
     * Ryan Land, four fish, total weight 6.17 pounds, no big fish.
     * The team of Rob Chatham and Greg Jones, four fish, total weight 5.93 pounds, 2.52-pound big bass.
     * The team of Gabe Himmelwright and Fisher Bryan didn't weigh any fish.

Congratulations to all of today's winners and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next Dewey Mullins Memorial Series tournament is next Sunday, May 7th. As usual, we will shove off at safe light. The tournament director will announce weigh-in time before we leave the boat basin. Hope you can make it.

One Last Cast
When you're fishing as a team, it doesn't matter who catches the fish. The goal simply is to put five fish in the boat. There's always a certain degree of coordination, as you would expect, but occasionally, things simply happen on the fly. Wayne and I had one of those moments today.

The situation began when I accidentally...but not infrequently...sent my spinnerbait over a small tree limb about 4 or 5 feet off the water. The bait then quickly fell straight down into the water, and as I started reeling it up, a fish tried to snatch it just as it broke the surface.

I knew Wayne was throwing a worm at the moment and asked him if he wanted to make a quick follow-up cast to the spot where the fish had showed itself. He immediately dropped his Senko in exactly the right spot, and the fish just as quickly grabbed it and took off.

Turned out that fish was our best one of the limit we weighed in this afternoon.

That's the beauty of having a partner in the boat, in addition to having someone with a net ready to scoop all the fish your partner catches, and last but not least, swap fishin' stories and collectively weigh strategies. As my partner always says, "It's all good." Indeed, it is.

Current Overall Statistics

Click anywhere on this chart for an enlargement.