It Was Anybody's Tournament to Win

Just one bigger fish in nearly any one of the boats competing in today's open tournament out of West Neck Marina could have produced a different set of winners.

As it was, however, the first-place winners were the team of (from left) Ken Matthias and Jim Leavis, with a five-fish limit weighing 13.24 pounds. Their big fish, which tipped the scales at 3.78 pounds, was good enough to claim the big-fish pot. They also walked away with the day's side pot.

Taking second place was the husband-wife team of (from left) Diana and Andy Morath, with five fish weighing 11.52 pounds and a big fish that checked in at 3.52 pounds.

Following is how the rest of the cold, windblown field of eight boats and 12 anglers finished the day's competition:
     * Chris Fretard, five fish, 11.46 pounds total weight, 3.07-pound big fish.
     * The team of Gabe Himmelwright and Jim Sumrell, five fish, 10.53 pounds total weight, 2.81-pound big fish.
     * Mark Ingram, five fish, 9.46 pounds total weight, no big fish.
     * Steve Bailey, five fish, 9.29 pounds total weight, 2.86-pound big fish.
     * Bob Clarkson, five fish, 9.14 pounds total weight, 3.60-pound big fish.
     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff, five fish, 9.02 pounds total weight, no big fish.

My sincere thanks go to Skip Schaible for taking care of photographic duties today, seein' as how yours truly forgot to grab his camera before leaving the house this morning. I also wish to express my thanks to Jimmy Vaughan for ensuring we had electric power this morning. For those who aren't aware, he's in the midst of a dramatic remodel of the West Neck Marina Store, now that finishing touches are in progress on the house that sits next door.