Bothered by the Wind and Game Wardens, Bewildered by the Bass, We Still Rose to the Challenge and Caught Limits Today

Good on everyone! is how I would characterize today's tournament, given the fact that all anglers who fished the full day weighed limits of fish, with nary a single dead specimen to be found among the 50 bass brought to the weigh-in scales. And just for the record, those 50 bass, caught by 17 anglers in 10 boats, had an accumulative total weight of 121.27 pounds, with an average weight per fish of 2.42 pounds.

Leading the way today was the team of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers, who captured 1st place (and the bigger of two side pots) with a total of 15.99 pounds. Their big fish tipped the scales at 4.81 pounds.

Claiming 2nd place (and the smaller of two side pots) was Mark Ingram (right), who finished the day with a total of 14.76 pounds. Incidentally, he also walked away with the tournament's big-fish pot for his 6.86-pounder.

Finishing in 3rd place today was the team of (from left) Richard Hall and Dave Dozier, who brought 14.54 pounds to the scales. They didn't weigh a big fish.

Here is how the rest of the field lined up after all the fish had been weighed and released alive:

     * The team of Jim Sumrell and Gabe Himmelwright had 13.77 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 5.76 pounds.

     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff had 13.12 pounds. They didn't weigh a kicker fish.

     * The husband-wife team of Andy and Diana Morath had 10.98 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 4.66 pounds.

     * The team of Gary Coderre and Dave Anderson had 10.29 pounds. They didn't weigh a kicker fish.

     * The team of Ken Matthias and Jim Leavis had 10.17 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 3.40 pounds.

     * Chris Fretard had 9.23 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 2.46 pounds.

     * Ryan Land had 8.42 pounds. He didn't weigh a kicker fish.

     * Bob Clarkson wrapped up his gear early and called it a day.

Congrats to all of today's winners, and thanks to all those who came out for the competition. For planning purposes, our next scheduled Dewey's tournament is Saturday, June 8th. Watch your email and this blog for times and other details to be published at a later date.

Incidentally, please let me clarify that I didn't really mean to imply that the two game wardens really "bothered" any of us today. They were friendly, professional and expeditious in every way as they went about doing their jobs. In truthfulness, they deserve our sincere appreciation for keeping the waterways safe for everyone. Our hats are off to you.

(Click anywhere on this chart for an enlarged version.)