April Newsletter
Written by Greg “Cuz” Shands
With high gas prices and bad fishing reports, 18 boats still came out to fish the muddy Lake of the Ozarks. Even the spring up at Ha Ha Tonka State Park was pumping out dirty water. At least the weather was nice for both days. 13 boats brought in a total of 27 fish to weigh-in, a big improvement over the last tournament.
First Place went to Chris and John Ramey. These guys sat back and let everyone else have all the fun on Saturday, but came back with a vengeance on Sunday with 4 fish weighing 11.51 pounds. Chris had 3 that weighed respectfully 3.72, 3.26, and 3.02. They both said crank baits were the winning ticket. They received $168.00 for their work.
Second Place goes to the father and son team of Chris and Dallas Jackson. It seems that dad hogged the front of the boat all weekend and made Dallas do all the work running the net. I heard that dad owes Dallas most of the earnings because of a spectacular net save. Seems Chris had hooked a fish back behind a dock and over two cables. Dallas managed to reach out over both cables and net the fish. Now you say “I’ve done that before”, but here is the best part, Dallas is only 9 years old.
Their 4 fish catch weighed 8.71 pounds and got them a check for $134.00. Chris said crank baits and jigs were the right baits.
Special note to Chris - watch out Chris ‘cause you know your days in the front of the boat are numbered.
Third Place goes to Dave Jett and Paul Berger. Dave had 2 fish on Saturday weighing in at 8.68 pounds and one was a 5.95 pounder. Wiggle Warts worked for these guys (Didn’t I read that in a fishing report?). They received $102.00 for their efforts.
Fourth Place went to Ken Jones and Matt Crile -- $72.00.
Fifth Place went to Greg Shands and Bob Ray -- $54.00.
Saturday Big Bass
Several nice bass were brought to weigh in on Saturday that were pushing the 4 pound mark but it was Dave Jett’s 5.95 pounder that took the honors. Dave caught his fish on a Wiggle Wart. Dave received $64 for Saturday’s big bass and the $90 side pot for big bass of the weekend.
Sunday Big Bass
When Dallas Jackson brought his dad’s 3.77 pounder to the scales it looked like they had the big bass for Sunday. Then Chris Ramey dumps out a sack of three plus pound bass, the biggest one weighing 3.72 pounds. Last, Matt Crile comes forward and drops a 3.95 pound bass in the basket, good for Sunday’s big bass and worth $64.00. He reported catching the fish on a crank bait.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Big Bass for the Year
My partner told me Friday night that Dave Jett was the guy to watch out for. Well, Dave didn’t take first place but he sure did take the money for the weekend. Between a $102.00 third place check, a $64.00 big bass check, and the $90.00 side pot, Dave and Paul split $256.00. .
Dave is now in the hot seat for big bass of the year. Good luck Dave - it’s a long way ‘til the end of the season.
Angler of the Year
With 2 tournaments over now, here are the current top ten anglers:
1) Chris Jackson - 29 pt.
2) Jeff Schwent - 26 pt.
3) Terry Stanek - 20 pt
4) Chris Ramey - 17 pt
5) Dave Jett - 17 pt
6) Bob Treadway - 17 pt
7) Matt Crile - 15 pt
8) Greg Schwent - 15 pt
9) Bob Ray - 13 pt
10) Greg Shands - 13 pt
~
Next Tournament
Our next tournament is at Table Rock Lake on April 26-27. Take off and weigh in will be held at Schooner Creek Resort. Times are Sat 6:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and the same times on Sunday. Saturday’s tournament directors are Greg and Andy Shands
Tournament Directors
We still need tournament directors for several tournaments, including Sunday at the upcoming Table Rock tournament. Please contact Dean or Dan for a spot. Remember it’s worth 3 points (you can only receive points once per year).
Remember to get your entry fee money in to Jim before 5:00 p.m. the Wednesday before the tournament. You can include the optional $10 per boat side pot with your entry fee.
From Cuz’s Boat
Well, guess what? Dear old Cuz has finally found someone else to write about besides my partner and myself.
As we all know gas prices have just gone crazy and it doesn’t look like they are going to get any better this summer but one Hawg Hawlers team has figured out a way to beat the oil companies – JUST DON’T BUY GAS FOR THE BOAT.
It would seem like the team of Schwent and Schwent went out and got themselves a new boat. Now I don’t know if they gave too much money for the boat and just didn’t have money left over to buy gas or maybe they forgot to put gas in before the start of the tournament. All old Cuz knows is when it came time for team Schwent to blast off as the first boat out Saturday their engine wouldn’t start. At weigh in one of them made the mistake of telling me that they were out of gas. Don’t worry guys at least you got to see how good the batteries for the trolling motor worked.
I’m not sure if their new boat is a bass boat or a catfish boat because it seems like they brought one of each to weigh in on Saturday. Guess it worked out for the best though. They managed to sell enough catfish dinners Saturday night to buy gas for Sunday’s fishing.
CUZ
~
Taking first place honors were Greg and Jeff Schwent. Jeff managed to find one fish that weighed in at 3.11 pounds. Jeff said he caught it on a black and blue jig. The team received $186.00 for their effort.
Second place went to Terry Stanek and Bob Treadway. Terry had one fish which weighed 2.39 pounds. Like Jeff, Terry also caught his fish on a black and blue jig. They got $152.00 for their work.
Third place was new member Chris Jackson who fished by himself. Chris had one fish weigh in at 2.11 pounds. He caught it on a jerkbait. His fish was good for $120.00 check.
Big Bass