BNBC Sunday Tournament Series - Evergreen Lake

“We Came, We Fished, It Blew”
There’s nothing like a good strong Central Illinois wind to suck the fun out of a tournament day, and by God, we had it today. 30 mph constant wind with 40+ mph gusts kept our anglers busy on trolling motors and less able to fish. Water temps have climbed over the past few days, with some reports of 63 to 67 degree temps. 13 boats braved the gale force winds, but despite valiant efforts, out of 24 anglers, only 11 prevailed with bass. Statements like “I need a beer and an ibuprofen” were common at the events conclusion. Some members noted they were still bobbing even on land. There will be a signifigant drain on the power grid once all the trolling motor batteries are plugged in, too!

Following up his latest Tuesday night victory was Scott Bree claiming rights to the year’s biggest bass and this event’s first place standing. His monster bass topped the scales at an incredible 7.16 pounds, giving him a total winning weight with only two fish of 9.07 pounds. Bree said his giant came at 2:45 PM, only thirty minutes before weigh-in. Electrofishing equipment and high explosives were not found on board his craft at the ramp, much to the amazement of the on-lookers.

Ken Petersen, looking for a redemption from his upset at Clinton, came through with four fish weighing 6.9 pounds to capture second place. He left nothing to chance, for he was working on the Brett Myers award at the scales and the post-tourney meeting at Lake Road Inn with stories of lost fish. Don’t worry Reece, you’re still holding the title thus far!

Another Brett Myers participant, Larry Russell, came to the scales with 3 fish weighing in at a respectable 5.84 pounds. What’s not respectable about that weight is the fact it was three fish. Come on, Lar, catch some real fish!

Just out of the money was Mike Campbell, who was fishing from this year’s premiere tournament guide, James “Short Bus” Hurt’s boat. His single bass tipped the scales at 3.4 pounds. Mike thought he had things wrapped up until Scott Bree showed up with the mega-bass.

Not to be outdone, Short Bus laid claim to smallest fish weighed in this year with a 15″ squeaker that went 1.7 pounds. About this prestigious title, he had this to say: “It takes a special kind of person and fish to get this distinction, and I’m glad to give up the the big bass title to firmly grasp the smallest fish title here at Evergr een. I did finish last (over the participants who did not weigh in a fish), but it was 85 points I didn’t expect to get from here.”

Some quick stats for the event: 24 anglers, 15 fish for 42.04 pounds brought in over 204 man-hours, resulting in a fish caught every 13.6 man-hours on the water. Of the 24 anglers, 13 did not weigh in fish. All participants arrived safely at the ramp; tired, beat and ready for bed, but safely nonetheless.

This entry was posted on April 26. 2009 at 20:17 and is filed under Sunday Tourneys. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.