Carolina Bassers
Lake Gaston Tournament April 24, 2005


Tourney Rundown
The first of three 2-day tournaments was held at Lake Gaston.  The weather once again played a role in this event.  35 anglers endured a strong front and winds arriving Saturday and cold/windy post front conditions on Sunday.  What should have been a "fish catching bonanza", with the full moon and the first major wave of fish to move to the beds, turned into an extremely tough bite for most competitors.  As with any tourney a few battled the tough conditions and managed some nice sacks.

Hal Abshire bested the field on the first day of competition with a 5 fish limit weighing 10.85 lbs, and reportedly was culling by 9:00am!

David "Buzzbait" Blanton ran away from the competition with an astonishing 4 fish weighing 14.72 lbs, quite a feat, considering the brutal conditions the field faced on Sunday.

The clubs youth also hung tough and managed to weigh fish despite the weather.  Tyler Teer took top honors day 1 with 4 fish weighing 8.04 lbs.  Garett Rhodes battled tough conditions to win day 2 with 2 fish weighing 4.63 lbs

Dave Haraway Reporting

Weather Conditions
Partly cloudy to sunny - Temperature range: 40 to 52 degrees
Winds - 7 mph at blast off to 20-25 mph at weigh-in.
Water temp - 51 to 61 degrees

Tournament Data
Participants: 33
Youth Participants:  12
Participants catching fish: 19
Fished weighed:  42
Limits:  1
Fish weighing over 5 pounds:  None


Tournament Results                                                 Youth Results

Place Angler Bass Weight Place Angler Bass Weight
1st Dave Blanton 5 14.72 1st Garett Rhodes 2 4.63
2nd Ricky Mozingo 2 9.56 2nd Timmy Baker 1 1.13
3rd Will Blanton 5 6.45        
4th Coy Baker 3 5.09        
5th Storm Rutcho 2 4.41        
Honorable Mention Honorable Mention
Gerald Rhodes 2 4.33 All Youth    
Big Fish Weight Big Fish Weight
Ricky Mozingo 4.96     Garett Rhodes 3.16  
   

 

Top 4 of 5 Right to Left  
Youth  
 
Tyler Teer 1st Place Youth Ed Wesley Big Fish 5.02 lbs.
David Blanton 1st Place Peggy Outdoor World Appreciation Plaque