Persistence Pays Off for Carter and Diesing at The Classic 33.69 lbs
The annual Courtesy Classic was held June 26 &
27th at lovely Lake Istokpoga. Normally, we fish this lake in the late fall, but due to our shortened schedule we made the trip in
June and we found the conditions quite different than what we usually find. One difference was the heat. It was HOT! We fished through
95 degree days and 90 degree water temps but the fish did not seem to mind. I guess we could have released them in a hot tub and they
would have felt right at home. Even with the extreme condition the bass were very cooperative. Also the water was down about a foot
from last year. Lots of places were difficult to motor away from. The dock talk on Thursday and Friday called for slow fishing. Several
teams reported not doing very well. Rick Bloom said they had 3 bites, Dave Gazdak had a few bites Thursday buy had slow going Friday.
Rich Kronopka caught a few small fish but didn’t have a solid pattern. Brent Wysong said he and Jason Counsil caught a few but did
have a couple of 3-4 pounders. John Ricketson and I caught/ shook off a bunch of nice fish Friday, 7 over 3 lb and were optimistic
about Saturday. So when people were predicted a winning weight, most thought 12 lb a day( remember we were fishing a 3 fish limit)
would be pretty good. Somehow overnight the fishing got better.
Ben Carter/Kurt Diesing went to an area of open water hydrilla
on the south end of Big Island. Ben said the area was about 50 yards around, 4-6 feet deep and had relatively clear water. He had
spotted the location Friday and in a short period of casting had 2 nice fish and 1 giant eat his Carolina rig. The pair landed an
8.87 lb fish early on Saturday morning and added another that nearly weighed 8 by around noon. They stayed on the spot and kept at
it despite the temptation to move to nearby areas that had local shiner fishermen landing many 2-3 lb fish. Kurt added another keeper
to their bag and the pair weighed 19.09 for the Day 1 lead. They discovered their big fish was looking weak and struggled with the
option of heading to the ramp early, or attempting to stick another big one to pad the lead and possibly take over the Big Stringer
of the year side pot worth $760.00. The two quit a couple hours early and headed for the shade to try and keep the sack of fish alive
by adding ice and shade to keep the fish comfortable. 3:00 weigh-in could not come soon enough as the two sit back at the dock trying
to keep the fish healthy and alive in the extreme heat, giving up 2 hours of quality fishing time on the first day of the two day
event.
Rick Bloom/Ashley Stone were a bit concerned with their lack of bites on Friday. Saturday morning Rick said they were
just going to hit spots that had paid off in the past and see what happened. The team fished the south side reed line along the Big Island and
also along the east side. They tried flipping junebug and red shad craws to their familiar water and soon they not only had a nice
bag but were concerned about catching too many. After they culled a 4 ½, they began to fish new water, to save their primary stretch
for Sunday and they hoped to get back up water for Sunday but they never upgraded. They were solidly in second place after day 1 with
a 16.25 limit.
The weights dropped dramatically after Ricky/Stoney, but there were many teams compressed together. Matt Gunn/Sky
Buckner had a bit over 12 and 8th place had 9.75, so less than 2 ½ pounds separated 3rd through 8th. Essentially, the field was fishing
for 3rd place. Even so, a lot of teams had nice fish, several 5 -6 pound fish were weighed, including the closest to 5 lb, $500 winner.
Joey Guess/Norman Roberts had a 4.85 and took home the cash.
Everybody had a great time at Henderson’s and about 90% of the
guys could be found at The Golden Coral in Lake Placid for dinner. Tons of food, cheap price, but no beer. Well, we did find some
beer later at the boat slips after dinner as well as some spirited conversations.
Day 2 was just as hot and we decided to weigh
in at 2, instead of our usual 3 pm finishing time. The shorten day did not affect the leaders. Ben/Kurt again brought in a nice bag
which included the day’s biggest bass. They continued to stay on their small offshore location on the south end of Big Island and
kept throwing the rigs. By 9:00 they had only landed two small fish as their big fish slowed their feeding. Their big one had a humorous
story, Kurt threw a Senko at a “mudfish” that he sighted, which turned out to be an 8.71 pounder. This catch by Kurt was a game changer
on day 2, The team then switched up the pattern slightly and Ben bagged two nice 3 ½ pounders that culled the two smaller ones. Their
2nd day limit pushed the scales to 14.30 and gave the pair a 2 day total of 33.36 lb. They had a great monetary haul as well. I hope
the IRS isn’t reading, $2000 for 1st, $280 Saturday big fish, $280 Sunday big fish and $160 for the Calcutta side pot. A great win
and a great way to end 2010!
Rick/Stoney added to their day one total with another nice stringer, 14.45. Again they tried flipping
the shoreline reeds but the fish moved. They ran 300 yds off shore and tried a hydrilla line with the same flipping technique and
nailed 2 of their weigh fish. Both these came within sight of Ben & Kurt. Talk about putting the pressure on! But their heroics
fell short and they claimed 2nd place with a 2 day total of 30.70 lb. Still, 6, five pounders in 2 days is pretty stout. The team
cash in on second place money, $1,000
Chip/Dover/John Ricketson brought in day two’s largest string. Their trio of bass weighed
17.70 lb. and included the closest to 5 pound fish, a 4.97 lb specimen. That fish netted the pair $500. The addition of 17.70 to their
day 1 total, 9.75, pushed them into third place with 27.45 lb. The team started the day in 8th but made a big move. They caught most
of their fish on the north end on toads and crankbaits. However, the nearly 5 pound fish fell victim to a flipped junebug trick worm.
They found fish under flat pads that had hydrilla underneath. Third place paid $500 and added up nicely with the 5 pound fish to net
the pair a cool grand for the weekend.
We would like to thank Ben Carter & Tournament Staff for all the hard
work with the trail and hope that they enjoy their time off from Courtesy. Ben has been at every event since the Trails
inception 6 years ago, that’s 72+ months without any down time. I know that he will come back fresh and ready for 2010/2011. A special
thanks to Tournament Director Scott Pugh, as well as Barree Bagette the MONEY Man, Also Brent Wysong for getting that trailer to every
event with a smile..Couldn’t do it without you Brent….
So everybody get ready to catch ‘em again!!! First Tournament to be October
16th, Schedule to be released soon….
Registration details have been posted on the web, Don’t delay, Get your team entry mailed
in early…Deadline is August 31st, any spots not filled by then will be open to new teams to join, we cap at 42 teams, don’t be left
out on what promises to be a great 2010-2011 season of great, friendly competition….Stay tuned for details about the September “ALL
NIGHTER” at East Lake, also awards and registration Night for 2010-2011 season to be held at Wing Shack, Date/Time TBD
