Unseasonably warm temperatures leading up to the SRIBA season opener dropped just a bit on the eve of the tournament. SRIBA angers were greeted Saturday morning with bluebird skies and air temps in the high 30s to low 40s. It was obvious that high pressure had moved in and the bite might be tough in this shallow body of water.
The club members blasted off just before 7 AM and headed for their own starting spots. By 9 AM the sun was strong and the air had warmed considerably, leading most members to shed their jackets and grab some of that warm sunlight in their short-sleeved shirts. The lack of wind made it warm, but also contributed to making for a tough bite.
As the day played out, the wind began to blow gently, building up slowly. This was enough to create some activity for some club members and stir up a bite in some areas of the lake.
When everything was said and done some anglers had been able to connect with bass, and yet others had been shut out in their efforts to put a bass over the side of their boats.
Weighing in 4 bass, including a 4.26 lb. fish, Andrew Gardiner took the first place spot with a total weight of 11.29 lbs. Bringing in the only 5-fish limit of the tourney, Curt Snow took the second place spot, just 1/2 lb. behind Andrew, with 10.72 lbs. Rounding out the top 3, Dave Royer weighed in 3 bass, including the tourney lunker of 4.54 lbs, for the third place spot.
SRIBA anglers weighed in a total of 15 bass, with a total weight of 36.57 lbs. for the club. With 7 anglers participating, we had an average of only 2.14 bass per angler. Average weight per bass was 2.44 lbs, which isn’t half bad overall. Not a bad start to the season overall. Congratulations to the winners!