The first 2003 IBF Invitational Tournament sponsored by Ted's Aqua Marine took place on April 6, 2003 at Patoka Lake. The weather was cold and windy with rain coming in at the end of the weigh in. 337 fishermen were paired up and sent on their way to a great day of fishing starting at 6:30 A.M. It was truly an exciting start to a tremendous season of fishing for Sandy and me. We have been spending virtually all our time promoting and preparing for this season and hope you are excited too! It has been a very long winter. Well, we are very pleased to say that all that hard work has paid off. We want to thank all of you who were successful in your recruiting efforts to bring an Angler or a Co-Angler to the program. The number of new names entering the tournament is very exciting and indicates that we are on the right track to bring more fishermen (and women) to our Tournament Trail. I ask all of you to continue to share the success story of this event with others and encourage them to join us at Wawasee next month.
Entry into the 2003 Classic on October 11th and 12th at Patoka Lake will be easy to accomplish this year because we have twice the number of qualifiers. 40 Anglers and 40 Co-Anglers will qualify for the Classic from the regular season and up to 5 Anglers and 5 Co-Anglers will qualify from the Wildcard Tournament in September. The Anglers will be fishing for a fully rigged Ranger 519VX, with a 200-HP Mercury Marine Outboard and cash awards while the Co-Anglers will be fishing for a fully rigged Ranger R 61 with a 90-HP Mercury Marine Outboard and Sponsorships for 2004. This also means that the Co-Anglers will fish both days of the Classic instead of one. If someone missed the first tournament, they still have the opportunity to make the Classic! Remember, to be eligible for the Wildcard Tournament in September, you must have fished in 5 of the 6 events. We will be discussing this in more detail as the season progresses.
We had 179 fishermen bring 324 fish to the scales weighing a total of 890.79 pounds. Specifically, 115 Anglers weighed in 231 fish weighing 635.98 pounds and 64 Co-Anglers weighed in 93 fish weighing 254.81 pounds.
We have increased the payout ratio from 10% to 15% for both the Anglers and Co-Anglers and changed the point system from 75 to 100. This means that more places will be paid and more fishermen will be eligible for more points further down the finishing line. If you want to review all the changes for the 2003 season, please refer to the article "What's New for 2003!" on page 6 in the March - April issue of Indiana BASS News.
On the Angler side, the tournament was won by Stu Moyer with 5 fish weighing 19.68 pounds. He received the first place plaque and a check in the amount of $3,953. Second place went to Marvin Parton with 5 fish weighing 15.40 pounds. He received the second place plaque and a check in the amount of $1,971. Brad Schneck finished third with 3 fish weighing 12.56 pounds and received a check in the amount of $1,133 and the third place plaque. Finishing fourth with 4 fish weighing 12.40 pounds was Mark Randolph. He received the fourth place plaque and a check for $793. The fifth spot went to Larry Sisk with 4 fish weighing 12.22 pounds. He received a check in the amount of $566 and the fifth place plaque. We paid out 26 places on the Angler side. The Hildebrandt Co. First Out Of The Money prize went to John Sabatini on the Angler side.
On the Co-Angler side, the tournament was won by Marty Boyle with 3 fish weighing 11.26 pounds. He received the first place plaque and a check in the amount of $1,859. Second place went to Jack Sturm with 4 fish weighing 10.50 pounds. He received the second place plaque and a check in the amount of $929. Tom Schrader finished third with 2 fish weighing 8.72 pounds and received a check in the amount of $531 and the third place plaque. Finishing fourth with 3 fish weighing 8.26 pounds was Greg Evans. He received the fourth place plaque and a check for $372. The fifth spot went to Terry Myers with 2 fish weighing 7.46 pounds. He received a check in the amount of $266 and the fifth place plaque. We paid out 25 places on the Co-Angler side. The Hildebrandt Co. First Out Of The Money prize went to Jerry Pickett on the Co-Angler side.
The plaques for this tournament, as well as all the plaques for the rest of the season, were provided by the Outdoorsman Sports Shop in Greenwood, Indiana. This is a major sponsorship to our events and we all need to thank them for their support at every opportunity.
We now have two big bass pots for Anglers and two for Co-Anglers. There is the Regular Big Bass Pot and it operates the same way big bass pots always operate. The Angler and Co-Angler who catch the biggest bass (by weight) win the regular big bass pots. The second is the Progressive Big Bass Pot. The winner of this pot must catch a big bass that meets or exceeds the pre-established target weight. If no one catches a big bass that big, the Progressive Big Bas Pot carries over to the next tournament. There is a Progressive Big Bass Pot for Anglers and one for Co-Anglers.
The Angler Regular Big Bass Pot was won by Nathan Gray with a big bass of 6.68 pounds. He received a big bass check in the amount of $664. Nathan also exceeded the target weight of 6.50 for the Progressive Big Bass Pot and received an additional $664! All that money for one fish!! Congratulations Nathan!!
The Co-Angler Regular Big Bass Pot was won by Tom Schrader with a big bass of 5.36 pounds. He received a big bass check in the amount of $332. Since no Co-Anglers caught a big bass of at least 6.50 pounds, the Progressive Big Bass Pots carry over to the Wawasee Tournament. The Co-Angler Progressive Pot has $332 in it and will be increased at Wawasee based on the number of entries in the tournament. These can get to be really fun. Keep an eye on them!
The highest finishing Angler and Co-Angler mentioning Solar Bat Sunglasses and wearing or having them hang around their neck while weighing in received a bonus of $50.00 for the Angler and $25.00 for the Co-Angler. Larry Sisk received $50.00 and Chris Bortlein received $25.00 from Solar Bat Eye Protection Systems.
Eddie Gilstrap Motors in Salem are providing a one-year lease of a 2003 Ford F-150 Supercab Pickup Truck to a very lucky fisherman at the end of the regular season. Every time you fish a tournament you will be eligible for the drawing at the last regular season tournament. Both Anglers and Co-Anglers will be eligible for this drawing. WOW!! WHAT A FINISH THAT WILL BE!!
As you can see, there are many reasons to come out and fish the IBF trail. We welcome everyone (Anglers and Co-Anglers) to come out and join the fun. Please take the time to look at our sponsors for 2003 and give them your business if you are in need of their services. Also please remember to thank them when you see a representative. The IBF trail could not exist without the backing of our sponsors - we need to let them know that they are appreciated.
The results for Ted's Aqua Marine Invitational at Patoka Lake are enclosed. We will do the same thing next month with the year-to-date standing report added to the mailing.
The next event is on May 18, 2003 at Lake Wawasee. Registration and pre-tournament meeting will be at Moore Boats, Highway 6, Ligonier, Indiana, with registration from 3:00 to 5:00 and the meeting starting at 5:00 p.m. Get your entry forms in early to avoid late fees and to help this old Tournament Director. Remember that you can send your entry forms in together or separately if you are entering as "guaranteed," but you do need to indicate the person on the entry form. If you have entered and later find a "guaranteed" partner, just let us know and we will make the appropriate changes. YOU DON'T NEED A "GUARANTEED" PARTNER TO ENTER THE TOURNAMENT. WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE "GUARANTEED." PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU FILL OUT THE ENTRY FORM COMPLETELY. We cannot finalize your entry unless it is complete.
As you know, this will be my final season as your Tournament Director. The Tournament Crew and I have enjoyed the Tournament Trail and the new friends and fellowship that comes with this job. When Sandy and I made the decision to take over the Tournament Trail we committed to each other that we would run it for three years. I notified the Board of Directors before the 2002 season ended that 2003 would be our last season to run it. Besides, I am a fisherman and I really want to fish this trail too!! If you think you would be interested or know of someone who would like to take over as Tournament Director, please let me or Paul Hollabaugh know.
My last comment is probably the most important because I want to take the time to thank my Tournament Crew and mention them individually by name. We have a new crew member this year - Joe Spalding is taking the place of Ed O'Conner and will do the check in at the end of fishing and help with at registration. Ed is fishing the circuit this year so he hasn't gone away - he just changed hats. Dexter Cloud does an excellent job of bumping the fish as they come thru. Wendy LaLone (Sandy's daughter-in-law) helps Sandy with the registration process and is in charge of making out the weigh slips and making sure the fishermen sign them before heading thru the weigh in line. Bryan LaLone (Sandy's son) helps with the registration/raffle during the registration and is our computer person during the weigh in. He enters all the weights and tracks the progress during the weigh in. Last is my wife, Sandy. She is the one you will talk to if you call and need information or help with anything. She does all the entering and tracking of Entry Forms, matching of Anglers and Co-Anglers, final registration of the fishermen, takes most of the telephone calls and too many other jobs that I can't even remember. For the last three years she has given up a portion (and it seems to be growing) of the living room and calls it "IBF Tournament Trail Headquarters." The entire crew helps with the set up and take down of all the equipment and advertising at the registration and weigh in sites, is at boat check the morning of the tournament and many other jobs that I can't remember. They take charge of whatever needs to be done and they just do it. I couldn't ask for any better than the Tournament Crew I have now. They have made my life as Tournament Director easier and what makes this Tournament Trail run smoothly for you fishermen.
We were pleased with the participation and excitement of the fishermen. The Tournament Crew and I had a great time and enjoyed seeing all of you and hoped that you had a great time fishing with us. We really appreciate your support. Please feel free to call Sandy or me if you have any questions. Let's keep it up!
THE FUN HAS JUST BEGUN!
Dan Simmons
Tournament Director
