The Indiana Junior State Team finished third behind the home team of Minnesota and the second place team of Missouri at the Minnesota Junior Bassmasters Invitational held in Forest Lake, MN on June 20, 2003.
In addition to the Team's third place finish, A. Bennington and K. Burkhart anchored the team with 2nd and 6th place finishes overall in their respective age groups of 11-14 and 15-17. Forrest Lake is a semi-clear water lake with lots of vegetation, located just north of Minneapolis / St. Paul boasting an excellent population of muskie, walleye, northern pike, and of course, largemouth bass with a minimum length limit of 12 inches.
The Junior Bassmasters program has been growing rapidly, both nationwide and in Canada, requiring that this year two Junior Bassmaster Invitational competitions be held.
States were given the choice which Invitational they wanted to attend with the second being hosted by Virginia and scheduled for July 12, 2003. The Minnesota Invitational was attended by teams from Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
This year's team was sponsored by the Indiana BASS Federation. The Officers, Directors, and Members are the folks who have made this happen for the youth in our state. I also want to thank our other sponsors, Lois Amick of Killbuck Valley Sports and Mary Gibbs of Embroidery & Crafts. They helped with the cost of the team shirts that made our team really stand out.
I would also like to give a special thanks to Rick Stander of Lost River Bass Anglers. Rick traveled to Minnesota to help out the team pre-fishing and also ended up, along with myself, being a boat captain. He took two youths from different states out during the tournament. This shows a very special support of our youth fishing program and I thank him very much for his efforts. Special thanks goes to Jack Bennington. Jack retired last year and moved to Florida, but supports his grandson enough, that he traveled from Florida to central Indiana to pick-up his grandson and take him to Minnesota to be with him at the tournament. A month later Jack did the same thing, pulling his boat, to take A. Bennington fishing at the Indiana Junior State Finals.
The final standings for the Minnesota Junior Invitational are:
1. Minnesota 37lb-11oz
2. Missouri 33lb-4oz
3. Indiana 31lb-10oz
4. Michigan 25lb-6oz
Wisconsin 25lb-6oz
6. South Dakota 23lb
7. Kansas 22lb-1oz
The final results for the Indiana Team are:
11-14 age group:
A. Bennington - 5 fish limit - 8lb-4oz
B. Williams - 5 fish limit - 7lb-8oz
Daniel Suttles - 1 fish - 1lb-4oz
Nick Watterson - 1 fish - 1lb-4oz
15-17 age group:
Kenny Burkhart - 5 fish limit - 8lb-13oz
Mark Gibbs - 3 fish - 4lb-9oz
Big Bass of the tournament went to Chris Linns of Wisconsin with a bass that weighed 3lb-7oz.
During the main Invitational tournament, there was also a smaller tournament held for the alternates on another lake just 15 minutes away. In the 11-14 age group, Ryan Rhodehamel of Indiana finished 1st with a weight of 1lb-11oz. In the 15-17 age group, A.J. Dick of Indiana finished 1st with a weight of 7lb-1oz and big bass that weighed 2lb-6oz.
I am proud of the sportsmanship shown by the youths representing the Indiana BASS Federation. And most of all, I was happy to see that the number one goal of having fun while learning this sport was very obvious. I want to thank the Minnesota BASS Federation for a good event and most of all, all the volunteers, parents, and grandparents that help make this a fun event for everyone involved.
To view more pictures from the Minnesota Invitational, log on to our website at www.indianabass.com
