Power Plant Shootout 2012!

It has begun! The 2012 Badlands Bass Bandits tournament season was kicked off with a bang at Lake Nelson. Twenty four club members enjoyed a great day on the water with plenty of Bass action to be had at this premier bass lake.

                

Before the tournament started members gathered around to go over the rules and participate in the “all sacred” chip draw. Once the chips were drawn from a hat the boats lined up in order and launched out of the sight. The boat launching portion of the Bandits’ tournaments is a different sight than previous years due to all of the new bass boats that have joined the family.  It is truly a sight to see them skip across the water at interstate speeds! Once the launch site settled everyone was casting away in their favorite spots looking for the big ones. As the day went on the wind speeds increased which challenged the Bass Bandits boat control skills. No matter what Mother Nature threw at the Bandits they fished on and fish were caught, and a new champion was crowned….literally new.

               

 Fishing in his first ever Badlands Bass Bandits tournament (excluding the Ice Bowl) Duane Lankford of Minot, ND caught and weighed a limit of three bass with a final total weight of 11.23 lbs. Lankford also caught the largest bass of the tournament that tipped the scale at 5.10 lbs. This will certainly give him a great start in the point standings in both the Rookie of the Year and Angler of the Year race! That big bass also put him in great position to win the Biggest Bass of the Year Award. Coming in with yet another great tournament finish was Cody “Hot Rod” Arth. Cody’s limit of bass weighed 9.05 lbs which gave him a strong 2nd place finish. Look out for this guy Bandits, he is on a roll and coming on strong! Rounding out the top three with a great 3rd place finish was defending champ and 2011 Angler of the Year Marty Mantz. Marty was able to piece together a late tournament run of big fish to help him weigh in at 8.49 lbs which secured him the 3rd place finish.

  No doubt it was a great start to the 2012 season, there is a lot of tournaments left and it is certainly way to early to see who is going to be at the top when it is all over. But…let’s not get to far ahead of ourselves by talking about the end because we all know how fast summer goes by. The next stop on the Bandit tour is New John’s Lake and the rest of the McClusky Canal systemon May 26th. This impoundment is full of giant smallmouth and if you can find em’ the largemouth are just as big. So bring your whoppin’ stick because your going to need it hauling in these bruiser bronzebacks! We are currently scheduled to launch out of the East Park Lake ramp site however, there is construction underway there so please stay tuned until further notice. Hope to see you all there!

Paul Reinbold