I want to share a story about what being a member of the Badlands Bass Bandits means to some of us. The Badlands Bass Bandits held their first tournament of the season on Nelson Lake recently, and as club history speaks this was a record-breaking day. Not only are 45 anglers that made up 22 teams a record for club attendance on Nelson lake, but the average bass weighed in was a new record for the club as well coming in at an average size of 3.41 pounds per largemouth bass! This shattered the old record of 3.18 pounds per largemouth set in 2013.

But this story is about that day’s tournament winner, Tony McKay, who weighed in the 3rd largest limit of bass caught on Nelson lake in the Badlands Bass Bandits 15 years of existence and only the 5th club member to break the 6-pound barrier in club history. Tony and I had fished the winter together for the bandits ICE series and had become friends, although this day I was fishing with a different partner and Tony was fishing solo. This did not keep us from some fun banter and sharing of information back and forth as we kept ourselves updated throughout the day on how we were doing. It was quiet still morning and we happened to be fishing the same stretch as Tony. We watched him set the hook and as I nudged my partner and told him that Tony is hooked up, he says “looks like a good one too”. We saw him pick it up out of the water and heard a loud “HELL YEAH!!!” from about 150 yards away, we shared a laugh as it was no question he had his first keeper.

We both bumped into each other around later that day and shared a quick fishing update, my partner and I had a great morning and had a solid limit in the boat and were working on upgrades. Tony had two solid 4 pound fish in his live well and was looking for his 3rd to fill his limit. ND’s largemouth limit is 3 per person, and that is how Badlands Bass Bandits tournaments are set up, a team’s heaviest 3 bass. In ND, culling is not allowed so once a bass is in the live well it cannot be returned to the lake, with exception of a special permit obtained for tournaments given by the ND Game and Fish Dept, and only after fish have been weighed in at the conclusion of a tournament can they be returned to the lake. So, this meant because my partner and I had only one person’s limit in the boat, we could fish for another 3 bass that were bigger than what we were currently holding in hopes we would catch larger bass. Tony did not have that luxury fishing by himself and once he would place a third bass in his live well, it meant his limit would be complete and he could not fish anymore. This created a dilemma each fish Tony caught at that point, wondering if that fish be big enough to round out his limit and put him in contention for the winner’s circle. We shared a few words and parted ways again on the search for bigger bass.

With one hour left before the conclusion of the tournament, Tony called me in excitement and tells me to rush over to his location as the bite was hot and he wanted us in on the action. We didn’t hesitate to rush over to the spot he was fishing, and he was not wrong, the bite was HOT and we were catching them right alongside of him. Tony caught a bass just over 3 pounds and decided to throw it back as he knew that was not good enough to win the tournament and kept fishing. With roughly 30 minutes to fish before weigh-in, we watched Tony set the hook and watched his rod double over. The bass came to the surface and we could tell that he had a noticeably big fish on the line! Watching him fight the fish felt like forever, but with much anticipation we witnessed him scoop up that fish and we knew then it had to be the biggest bass of the day. We both high fived on our boat, hollered, and cheered Tony on as we knew he had a real chance to win the tournament with that last catch.

Fast forward to weigh in and Tony sweeps the competition by taking the largest bag by over a pound and wins biggest bass by nearly a pound! It was a bittersweet moment as this was Tony’s last tournament with the Badlands Bass Bandits as he will be re-stationed this spring to a different USAF base in North Carolina in a months’ time. This was shared with the group at the conclusion of weigh-in as awards were handed out. Everyone congratulated Tony in a round of applause, and we all were all happy for his win but saddened that this was his last tournament as a Badlands Bass Bandit. It is a special moment when grown men share hugs instead of handshakes when congratulating a friend on his win, but this was a special moment and that is how it went.
That is what this fishing club means to some of us, it is not just a club to fish tournaments where you try to win some money and earn bragging rights, it is much more than that. Many of us become good friends and the tournament days become something we all look forward to.

Kyle Okke
Dickinson, ND

Badlands Bass Bandits Member