The Bass Bandits held their annual Classic Championship on Lake Nelson on September 24th and the 25th. This was the first time the Bandits did a two day tournament in the history of the club. There was much anticipation, especially since it was held on their favorite largemouth bass fishing lakes. There were high expectations of catching lots of big fish. But, even though the weather was kind to the Bandits for both days, the cooling temperatures at night caused the lake to do its fall turn over cycle. This caused the fishing to be slower and with a lot less big bites that were previously expected the Bandits found themselves scrambling all over the lake searching for the right fish. On day one it was Geo Wentz of Lemmon, SD weighing in as the leader with 3 nice bass with a combined weight of 9.27 lbs, which was just about a 1 pound lead over defending classic champ Marty Mantz who weighed in 3 bass for a day one total of 8.54lbs. Right behind Mantz was bassmaster Robert Reinbold of Timber Lake, SD with 3 bass with a combined weight of 8.22 lbs. Rounding out the top five finishers for day one were Janine Wetzel 6.21lbs and Cody Arth 6.06 lbs.

                Even though there was a bit of a gap between the top 3 anglers and the top 5 anglers, everyone knew that you must perform even better on day two because that is usually the toughest day. When the sun finally broke the horizon the Bandits were getting their boats in the water. There were lots of gossiping going around on where everyone was going to start and what they were going to use. Every angler felt that it was going to be a better day on the water and for the most part they were right. In the morning the bass were biting fast and furious, taking top water lures, spinner baits, crank baits you name it they were eating it. But, that only lasted for a small time period and when the dust finally settled the fishing slowed down and the wind picked up a classic champion was crowned once again. For the third year in a row Mary Mantz came out on top with 2 day total weight of 18.38lbs. Coming in with a 2nd place finish was Robert Reinbold with 14.40 lbs, and third place went to Cody Arth with 13.98 lbs. It was a strong finishing performance by all three of these anglers that made it a close shootout!

                Congratulations to all of our top performers and the rest of the club members for a great Classic Championship. The next and final stop for the bass bandits is the “Tournament of Champions” held on Fish Creek on October 1st. This is a first time event as well for the club. Members will be teaming up with each other and sharing fishing knowledge and competing amongst other teams. It should be a good time because Fish Creek is a great place to be in the Fall! Tune in for our next article when we review the 2011 season and list the end of the year awards. See ya on the water, “Bandits, Let’s Ride!”

- Paul Reinbold