As the 2013 season starts to come to a close the bandits Angler of the Year race has turned into a three horse race! This is probably the closest race that the club has had since its birth in 2006. Chase Fernandez and Marty Mantz both got a shot in the arm to help them catch up to season points leader Matt Sullivan. Fernandez was able to capture 9 points by placing second in Saturday’s lake Audobon event while Mantz captured his first win of the season on North Audobon Lake. It has come down to the final two tournaments of the season, Lake Nelson and Lake Sakakawea. All three of these anglers fish well at Lake Nelson so it’s a tossup when trying to figure out which of these three will come out on top. I believe the deciding factor will happen when we head up to Lake Sakakawea for our annual Classic Championship! The angler of the year could come down to the final day of the Classic, what more could a fan ask for?

The Bass Bandits held there 9th and 10th tournament of the 2013 tour on Lake Audobon and North Audobon Lake on August 10th and 11th. This year the Bandits have had a great showing of members at all of the tournaments by averaging almost 25 members at each event. But due to so many other events going on only 11 members were able to come to this weekends event. Not because the Audobon Lake systems don’t have good fishing to offer, but it is harvest time and when mother nature provides you an opportunity to harvest….you better take it. Despite the small crowd the Bandits gathered at Lake Audobon on Saturday in search of the great smallmouth fishing this lake has to offer. Coming in with a 1st place finish was Nate Dirks of Minot, who also captured the Big Bass Award for this event at 3.06 lbs, his total weight was 7.80 lbs. 1Nate is no stranger to winning at Lake Audobon, he won a previous event in a bass fishing tournament a few months ago. Congratulations Nate on your Bass Bandit victory! Coming in with another solid 2nd place finish was Chase Fernandez who weighed in 7.56 lbs of bass. As we mentioned before this high of a finish was exactly what Chase needed going into the final two tournaments of the year. Eric Vossler of Bismarck was able to put together a nice 3rd place finish that weighed 6.90 lbs.

On Sunday the Bandits ventured onto North Audobon Lake. This was the first time the Bandits had ever been to this body of water. Without any map data the Bandits who had never fished this lake prior to the tournament were pretty much fishing blind hoping to get lucky! Others who were able to put in the time to learn a bit about this lake were able to come in with some nice bass. Weighing in at 8.48 lbs was Marty Mantz for a first place finish. Topping off the day with a strong 2nd place finish at 7.30 lbs was Jeff Wetzel of Bismarck. Wetzel is no stranger to the Audobon water system and it showed. Following right behind her husband with a 3rd place finish was Janine Wetzel that weighed in 2 bass at 4.39 lbs.

Well folks that wraps it up here at the club house, another great club weekend in the books. Tents were pitched, camp fires were set, marshmallows were roasted and fishing stories were told. If your interested in joining this great club please contact us. Don’t forget to check with us in a couple of weeks as to who takes the lead in the Angler of the Year race at Lake Nelson!