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Husband and wife team come from behind to win annual bass tournament

Since 2003, the Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary has hosted an annual bass tournament to benefit area youth programs. The tournament helps to raise funds to benefit annual boys and girls camps throughout the Lake Wales and surrounding areas. Over the weekend of November 14-15, the rotary held the 12th Annual Charity Bass Tournament at Camp Mack. 47 teams battled the high winds over the weekend, all vying for the $2,500.00 first place prize.

JW Watkins and Wayne Yohn set the bar high, and shocked the crowd on day one with an even 29.00-pound, five-bass limit. They anchored their bag with what would eventually be the Big Bass of the tournament, a 9.70-pound TrophyCatch. Many bags over 20 pounds were weighed on day one, including a 27.05-pound bag from Kenny Trimble and Larry West, which put them in second place.

But multiple day tournaments usually have a way of mixing up the leaderboard, and such was the case for the 12th Annual Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary Bass Tournament. The two teams who weighed the heaviest bags on day one struggled on day two, opening the door for Mark Krutzky and his wife Amanda to win the 12th annual event and $2,500.00. After weighing a 17.40-pound bag on day one, they smashed a 25.80-pound, five-bass limit on the second day, bringing their total to 43.20 pounds. They were the first team to weigh on day two due to livewell pump issues, setting the bar for everyone else to reach. They anchored their day two bag with a 9.70-pound TrophyCatch, but did not win any portion of the Big Bass prize due to not registering for the side pot.

After the weigh-in, Mark stated they caught all their fish by throwing a hollow-body frog around wind blown pads, and had all their fish boated by 9:30 a.m.

JW Watkins and Wayne Yohn ended the tournament in second place with a 41.20 pound total for the weekend, earning $1,250.00, along with $600.00 for their big bass caught on day one.

Kenny Trimble and Larry West slipped down one  spot as well, finishing in third place. Their two day total of 38.95 pounds earned the duo $750.00.

Logan Murphy and Charlie Harrelson moved up to a fourth place finish, winning $400.00 for a 38.55 pound, two-day total.

Larry and Lance Meredith moved into the top five with a 38.15-pound, two-day total, earning $200.00.

Eric Conant and Michael Foster secured the last spot in the money with a two day total of 37.70 pounds to finish in 6th place and win $100.00.

For more information on the Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary, visit lakewalesbreakfastrotary.com.

 

Photo: Mark and Amanda Krutzky

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