The very first Bassmaster Classic held in 1971 was kept a secret to competing anglers until their plane was airborne as they headed towards the Classic location, Lake Mead. This gave all competitors a level playing field, as they were unable to practice prior to the event. The Bay Area Bassmasters have kept that tradition somewhat alive. Each season, the club competes at a ‘Mystery Lake’. The location of the tournament is not announced until the club’s meeting the Tuesday prior to the tournament. At that point, anglers are not allowed to visit the mystery lake until tournament day. This year, anglers learned they would be competing at the Clermont Chain of Lakes, where weights have been low and limits of keeper bass few and far between. Nonetheless, 34 teams set out on July 11th for the club’s seventh event of the season.
Justin and Jeff Richards swept the field with an 11.68-pound, five-bass limit. The father-son team also weighed the tournament’s largest bass, a 3.45-pound kicker. Jeff Crandon and Dan Richardson finished the day in second place by catching a 9.74-pound, five-bass limit. Alex Udwari and Kyle Anderson landed in third place with an 8.43-pound, five-bass limit. Fourth place was claimed by Rodney Yavorsky and Chuck Gomez as they weighed a 7.18-pound, five-bass limit, followed by Jim Stillwell and Matthew Bender in fifth place with a 6.88-pound, five-bass limit.
The Bay Area Bassmasters are registered with the 2016 Florida State Team Championship, where the Top 4 teams in Team of the Year points will be invited to compete for a new Blazer 595 Pro Elite powered by a 200 HP Mercury Pro XS, valued at $45,000.00.
With three events left in the season, the Team of the Year race is tight. Jeff and Jason Baker lead the race, but former Team of the Year partners Casey Gonzalez and Eugene Terkoski sit just behind in second place. Reigning Team of the Year partners Jeff Crandon and Dan Richardson are in third place, followed by Bruce and Jared Young in fourth.
Remaining events for the Bay Area Bassmasters are scheduled for August 8th at Rodman, September 12th at Lake Reedy, and October 10th at Lake Istokpoga, followed by the club’s two-day Classic, November 14-15, at a location to be determined.
