Howdy WBC,

Terry Steffensen and myself tried our hand at the NW Bass tournament today on Lake Washington.

There were 62 boats in attendance, and I believe three teams represented WBC. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

We ended up with 5 smallies for 15.51 pounds. We were happy with that considering our goal for the tournament was to weigh at least 15 pounds. Last year that amount of weight cashed a check, but the weights were astonishing this year, and we only managed somewhere in the top 20. The complete standings aren't out yet. It took 21+ pounds to win, and I believe 4 teams were over 20 pounds. It took 17+ pounds to cash a check and place in the top 13. Most of these fish were smallies, but there were some very nice largemouth weighed in, including a 6+ pound specimen.

Brian Walker and Lyle Logston were in attendance, and although they didn't weigh a limit, they had three very nice fish. Danny Garrett gave an excellent solo performance in the absence of his usual team partner (Dad) and weighed in 14+ pounds. He even had his Ranger shirt 

Most fish are being caught right now on plastics, but there were some fish reported being caught on reaction baits like jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. Terry and I caught most of our fish in 6-8 feet of water near docks with senkos and dropshot rigs. I think it is more than safe to say, "Don't waste your time in deeper water." The spawning season is near hot and heavy mode on Lake Washington, and although visibility is very tough for spotting beds, there are fish locked on to very specific areas, just like they are on beds. Terry and I caught multiple fish that were missed on the hookset, only to have them bite 30 minutes to an hour later in the same exact spot. We also picked up several fish on crankbaits, although I believe only one of those made it to the final bag. All in all, we caught around 12 fish. We even had a cameo appearance on the lake by Mr. Jim Smith himself. It was good to see Smitty out on the water.

That's the report. Honestly, I am sad to be missing WBC tournaments this year, but fishing a team trail has been something I've wanted to do for a long time, and Terry and I are really having a lot of fun and learning a heck of a lot. The cool thing is realizing that WBC anglers like ourselves can hang with the big guns in this state. The skill level in our club is awesome!

So I hope you enjoy following our experimental trek this year, as Terry and I put ourselves into debt trying to fish NW Bass. TEAM BACKPOCKET!!! We've got the Tri-Cities in June, and I'll be sure to post a report after that. For now, we've got a 19th place finish at Scappoose Bay (Columbia River) and a top 20 (or so) at Lake Washington.

Best fishes,
Chris

Great report Chris, and nice work on Saturday. It was a great experience, and it was my first tournament where I caught 2 of the exact same fish during the tourney as I did during practice. I love those aggressive males. They were locked on and easily annoyed. The pigs eluding me during practice and the tournament.....but it was still fun watching them get weighed in.  It was just fun being out there. Now it's back to reality for a little while.

Tight Lines,
Danny

Nice work, Chad! Those are some awesome fish... It sounds like a lot of the top finishers were doing the same thing, some just knew where the bigger fish were.

Next tournament, stop by the 1995 black/purple skeeter with a 150 merc on it and say hi!

Chris