The last tournament of the USA Bassin Coffeen Lake Fall/Winter division was held this past Saturday. The weather was very nice with take off temps in the upper 30’s and highs in the lower 50’s. It was nice not to have to slide into the parking lot then slide down the boat ramp. This final tournament would provide the division champs after the weigh in. It was a race to the end with only several points between the top three teams. If one team would error slightly their demise would surely come. Consistency would crown the division champs. And sure enough this teams consistency took them to the top.

 

Bill Dearworth and Jack Watkins stayed consistent and over came the leaders Donnie Chandler and “Radio” Glenn Wells to take the Division title. These two teams knew at the beginning of the tournament how close the points were. This was apparent by the “dock talk” between the two with some comical comments, but all in good nature. Great Job by both teams! 

 

Now on with the day’s tournament. The water temps were to the liking of most anglers, the jerk bait guys probably weren’t happy. The ramp temps read 61 and that temp was true from mid lake to the trestle. The only places with lower temps were the back of cemetery cove and both power line coves. There were 27 teams that tested their knowledge of Coffeen Lake at Saturday s event. And as usual from take off through the weigh in Tournament Director Dan Blanton had things running very smoothly.

 

On with the stats! 

 

Keep in mind there was another tournament on Sunday, so the information provided by the check cashing teams were limited and understandably so. 

 

First place went to the father and son team of Josh & Melvin Argo both of Taylorville, IL. Their five fish limit weighed in at 12.48 lbs and was anchored by Big Bass of the day weighing 4.78 lbs. Josh was fishing the next day but was kind enough to provide a little info. Josh reported catching their bag limit on Triple B Jigs. He reported fishing in about 7 feet of water on the North end of the lake. They are sponsored by Triple B Jigs.

 

Second place went to the team of Castelli and Mullen. Their five fish limit weighed in at 11.62 lbs. I assume they were fishing the next day since they didn’t hang around for an interview. 

 

Third place went to Dan and I. We had a fish limit weighing in at 11.41 lbs. The key for us was to pound out the weed bed fish. We fished the cemetery cove area, mid lake, and every main lake pocket and point to the trestle. Some of our fish were in less than two feet of water while others came in the 5-10 foot range. Our bait of choice was a lipless crank bait. Although Dan did put a nice one in the boat on a shaky head.

 

2nd Big Bass of the day weighing 3.90 lbs went to the team of Barker and Wieser.

 

All said and done there were 20 teams that weighed in a five fish limit. There was one fish in the 4-pound range and nine fish in the 3-pound range. A total of 120 fish hitting the scales for a total weight of 231.17 lbs. 

 

A big thanks to all who fished the USA Bassin Coffeen Lake Fall/Winter division! Remember, October is only eight months away and we get to do this again.

 

See ya on the water,

 

 

Mike Evanoff