MadWags & Briboy 2008 Spring DK Open Champs with 21-11 - Story & Pictures

[djkimmel]

MadWags & Briboy are the 2008 Spring DK Open Champs with 21-11 lbs of Lake St. Clair smallies 5/3/08

1st Place Finishers MadWags (L) & Briboy (R) with djkimmel

Briboy is happy he flew all the way in from Chicago to fish the DK Open with MadWags after they weighed in a whopping 21-11 catch of Lake St. Clair smallmouth bass to win the May 3rd 2008 event. 'Wags and Briboy took home $102 and some quality prizes for their 1st place finish. After starting out slow in the cool and windy day, and watching Jay-MadWags put the eventual big bass 5-12 smallie into the boat, they made the right moves to put their big catch into the boat.

Missing his 2nd Spring DK Open victory in a row by a mere 3 ounces, cast n blast, fishing with TCook, received $68 and prizes for their big 21-8 catch of smallies.

TCook (L) & cast n blast (R) with djkimmel

The top three teams all had bass over 5 pounds in their catch - pretty impressive for post massive cold front accompanied by a water temp drop, some muddy water in places and cold wind and rain that didn't make it the ideal day for big bass. Here is a pic of TCook's first smallie of the day - a big 5-3 by measurement. Bigger by weight as many of the day's bass were.

cast n blast also took the coveted Big Junk Fish Award of a KaRu Vibra Series Sampler kit for his 7-2 Northern Pike, beating out chunky sheepshead challenges by Briboy and Hooksetter.

Perennial high finisher and 2-time DK Open champion Jay-MadWags hauled in the Big Bass - a whopping 5-12 giant smallmouth. Jay-MadWags received $68 and a very nice Grandt All American Series spinning rod for his huge catch (I saw him catch it too)!!

[djkimmel]

PART 2
Thanks to the wonderful sponsors and supporters of GreatLakesBass.com, we were able to give prizes back to 11th place. Here's the finishers:


In 3rd place was the team of 1javelin (L) and Bass_Cat (R) with an impressive 19-10, tied with the next team in total weight, but placing higher with the biggest bass tiebreaker - a huge 5-2 smallie. Great job consider 1javelin was making his first trip to the big lake!!



Your's truly - djkimmel, fishing with new member MIBasser (R) making his first trip to Lake St. Clair, was able to finish 4th also with 19-10 with our 4-12 kicker - first bass of the day. We caught 3 big ones early and then got on the numbers later, catching a bunch of bass of all sizes from a packed in feeding zone created by wind hitting a barge next to a channel bass had packed into. We culled out other two spots a number of times using crankbaits and tubes - the hot tube was the new St. Clair Crayfish from Xtreme Bass Tackle!!

We could have finished higher if we'd been a little more tuned in to these hard-fighting bass - I lost a bigger smallie that hit my crankbait, barely getting the back treble as I was reeling it in fast to grab the net for a nice bass MIBasser had on. I knew I would be lucky to get the fish in and despite trying to quickly shift from netting his bass to going back to fighting the bigger surprise bass, I lost the fish when it went under the boat, never coming back out.

Later, we each lost a very big fish a total of 3 times that I think was the same bass. Either that, or there were several big ones in that same weed clump that had jaws of iron!! We could have gained over a pound with that bass. I'm sure many teams have similar stories. Regardless, I think MIBasser has become another St. Clair convert !!



An impressive 18-15 puts Durand Dan (R) and past All-American Team houston (L) into 5th place. If I had been more alert, I might have awarded Team houston another prize for the DK Open ironman winner!! Check this pic out - talk about not letting the weather dictate your style!?!



How did I not get a picture of the great Revtro and partner Wolf_fisherman?? I'll have to talk to my volunteer cameraman for the day... Anyway, Rev and Wolf had a great day, culling to 17-10 to finish 6th for the day!



BrianB (R) and Ryan (L) bring in 5 bass weighing 17-6 to finish 7th.



Bloomer (R) made a great decision to come out and fish the DK Open this spring. He and stackenem (L) put 16-9 onto the 'scales' (paper) good for 8th.



dartag (R) spent the rainy, windy day with jcheetam (L). They caught a lot of bass, some on the custom paint jobs jcheetam paints in his spare time. There 5 best weighed 16-8 - good for 9th place.



mjm6 (R) and Mojo (L) brought in a solid 15-1 for 10th. Pretty good considering Mojo was hobbled by a mystery injury.



motocross269 (L) and big bass catcher Jay-MadWags (R) took the final prizes in 11th place with only 4 bass weighing 14-8 thanks to that huge 5-12 we watched them catch.

[djkimmel]

Check out the online DK Open Champions Plaque - updated with the latest tournament results - you can see who has been victorious to date!

[Team houston]

Thanks for another great time Dan. Durand Dan it was a pleasure to fish with you. Funny thing is I hate the cold weather and figured the rain would just soak my shoes. A " if you can't beat them join them" type of thing.

[Durand Dan]

Team Houston,
Thanks for showing me around the mile roads. It was my first time on St. Clair as a boater and it was great to have someone experienced. I have to say dragging tubes isn't one of the most exciting things I've done in my life, but is is effective.

PS
(I almost wore my sandals too. But threw my shoes on at the last minute)

[djkimmel]

Thanks for another great time Dan. Durand Dan it was a pleasure to fish with you. Funny thing is I hate the cold weather and figured the rain would just soak my shoes. A " if you can't beat them join them" type of thing.

Just like an All-American to downplay being a tough guy!!!!

Glad to hear you and the other Dan had a fun day!

[djkimmel]

Forgot to mention a first for me... I don't believe I've seen this before, but my partner for the day - MIBasser - caught, not one, but TWO tagged smallmouth bass within a short time of each other. I'll be contacting the MDNR to see what information they want regarding the catches. That HAS to take some kind of talent!!! WTG MIBasser!!!

[MadWags]

I was wearing my lucky Crocs. LOL!

I just got off the water and am taking Briboy to the airport. (we fished this morning as well)
Guys we are putting together some pictures and the whole story. Brian will post everything when he gets home. Unbelievable area we stumbled upon. After the tournament we went out and showed Jason the winning pattern. We smacked toads in the rain and wind until late and Briboy got the biggest smallmouth of his life. 6lb 2oz on the scale. WAIT TILL YOU SEE IT!!!!
All of the big fish were caught on a Grandt Rods XLH70 7' Medium Light action spinning rod and the new Extreme St. Clair Craw tube. This board has awesome sponsors with cutting edge tackle.

[Langer]

Guys we are putting together some pictures and the whole story. Brian will post everything when he gets home.

Going to post GPS Coords Too? 

[MadWags]

Sure, no problem. But it just happened to be an area that was holding fish at that point and time and is no different than the thousands of square yards surrounding it. Today there were no large fish in that area. These Toads are constantly on the move until the water temps stabilize and they lock on the beds.

[Jay-MadWags]

Dan, Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the Sport of Bass Fishing.  Not to mention all the things you do for greatlakesbass.com.  It is truely appreciated by all.  I am looking forward to fishng the next DK Open.  You make the events a lot of fun. . . .

Now when do I get that new Grandt Rod???
JK Give it to Dave if you see him at Burt Mullet.

Jay-MadWags

[MadWags]

Dan, Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the Sport of Bass Fishing.  Not to mention all the things you do for greatlakesbass.com.  It is truely appreciated by all.  I am looking forward to fishng the next DK Open.  You make the events a lot of fun. . . .

I agree with Jay. Out of everyone I have met in this sport, Dan has been the most influential figure for me and is certainly the statesman and consummate gentleman of Bass Fishing. I can't say enough to thank you for all your help over the years Dan. Love you like a brother man.

[Jay-MadWags]

I forgot to mention. . .

The BIG BASS of the DK Open was caught on a Grandt Rod.

6'6" Med Reserve Power (XLH70 RP).

[MIBasser]

I just want to thank you Dan for showing me the ropes.  What a day we had.  I can't wait to get back out there again.  I'll post the pictures tomorrow from our day.  Thanks again and can't wait till the next DK open.

[djkimmel]

Dan, Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the Sport of Bass Fishing.  Not to mention all the things you do for greatlakesbass.com.  It is truely appreciated by all.  I am looking forward to fishng the next DK Open.  You make the events a lot of fun. . . .

Now when do I get that new Grandt Rod???
JK Give it to Dave if you see him at Burt Mullet.

Jay-MadWags

If you can hold out, I'll get the rod to Dave for sure by then. That would be simplest for me as long as it will truly work for you. I'm glad you had fun and very glad you will get enjoyment from this great prize.

[djkimmel]

Dan, Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the Sport of Bass Fishing.  Not to mention all the things you do for greatlakesbass.com.  It is truely appreciated by all.  I am looking forward to fishng the next DK Open.  You make the events a lot of fun. . . .

I agree with Jay. Out of everyone I have met in this sport, Dan has been the most influential figure for me and is certainly the statesman and consummate gentleman of Bass Fishing. I can't say enough to thank you for all your help over the years Dan. Love you like a brother man.

I'm blushing again. You've cheered me up again. THANKS and congratulations again!!

[djkimmel]

I just want to thank you Dan for showing me the ropes.  What a day we had.  I can't wait to get back out there again.  I'll post the pictures tomorrow from our day.  Thanks again and can't wait till the next DK open.

Very glad to have you in my boat (despite the green and white thing you were wearing ). It was a memorable day. Loud jet engines idling for hours. BIG smallies!! Continuous machine gun fire to wonder about... BIG smallies!! Multiple F-16 drive-by's. Not one... but TWO tagged bass!! Looking forward to the pics!!!

[1javelin]

I got a tagged fish out of Leelanau last fall, but can't seem to find the tag to call them.  Let me know what info they want Dan and I may be able to remember it.  Thanks

1Jav

[Eric]

I caught a tagged fish Thursday afternoon in front of Selfridge.  It weighed 5-10.  That night, i got on the computer and submitted the info to the DNR.  When I got home yesterday, there was a letter from the DNR about it.  They said the fish was an 18 inch female when she was tagged May 23, 2005 in Anchor Bay.  Pretty cool.

[motocross269]

Had a great time at the Open..Thanks alot Dan....It was great just kicking back afterwords at the Ram's Horn and not have to worry about getting to work..
Watching Jay-Wags catch that Toad from the back of the boat was awesome...He definetly carried the team.  It was too bad we couldn't have pulled a couple more pigs off of that rock pile...Jay had us set up to win with 3 fish over 13lbs within an hour..We just couldn't close the deal...
It was the first tourney in the new to me rig...I found some things i need to work on..I ordered a new Lowrance 27x for the bow this week...It only took me about 3 times of running back to the console to see where we were at in relation to our waypoints to get sick of that...
That Bass Cat Puma was awesome....
Hope to see you guys out on the Lake....