Team Ohio traveled to Michigan’s Lake St. Clair for the 2000 Northern Divisional Tournament on September 20 thru 22… well, that’s how it was supposed to be!  The three practice days saw wind, dead calm and wind.  The tournament days saw wind, wind and more wind!

            Al Smith, in his first tournament as the B.A.S.S. National Federation Director, called off the first day due to high winds and weather reports predicting strong storms in the area.  Many anglers not familiar with the “big water” gave a sigh of relief.

            Although still strong, but from a more navigable direction, the wind permitted the second and third days to go on as scheduled but it made for tough fishing.  The area Bass Pro Shop was sold out of 3/8 to 3/4-ounce tube jigs.

            And as could be expected, the wind took its toll on equipment.  Karl Guegold’s trolling motor is now structure in the Detroit River and another of our anglers lost one elsewhere.  Tim Caldwell nearly lost his 150-horse Mariner when the mounting bolts vibrated loose.  An angler from another state split the hull of his boat in the big waves.  Batteries also got a good test in the rough water.

            The team worked together very well and it paid off the final day as positions shuffled.  Team Ohio moved from fourth to third… high enough to receive plaques and an additional $2,500 in prize money.

            Team alternate Bill Roeder should be recognized for taking his boat and sharing a lot of information.  On the practice days, he took out our no-boaters and showed them some spots where he has had past success.  Dan Turley also shared a number of GPS coordinates with team members.

            And speaking of GPS, I don’t know how an angler could be competitive on such water without one.  I fished the practice days with Danny Hemperley and he made a believer out of me!  He had coordinates for a small wreck not on any maps.  It was well out in the middle of the lake and we went straight to it.  It produced the largest small-mouth of my limited smallmouth experience… about a 3-1/2 pound fish…. and some other smallies, HUGE rock bass and one of those ugly things that goes Ba-a-a-a-a!

            As you might expect with such winds, the keys to success seemed to be finding clear water and the proper current.  Shifting winds moved the off-color water daily.  We covered the water from Lake Erie to Lake Huron.

            Key lures for the event were tube baits in green and other dark colors, tubes in white or silver, spinnerbaits in various combinations of white and chartreuse, and Rat-L-Traps.  When clear water was found, dragging the tubes and fast retrieves with the other lures worked best.

            Special visitors during the tournament were Jeff Haag of Chevrolet and John McClain of ACDelco.  John had the pleasure of presenting tournament winner Ted Prisbe a check for $1,000 for wearing an ACDelco patch on his uniform during the competition days.  Ranger representative George Little fished the event as a member of the South Dakota team.

A number of team members’ wives, children and family were on hand to cheer them on.  They were treated to trips to an area casino and shopping center that included a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World outlet… where most fishermen could be found on the competition day that was cancelled!  On Monday night, all competitors and their families were treated to a banquet sponsored by Chevy Trucks.

The B.A.S.S. staff put on another class event as we have come to expect over the years.  Al Smith, Danielle Cole, Patti Morsch and Jerry Hooks persevered in spite of the adverse conditions.  Our thanks to them for a fine job!!!!  And to Michigan Vice President Paul Rambo for stepping in and handling the president’s duties as he was not at the tournament.

Team Ohio leader Fred Tietz now moves on to the B.A.S.S. National Federation Championship on the Delta at Mobile, Alabama, next April… just one step from the BASS Masters Classic.  Good luck, Fred!

Tournament sponsors were Ranger, Chevy Trucks, GMAC Insurance, worldwaters.com, MotorGuide, ACDelco, Humminbird/Zercom, Flowmaster, Berkley PowerBait, Berkley Trilene, Pennzoil Marine, Quantum, FirstUSA, Eagle Claw, Mercury Marine and Gore-Tex.

Other Ohio Federation sponsors are Plano, White Allen Chevrolet and Total Team Sports.

Also on hand to give those big Lake St. Clair smallmouth the ride of their life was Alan and Sue DeVaughn with the Ohio Federation release boat.  It got a lot of attention as “Capt. Al” proudly gave tours to anyone interested.  And he found out that pontoons go THROUGH waves rather than OVER them as bass boats do!  The boat now sports its new 90-hp Mercury outboard and signs recognizing those who have made contributions to it.

With the bad weather and other things that happened, there should be some good stories at the Winner Dinner following the Open Meeting on February 10.  Plan to attend and be a part of the fun.

Next years Northern Divisional will be hosted by Iowa on the Mississippi River at Marquette.  Dates are September 16-22, 2001.