IBF TOURNAMENT TRAIL
DIRECTOR'S NEWSLETTER
OHIO RIVER MADISON TOURNAMENT

2004 Newsletter No. 2

     The Hawg Sticker Invitational was the third tournament in the 2004 Indiana Bass Federation Trail and was held at Madison, Indiana on the Ohio River, Sunday, June 6, 2004. As always Larry Carver and his wife Darlene were on hand to give out gifts to all the fishermen and women. The weather was great with sunny skies and temperatures in the 80's.

     Now the Ohio River was a whole different story. The river was high and muddy but the water level had been falling the last few days before the tournament. There was still small debris in the river and a lot of current but it was safe. Take off was at 5:30 a.m. and no fog.

     On the Co-Angler side James Copeland figured out how to catch muddy fish and was the Co-Angler winner with 4.42 points. Rob "Shorty" Latour was second. Travis Dunn came third, Carter Shackelford was fourth and James Stone was fifth. Under tough fishing conditions these guys did a great job. Rob "Shorty" Latour had Big Bass with a 3.52 pound largemouth. Nobody on the Co-Angler side hit the mark of 4.5 pounds for the Progressive Big Bass pot. That means at Rocky Point Big Bass could be worth more than $750.00 alone.

     The overall point standings for the Co-Anglers at the half-way point has Brian Thompson leading with 277 points. Second is Jason Murray with 273 points, third is Joe Valles at 256 points and rounding out the top five is Steve Littrell with 231 points. The 40th spot is at 98 points so all the Co-Anglers still have a great shot at making the Classic and getting a chance to fish for that Ranger boat.

     Now for the Anglers. Winner of the 2004 Hawg Sticker Invitational was Jason Roberts with four fish weighing 6.46 pounds. Jason also is the winner of Ted's Aqua Marine bonus money of $1,000.00. All he had to do to qualify is to have bought a new or used boat from Ted's in the last four years and have Ted's logo on the back of his boat. Great job Jason and thanks to our sponsor Ted's Aqua Marine for all their support. Kelly Hook came in second with the only five fish limit caught at a total weight of 6.02 pounds. Mike Brewington was third at 5.00 pounds even, fourth was Scott Bateman with 4.98 pounds and fifth was Brandon McDonald in at 4.66 pounds. It goes to show that even in tough conditions somebody always figures out how to catch fish.

     Big Bass on the Angler side went to Dan Pardue with a 4.18 pound largemouth. The Progressive Big Bass pot on the Angler side also did not get hit. The needed weight was 4.5 pounds. Now on the Angler side Big Bass could be worth 2,000 big ones at Rocky Point.

     The winner of the Solar Bat money for the Co-Anglers was Guy Euler and for the Anglers Kelly Hook claimed to be "sight fishing" with his Solar Bats. Great job guys.

     The race for Angler of the Year is heating up. First place is Scott Bateman with 286 points. Right behind him is Steve Sendelweck with 256 points. Third is Brandon McDonald with 254 points. Fourth is Travis Elliot with 253 and fifth is Kelly Hook tied with fourth at 257 points. The cut at 40 is now at 134 points. Anybody could still make the Classic and walk off with that new Ranger Boat. Keep fishing.

     Overall we had 97 fish brought to the scales for a total weight of 151.82 pounds. It was not easy fishing but the guys that held out made a lot of money and gained a lot of valuable points toward the Classic.

     We'll see everybody at Rock Point on July 24 and 25, 2004. Thanks to all of you for your support and special thanks to our sponsors.

Rob Worthy,
Tournament Director