Suddenlink Open 3-7-09

The Suddenlink Open kicked off on 3-7-09. The fish caught came out of Nasworthy and Twin Buttes. Weather was pretty decent despite being a bit windy. Water temperature was low 60s and 118 fishermen ranging from as far as El Paso made this an event to remember.

The Suddenlink committee members really worked hard to put on this event. The members seen left (from left to right) are; R.J. Jones, Cory Peddy, Craig Thornell, Monica Kincer, Junior Torres, and Gary McDonald.

It was obvious right from the start that these nice people had put in a lot of effort on making this a success. Volunteers were organized and efficient in getting the fishermen in to weigh their catch minimizing the stress the fish had to get through.

As mentioned earlier, the wind was up, although not gusting to 30 mph like it did last weekend. Skeeter boats were offering to give demonstration rides and the Suddenlink Photographer, Ramiro Galvan and I got lucky enough to get to ride with Scott Burriss (left) and score some great pictures of the contestants. Thanks Scott!

On right is Andrew Ortega and his son, Andrew Ortega Jr. from Odessa. We found them not far from the docks over by Knickerbocker Park. Although they didn't catch any keepers, Junior did manage to score the high score for the Cast for Kids Casting competition and has been invited to compete at the next level at Hubbard Lake. Contrats, kiddo!

Tim Dolenger was working the reeds in his kayak as we passed by to say "Hi"!

Over here, we found Kenneth Preston working the boat docks.



About this time, we headed back to the Head Quarters over at the Concho Bass Busters Club House for the weigh-ins.



And we didn't have to wait long.






Melvin Harris showed up with this 5.86. This was a quality fish!












Despite this great start, it didn't take long until Lee Smith showed up with this monster.

It was a 10.55 caught in Nasworthy in the ski lanes. Lee said he caught it on a black and blue jig and that it took him 10 minutes to land it. He also said that he had been waiting 17 years to catch a 10+ pound fish. What a time and place to do this!







What a beautiful fish! Remember, those are 14+ inch keepers under the monster!

I wasn't the only yo-yo covering the event. Wendell Ramsey, Outdoor Writer for the San Angelo Standard Times, fished the tournament and stuck around to watch. Wendell is a heck of a fisherman and writer. It was great to see him here and take a few minutes to visit about the fishing.











I was sincerely appreciative of the tournament as that the proceeds went to SAISD to benefit the kids of San Angelo. Dr. Carol Ann Bonds showed to participate and represent the district. As the head of the district, it was great to see her and her husband be a part of the crowd and visit with the people that we serve.







Thanks, Dr. Bonds!







In all, this was a great experience for everyone involved from the volunteers to the participants to the MC and weigh masters!

My sincerest gratitude to Cory, Gary, and the Suddenlink folks for allowing me access to everything for the coverage of this blog.


Stay tuned for the next post covering the results and remember, "Cast straight, cast often, and keep your wake small for the guys in the plastic boat!"