BWSTA 2002 Team Classic

Kentucky Lake     October 5-6, 2002

Frank Sinn & Charlie Bogard winners of our 2002 BWSTA Team Classic

1st Place Winners BWSTA Team Classic winners
1st Place 519 VS Ranger Boat Powered by Mercury worth $38,000.00

Draw Boat Winners Keith Bailey & Josh Wagner

Draw Boat Ranger Cherokee 118 Boat Powered by Mercury worth $14,000.00
(drawing after second day weigh-in must be present to win)

2002 Team Classic Results Top 25 Winners

BASS WORLD SPORTS
2002 TEAM CLASSIC

Sinn and Bogard-CLASSIC CHAMPS!
 Foree and Turner Bag Second
 Cloe and Neibch Third

 
Lake Level – Day 1  353.03 near winter pool
                     Day 2  353.30
Weather  -    Day 1  Low in the lower40s, High 72
                    Day 2  Low in the upper 40s, High 65
200 boats

Kentucky Lake, October 5 & 6, 2002 - The Bass World Sports Tournament Association (BWSTA) 2002 Classic was held this year on one of the top bass fisheries in the nation, Kentucky Lake.  Kentucky Lake was chosen because it was a neutral tournament site for the Classic and because of its reputation as an exceptional fishery.  Over 400 anglers attended the Classic after successfully qualifying through a tough tournament schedule in the 2002 season.   Many of the top anglers in the Midwest fish the BWSTA events and it is quite an accomplishment to qualify for the Classic!  The 400 anglers were fishing for a first place prize of a fully equipped Ranger 519 Boat equipped with 200HP EFI Mercury Outboard, Garmin Electronics, Wholesale Batteries of MO, and a Motor Guide trolling motor, valued at $39,000!  In addition to the $39,000 1^st place boat, and the thousands of dollars in pay backs, anglers were also fishing for draw prizes worth more than $5000!  Also some lucky team was going to walk away with a draw boat consisting of a fully equipped Ranger Cherokee 118 fully rigged with a 75 HP Mercury motor, Garmin electronics, a Motor Guide trolling motor, and Wholesale Batteries valued at $14,000!  The competition for the two days was outstanding and fitting for an event this size.  As usual, several teams figured out the tough conditions and when the smoke cleared a new BWSTA Classic Champion had been crowned!

        Fishing conditions and success would have had to be rated as “good” leading up to the event and while becoming somewhat tougher during the tournament would still have earned the “good fishing” rating for the two competition days. Anglers faced some of the most daunting and difficult conditions that tournament fishermen can face, rapidly fluctuating lake levels before and during tournament week.  This type situation really moves the fish around and makes them hard to find and reluctant to bite.  The weekend prior to the event the lake and rivers feeding it had received a large amount of rain bringing the lake back up to summer pool. The lake was then dropped around four feet during the week of the tournament to bring it back to winter pool by tournament time. This meant that anglers would have to make many adjustments in a short period of time. Some found where they had been fishing earlier in the week was now dry land. This was truly a challenging week for any angler to stay on fish.

        The first place team of: Frank Sinn from Clayton, Mo. and Charlie Bogard of St. Peters, Mo. were more than up to the task. It was only the second time the team had been on Kentucky Lake. They used the same areas that produced during their first visit to the lake, concentrating on main lake channel banks and main lake points. The team used a 3/8 ounce blue gill colored Jewel Bait Co. spinner bait to boat all nine keepers that were weighed in during the tournament. On day one the team was in second place with a five fish limit that weighed 13.45lbs just .03 out of lead. The Day 1 weight was anchored with the second big bass of the day, a monster smallmouth bass weighing 5.17lbs and worth a $1,000. The huge smallmouth didn’t have the normal trophy belly and could have easily topped the 6-pound mark if she was fat!  The team was only able to boat four keepers on day two with a weight of 7.97lbs. This was more than enough as many of the Day 1 one leaders struggled on Day 2. The team was awarded a fully rigged Ranger 519 with a 200hp Mercury motor valued at $39,000. The team also won $1000 for the Day 1 second Big Bass, a 5.17 lb. largemouth. The team is sponsored by: Dave Mungenast MotorSports, Bass World Sports, and Jewel Bait Co. 

    The second place team of Mike Foree from Beaufort, Mo. and Bill Turner of St. Peters, Mo. arrived at the lake on Thursday and fished several recommended areas and had a very good day with five fish that would have weighed around 20lbs! Then they continued to shake off fish during the rest of the day. During the tournament, the team fished ledges and points with green pumpkin colored Critter Craws but also reported catching a couple of fish on white and chartreuse spinner baits. The team had five fish on Day 1 weighing 9.69 lbs. and four fish on Day 2 weighing 9.95 lbs. Their 2-day total weight of 19.64 pounds earned them a check for $5000.  The team is sponsored by: Bass World Sports, Dave Mungenast MotorSports,  Mercury Motors, Bill’s Auto Body and Cowboy’s Used Cars.

    The third place team of: Keith Cloe from Sesser, IL and Richard Neibch of West Frankfort, IL led the event after Day 1 with five fish weighing 13.48lbs and struggled, as many did on Day 2, only bringing two fish to the scales weighing 5.54lbs. The team reported catching 12 to 15lbs per day from Monday when they arrived until Friday. The team concentrated on main lake points and threw shad colored crank baits exclusively during the tournament to catch their fish.  Their 2-day total weight of 19.02 lbs. was worth $2500 in cash!

                                                            DRAW BOAT WINNERS

The lucky team of Keith Bailey and Josh Wagner, from Simpson and Golconda, IL walked away with the $14,000 Ranger Cherokee 118 boat fully rigged with a 75 HP Mercury motor and Motor Guide trolling motor.

                                                                     BIG BASS – DAY 1

Big Bass on Day 1 and ultimately Big Bass of the tournament was caught Josh Kirchoff of Highland, IL.  This 5.59-pound lunker was caught out of Jonathon Creek on a crankbait in about 4 feet of water very late on Day 1.  The bass came off a dock along a windy bank.  This one nice bass was worth a check for $2000!

2^nd Big Bass on Day 1 was caught by Frank Sinn of Clayton, Mo as part of the tournament winning stringer and earned Frank an extra $1000.  This fish was a monster smallmouth bass that weighed a show stopping 5.17 pounds!

BIG BASS – DAY 2

Big Bass on Day 2 was caught by Kerry Higgins from Almo, KY as part of the fourth place stringer.  This 5.25 lb. bass was worth $2000.  Kerry and his partner caught their fish burning blue/silver rattletraps on main lake flats in 2 feet of water.

2^nd Big Bass on Day 2 was caught by Dwyne Stinnet from Keyesport, IL and weighed 4.99 pounds.  This money-winning bass was also worth a nice check for $1000.

BASS WORLD SPORTS WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS:

Ranger Boats - Mercury Outboards - MotorGuide – Garmin - Ranger Trail - Please Release Me – BWSTA Ranger Cup - Lucky Craft Lures - Solar Bat Sunglasses - Mad Dog Baits – Syberg’s Family Restaurants – Bass World Sports Wholesale Tackle - Tri-State Trolling Motor Repair - Wholesale Batteries of MO - Belleville Sport Sales – Merten’s Boats & Motors – Nameoki Village Marine - Sport World Boat Center - BWSTA Pro-Am Bass Trail

2002 Team Classic Results All Places