Mike Caudle Crowned Webstah Winnah!

Avid's 2009 Webster event had a great turnout, no doubt a result of expectations of it being a spawn tournament where big fish would be spilling out of everyone's livewells. As it turned out it was a very successful tournament in terms of numbers, but the top weights were down from our past two events. That's not to say the weights weren't very respectable as half the field weighed limits exceeding 10 pounds, and the top four broke the 13-pound mark. But the really BIG fish everyone hoped for were absent, at least in quantity. Four fish over 4 pounds were weighed, the best being Chris James' 5.11 largemouth lunker that took the big fish award.

It was a pretty decent day to fish, and conditions were right for the spawn, though it may not have been in full force for the largemouth population just yet. Water temps were in the mid-60s. The air temperature also started in the 60s and everyone got a little wet as the skies delivered a light shower shortly after launch that lasted about an hour. Skies remained overcast for most of the day but temps climbed to the low 70s by weigh-in.

As for the fishing, it seems some shallow fish were found on beds and around docks, while others were clinging to deeper weedlines. Judging by the number of fish caught (84 fish, 13 smallmouth and 71 largemouth), the fish were aggressive and ready to eat. But it remains a mystery what tactics the top finishers employed and where they found fish...

First place in this event went to Mike "Winnah" Caudle and his 13.70 bag. Mike was followed closely in second place by last year's Webster winner Paul Carvalho, who had 13.43. Mike finished second at last year's event so these two must be doing something right. John Shpack rounded out the top 3 with a limit of 13.37.