Craig takes the win at Buckhorn

Craig Koefler, 3.02#

Duke Bevard, 2.11#

      When Leesville BASSMasters arrived at Buckhorn Reservoir in Sims, NC, conditions suggested we would have some very good fishing in store for us.  Water temps were in the mid-70s, skies were overcast, and a light, steady breeze kept a nice chop on the water.
      Unfortunately, "fishing" turned out to be the operative word.  While members caught a number of fish that would have helped fill out limits at most other impoundments, Buckhorn's 16" minimum made doing so a challenge.  We spoke to members of another club weighing in at the same time we did, and they related similar stories.
      Only two fish were brought to the scales, and Craig Koefler's single fish took both 1st place and big fish for the day at 3.02 lbs.  Duke Bevard was the only other member with a keeper, and his 2.11 lb fish was good enough for second.  Wes House hooked a good fish with about 30 minutes left, but his line caught the skeg of the trimmed up motor when it took him around the back of the boat.  Fellow members Tom Robertson and Mike West were unable to catch a keeper.  Tom Robertson's guest, Mike Langer, weighed in one fish at 2.51 lbs.
      With a 21 point lead over Tom Robertson, Craig is very close to locking up first place for the 2017 season if he catches at least one keeper at our final two events at Falls Lake and Lake Gaston.  Tom has a 15 point lead in second over third place angler Duke Bevard, and also needs to catch a keeper in the each of the remaining tournaments to cement himself firmly in second place.  Another factor is that Tom has fished all ten tournaments to date; assuming he fishes the remaining two events, only his top 10 of 12 finishes count toward his year-end score, which will result in a loss of four points in total.  Both Craig and Duke have missed two or more tournaments this season, so dropping two tournaments will not result in points deductions.
      Our next tournament will be October 28th at Falls Lake out of Upper Barton's ramp.  We're hoping cooler temperatures will prevail over the next couple of weeks to help bring water temperatures down into a more fall-like range for our next outing.