Over the weekend, Malad High School’s Bass Fishing team participated in the second annual Bass Fishing tournament at Devil Creek.  After a long morning of fishing, the top 5 catches by each entrant were weighed, resulting in Bryce Jones being named the winner of the tournament, with a 4.32 pound total for his five fish.  Dutch Loftis caught the biggest fish, a 1.08 bass.  

Bryce Jones, with his boat captain Adam Peterson of Mendan, ended up keeping a total of five fish for weigh-in, which ended up totaling 4.32 pounds.  His second place biggest fish came in at .91 pounds.  Asked how he had done during the morning, Jones said, “I spent most of the morning catching trout.  A lot of trout.  Then I switched to the Babybass dropshot and ended up getting some good ones.”  Jones took home new tackle, a new rod and reel, and a bunch of bait.

Durth Loftis came in second, with a five fish total of 4.11 pounds.  He also landed the official biggest fish with a 1.08 pound catch.  Loftis also used a dropshot, in his case a Max Scent.  “Tell them when you caught your fifth fish,” Tim “Big Dog” Rawlings prompted.  “A little before 2 o’clock,” Loftis laughed.  The contest officially ended at three o’clock.  Loftis also took home tackle and bait.

The rules of the tournament call for contestants to catch up to five fish for weigh-in, with the fish to be kept in a live well until they are weighed.  Contestants lose points for any fish that dies or becomes too listless in the live well before the weigh-in.  

“It’s kind of hard sometimes at this time of year,” Rawlings said.  “The fish are pretty much all the same size, so it’s just a matter of catching the right ones.  The captains all fished for a biggest fish too, just for fun, and even we had a hard time out there. “  Rawlings reported that he had had the most success with the Maniac Minnow lure.

German Loftis took fourfish for a total of 3.09 pounds, with a biggest fish of .86 pounds.  Blake Williams took two fish for 1.43 pounds, with a biggest fish of .77 pounds.  Irish Loftis caught one .83 pound bass.  This year’s Ice Fishing champ Tagg Peterson caught five fish for a total of 3.70 pounds.  Loftis also took home tackle and bait.

Rawlings thanked everyone for their participation, and spoke on the value of fishing.  “There are a lot of chances to cheat in this sport, but nobody does.  Word will get out and ruin you down the road and everyone knows it.  Even if that wasn’t the case, this is a sport where we all live by a code of honesty.  It’s a great sport for learning values and character, and I’m just glad you guys are all here for it.”

The participants and guests were then all treated to a sloppy joe feast and a chance to swap fishing stories.

The event had numerous sponsors, including Powell Rods, Dry Creek Bait, Lucky Strike, Megaware Keelguard, Garmin, Nitro, Triton, Mercury, and others, as well as the Malad High School Bass Fishing Club and supporters.