Day One – Awesome Start!

As a harbinger of good things to come, a Bald Eagle hovered overhead excited anglers early this morning as they awaited the starting gun. And what a great day it turned out to be! Large crowds, great entertainment, fantastic weather and fabulous fishing! The gods were truly smiling down on day one of the 11th Annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

Expressing the attitude of many fisherman, Dan Thorstad of Ray, MN said, “We’ve had better days, but at least I‘m not at work!”

The defending champion from 2003 and 2004 James Lindner (above center) and his new partner Mike Hehner, jumped out into an early lead in the weigh-ins and never looked back. Hehner and Lindner had a five-fish total catch of 21.10 lbs. They were followed by former champion Dave Lindsay and his partner Lee Lindsay with 20.38lbs while Mark Libitka and Dave Bennett took third place with 19.41lbs. The top local team was Paul Jewiss and Michael Graham who are in eight place with 18.18lbs.

The big fish of the day was netted by Mike Novak and Bill Storbeck which weighed in at 5.00lbs.