Mar 7 2010

The Kids Of The Southwest “KSW” kicked off their 2010 season with a bang on Elephant Butte.  Pre-fish conditions saw perfect skies with a light breeze; a few kids were actually wearing shorts.  However, come tournament day Mother Nature had different plans.  The kids woke to a cold cloudy day with light rain.  The kids where more than eager to get on the water, and whack a few.  After the safety briefing the kids hit the water with most boats headed North and one boat going South.  As the morning progressed it was clear that two boats were up North, and three boats where in the South.  In addition to the off-and-on rain, the wind was picking up.  By ten O’clock the main lake was white-capping with a few rollers developing.  One boat was out of action with dead batteries, and a few other boat Captains reported they had weak batteries as well.  The kids of course were ready to fish on, but after a few phone calls between boat captains it was decided that the tournament would end at eleven O’clock.  Safety is/was priority one, even though the wind did lay down it was the right call especially since the current weather did not match the forecast at all.  Time for weigh-in; It was clear that a few kids had fish from the smiles they where displaying.  First up to the scales was Joshua Bustamonte (Senior Div); Josh had one fish.  However, if you’re going to weigh one fish it might as well be a good one.  Josh’s fish tipped the scales at 4.88 lbs setting the mark for the Seniors.  Next up was Nic Arrieta with two fish weighing 3.61 lbs setting the mark for the Juniors.  Young Julian Carver stepped up next for the juniors; Julian however learned a painful lesson as he had a short fish.  Julian’s final weight was 2.12 lbs good enough for second place.  Clayton Ramsey stepped up next with two fish; Josh looked a little nervous as the scales bounced between 4.5 lbs to 5 lbs.  The scales locked in, and our weigh master calls out 4.56 lbs.  Josh wins a close one as Clayton settles for second.  Congratulations to all the kids on another fine performance, and a big thank you to all the volunteers who help make this possible.  The KSW club meets every month on the third Wednesday in Las Cruces, NM at the local Game and Fish office.  For more information send an email to info@nmbassfishing.com as the club is always looking for new members, and volunteers.

Senior Division:

First Place and Big Bass Joshua Bustamonte One Fish 4.88 lbs.

Second Place Clayton Ramsey Two Fish 4.56 lbs.

Third Place No Fish Donald Peters, and Justin Hettinga

Junior Division

First Place Nic Arrieta Two Fish 3.61 lbs

Second Place Julian Carver One Fish 3.12 minus penalty 2.12 lbs

Third Place NO Fish Johnny Beard, Zach Wiesenberger, Brooke Ramsey, and Isaiah Garcia