Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Bass fishing events canceled

Paula DelGiudice

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001 | 10:08 a.m.

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears weekly. Reach her at desertdenizens@aol.com.

A stunned country watched last week's terrorist attack and the ensuing rescues, and responded in the only way possible. No one felt like celebrating; no one felt much like watching football or baseball. No one felt like playing sports when so much that had seemed so certain was now uncertain.

Bass anglers were among the athletes who canceled some of their tournaments over the weekend due to the attacks.

Two tournaments that were rescheduled were last week's New York Citgo Bassmaster Open and this week's New York Citgo Bassmater Tour event in Catskill. For anglers who had planned to fish in the New York tourneys, the decision to reschedule was the best one.

"Authorities are asking people to stay clear of the region," said Kevin VanDam, the 2001 BASS Masters Classic Champion. "There's no question this was the right decision. Like all Americans, our thoughts are elsewhere right now. Our athletes travel great distances to these events and there is so much uncertainty because of this senseless tragedy." BASS angler Brent Chapman said it's too soon to be fishing here or anywhere.

"This was the only decision BASS could have made," he said. "The country is really shaken up and as important as sports are to our culture, they need to take a back seat at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and our President."

Meanwhile, anglers were probably just hitting the water to fish the second day of the WON BASS Miller High Life U.S. Open at Lake Mead when the tragic attacks occurred. The tournament continued its three-day run on Wednesday, amid the worry, concern and dejectedness in the country.

The tournament ended with Mike Folkestad of Yorba Linda, Calif., topping the field of 312 anglers. The 60-year-old pro angler recorded three limits of bass on Lake Mead, with his 15 fish weighing 29.81 pounds. He reported catching fish on RistoRaps, Bass Poison plastic worms and spinner baits.

Second place went to Bob Simmons of Irvine and Morro Bay, Calif., with 28.75 pounds. Local pro Pat Donoho of Las Vegas, who captured the U.S. Open title in 1993, placed third with 28.31 pounds, winning $15,000.

In the AAA Division, the winner was a female angler from Japan, Megumi Takagi, who compiled 28.37 pounds with three different pros.

Anglers taking daily big bass honors included Don Hunt of Reno with a 4.04 pounder on the first day, along with Rick Beck of Las Vegas with a 3.55 pounder. One of the five big bass taken on the second day was a 3.42 pounder caught by Bobby Ellis of Las Vegas. The third round big bass earned $2,000 each for five anglers, including Clyde Evans of Las Vegas with a 4.54-pound bass and Rick Beck of Las Vegas with a 4.21 pounder.

Tilapia are an illegally introduced fish and are considered to be very good table fare. There are no daily or possession limits for the fish and NDOW encourages anglers to keep all tilapia they catch.

A major firearms manufacturer has brought to market a muzzleloader that is designed to use smokeless powder. As such, the frequently repeated safety message "never use smokeless powder in a muzzleloading firearm" does not apply to the new product.

Until the introduction of the smokeless powder muzzleloader, all muzzleloaders were designed for black powder substitutes that produce internal pressures of 10,000-15,000 pounds per square inch. Modern smokeless powders produce pressures of approximately 50,000 PSI. Use of smokeless powder in a muzzleloader designed for black powder or black powder substitutes will very likely cause a catastrophic failure of the firearm, with possible serious injury or even death to the shooter and bystanders.

NDOW is strongly cautioning hunters to never use smokeless powder in a muzzleloading firearm unless that firearm is specifically designed for smokeless powder.