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| EJ and Grady: Wapsi Champs |
This past weekend the Indee Bass Club took to the Wapsi in Independence for their first home event of the year. Twenty-four students from grades 7-12 joined in on the cool, windy day to try to catch some bass. All anglers were taken out on the river by adult boat captains for 6 hours in search of the biggest bass they could find. While the weather wasn’t very cooperative, anglers did catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and northern pike. Each boat, 2 student anglers, are allowed to bring in 5 bass to weigh in at the scales to determine the winner. Only two teams were able to do that, but eight boats did manage to bring bass to the scales for the official weigh-in at Teachers Park.
Coming in with the biggest limit for the event were a couple of seniors who have fished the club for many years. EJ Miller and Grady Cornwell found a nice limit of bass that weighed 9.03 pounds. They caught most of their fish along rocky shorelines of the Wapsi using a paddle tail jig and a spinnerbait. They also caught a keeper on a frog bait in a backwater area. In second place, fresh off a win at the Okoboji Lakes were Jackson Beatty and Gable Eddy. They had a limit of bass that weighed 8.63 pounds. They caught all their bass using crankbaits and soft plastic craw baits. Jackson also caught the big bass of the event, a beautiful 2.46 pounds largemouth bass. In third place was Colton Cameron and Carter Eddy. They found three keeper bass using a different bait for each! They caught them on a “dirty craw” tube, spinnerbait and crankbait. Coming in at fourth place was Cal Sweeney and Ranger Reed. They had two nice largemouth bass that weighed 3.08 pounds, they caught them pitching tubes. In fifth place was Memphis Peyton and Brayton Kuhse, they had one nice largemouth that weighed 2.31 pounds, just missing the big bass award. In sixth place was Keegan King and Landen Putbrese, they had one smallmouth that weighed 1.67 pounds. In seventh place was Preston Miller and Kaden Shannon with a keeper that weighed 1.01 pounds. Finishing out the teams that brought in keeper bass were Tavien Jones and TeJay Ratchford. They had one keeper that weighed 1.00 pounds.
Overall, 19 bass were weighed in on Saturday and all released alive back into the Wapsi River to be caught another day. Students commented on catching walleye and northern pike throughout the day too, which keeps you on your toes as you look for the next bass strike. After the weigh-in, anglers and captains were treated with a grill out, thanks to grill master Randy Toale. A huge thank you to our twelve adult boat captains for getting 24 student anglers out on the water. They included: Brian Miller, Jackson Toale, Travis Butters, Dan Sweeney, Todd Reed, Dave Wilson, Andrew Gissell, Jesse Roscovious, John Malek, Tony Delgado, Jason Hoyle, and Matt Osbourne. Without these adults the students wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the time outdoors…THANK YOU. Another big thank you goes out to the Indee Bass Club sponsors for the 2025 season. We have many local sponsors as well as some national sponsors that allows the club to give away approximately $800 of fishing prizes and gear at this event. They include Colony Plumbing Heating/AC, Smith D&L Insurance, RONA Memorial, BankIowa, Cy & Charley’s, Tim Reed State Farm Agency, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Hilltop Motors, Klever Concrete, Shay Minn Kota, SCHEELS of Cedar Falls, The Rod Glove, X-Zone Lures, Strike King Lures, Lew’s Rod/Reels and Hot Rod Baits.
For more information about the Indee Bass Club, check out their website, Facebook or Instagram pages.
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| 2025 Indee Bass Club SPONSORS |
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