Indee Bass Club: Lake Delhi Season Finale

Ranger and Jackson with the winning bass

The Indee Bass Club traveled east to end their season on Lake Delhi.  Back in the winter of 2023, students voted for areas to fish, and Lake Delhi was once again the top vote getter.  Delhi is known for a large population of bass, both smallmouth and largemouth.  The lake has large numbers of bass in it, however, catching the bigger 12-inch keepers is sometimes a chore.  No matter what, fishing Lake Delhi after the Labor Day weekend is always a fun thing to do, the water is cooling and that typically means the fish are hungry.

Fourteen members of the bass club made the trip to try and find a limit (5) of bass, 12-inches or larger to weigh-in. It was a beautiful day, a southern breeze, partly cloudy and temperatures in the sixties and seventies. As the tournament got underway at 8am, boats spread out over the entire lake to try and reach the goal of five keeper bass. On this day, every team of students was able to bring a keeper to the scales at the 2pm live weigh-in, which was a first for 2023 season.

 
The results of this tournament varied quite a bit from first place to 7th place, proving once again that putting the right baits in the right locations will yield more bass than others. The winning team of Ranger Reed and Jackson Wolf came to the scales with five keeper bass that weighed 8.55#. When asked about the day, they stated, "We caught our first good one on a deep diving crankbait in about ten feet of water. After that, all of our keepers came on Hot Rod Baits tube in the Dirty Craw color and Stickbaits. We caught fish all tournament long, it was a great day." Ranger Reed also caught the big bass of the event, a 3.00 pound smallmouth bass, this pair was captained by Todd Reed. In second place was Jackson Beatty and Gable Eddy. Jackson said, "We caught them on Hot Rod Baits tubes in the black and blue color. We fished around rocks and docks around six-foot in depth." They were able to bring in a limit of bass that weighed 6.35#, Shane Beatty was their captain. In third place was Colton Cameron and Carter Eddy, with captain Dan Sweeney. They reported catching all their bass on Texas-Rigged Hot Rod Baits Tubes or Wacky rigs. They ended up with 4 keepers on the day that weighed 3.50 pounds. Chris Weepie was once again a captain for his son Hunter Weepie and Clinton Junk. They weighed two bass that weighed 3.19 pounds, good enough for fourth place. In fifth place was Ben Anderson and Curran Meyer, Garry Anderson was the captain for this Junior High duo. They had one keeper that weighed 1.52 pounds. Sixth place belonged to Christian Simmons and Aiden Svoboda, along with captain Dave Wilson. They had one largemouth that weighed 1.43 pounds. In seventh place was Carson Hanaway, Wyatt Mether and their captain Steve Bly. They had one keeper that weighed 0.91 pounds. The top three teams along with the big bass were awarded prizes from Scheels and Hank's Bait and Tackle. Other sponsors of the club include Colony Heating/AC Plumbing, Klever Concrete, Tim Reed State Farm, Cy & Charley's, Shay's Minn Kota, BankIowa, Rick Wendling Memorial, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Quantum Rods/Reels, X-Zone Lures, The Rod Glove, and Hot Rod Baits Bass Series. The bass club was able to send everyone home with fishing gear after the tournament, as well as a great meal at the ramp, thanks for cooking Jennifer and Taylor Simmons. The club would not exist, and the kids would not get the opportunities without our great list of sponsors.

 
The Indee Bass Club is free and open to any student at the Independence and St. John's schools. You can find out more details on the opportunities the club has for students on their Facebook, Instagram and website.

BIG BASS: 3.00# Smallmouth