The National Boat Mart – TVA Bass Series held it’s 5th event of 2004 on Lake Freeman many anglers had high expectations, many were disappointed. As the field took off from the staging area at Dodge Camp they found the muddy water was very difficult to fish. Since the lake never rises 6″ above or below normal pool, there was no flooded things to fish. One angler though always rises above the crowd at every event, you can count on it. There’s just too much talent on the water for it not to happen.
That one angler was Demotte, Indiana’s Don Deerwester. Deerwester was the only angler to post a five bass limit. His limit weighed in at 8.84 pounds and anchoring his winning limit was the tournaments Big Bass a 2.45 largemouth.
Deerwester has now established himself as the man to beat for the 2004 Angler-of-the-Year title as he sits on top of the point standings with a nice 11 point cushion after five events and looks like a virtual lock, and threat to win every event left on the schedule. Deerwester, is officially considered as one of the National Boat Mart – TVA Series “Top Guns” as he has posted a lot of wins, and has won a TVA Series event on every single lake on the schedule through the last couple years. No other angler in the series can make that claim. Many of the Co-Anglers consider it a great day just to draw Don as a partner.
Deerwester simply has been putting bass after bass in the boat at will, much like a pool player calling his shots in Las Vegas. Deerwester’s worst finish in 2004 is second place since the series started back again in April. A big question many anglers had was how did the “Dominator from Demotte” as he’s now called by a few, put all the pieces of the puzzle together and win yet another event so handily and make it look so easy?
“I pre-fished the weekend before because I have been struggling on Freeman in the past stops we have made there. I had a goal I was trying to achieve and I really put a lot of work into my practice time” said Deerwester. “I found some areas that were holding fish and I thought I could catch a few of them on the tournament. The rain muddied the water more than I would have liked but a few adjustments during the tournament, and I was able to catch my limit. After seeing how dirty the water was, I keyed on very shallow structure. I knew the fish were in the area and figured they would take advantage of any litttle cut or amubush point since the water was so muddy” remarked Deerwester.
“My primary bait was a J V Custom Bait crankbait. I also used a lot of scent on my crankbait. I would repeatedly make presentations to the same cover, and usually it would take 8-10 casts to the same cover to elicit a strike. I caught fish throughout the day, filling my limit at 1:00pm” commented Deerwester.
Deerwester is sponsored by: All-Walls.com, Big Bag Bait Co., Crown Industrial Supply, J V Custom Baits, Merrillville Awning Co.
In second place was Logansport, Indiana’s Mike Quaglio. Quaglio patiently scratched out 3 keepers weighing a respectable 6.12 pounds to secure yet another good finish for himself in 2004.
Winamac, Indiana’s Rick Owen came to the scales with three decent keepers in his bag weighing 4.50 pounds to hold down the third place position. Frank Brown of Kokomo, Indiana came in with two bass weighing 3.28 pounds to nail down another consistent finish in fourth. In fifth was Monticello, Indiana’s Rod Coffing with two keepers weighing in at 2.47 pounds.
The Co-Angler Bonus was awarded to Andy Pruitt with a bass weighing in at 1.59 pounds. Congratulations to all the anglers that made a check. It was hard earned.
In this event at Freeman only eleven anglers weighed in to get those precious points towards the 2004 TVA Bass Championship in September. In 2003, on this same weekend, almost the entire field weighed in, and it took nearly a limit to crack into the Top-10. What a difference a year can make, with a little rain too of course.
The next event will be on Morse Reservoir on June 26, 2004, out of Morse Marina. Last year it took a 16 limit to win. Will Marty Yoder do it again, bigger and better, say 20 + pounds? Will Don Deerwester do it again, or will someone else “step into the spotlight”? These questions will be answered in a matter of time.
The TVA Bass Series is sponsored by: National Boat Mart, FishingWorld.com, Bass Maxx Charging Systems, Hendrickson Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Wrede & Son’s Excavating, Best Western Brandywine Inn & Suites, Land-O-Champs Trophy, and Metal Art Studios, Lafayette Glass Company Lafayette, Indiana. Yoders Stitching Line Flora, Indiana. Wild Bills Outpost Flora, Indiana. Stephans IGA Food Store, Flora, Indiana. Five Orr’s Sport Fishing Charters East Chicago, Indiana. And Twin Lakes Fish & Game Monticello, Indiana.By: TVA Staff
