Defending champs eager to repeat

Winning is old hat to one—and something the other could get used to.
The Sioux Narrows duo of Norm Lindsay and Jess Swenson enter this year’s Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship as the defending champs, and consequently the team with the biggest target on their chests for the other 135 teams to shoot for.
For Lindsay, the situation is becoming old hat. He is the only three-time champion in the FFCBC’s nine-year history, winning with his brother, Dave, in the inaugural derby in 1995 and again in 1997 before reaching the top with Swenson last year.
“There’s no pressure,” said Lindsay. “The first key to fishing is doing it because you love to fish. But on the other hand, sure, you hate to lose your way out of the top of the field.
“We feel like we should always be on top.”
Swenson started fishing with Lindsay three years ago, so filling Dave Lindsay’s shoes last year was not such a big deal as it might appear at first glance.
“I think that was taken care of after we finished fourth the first year together in the tournament [in 2000],” said Swenson, but who still admitted the expectations that go along with being defending champ are unavoidable.
“For sure, there’s lots of pressure, but we’ll give it a whirl and see what happens,” he remarked. “Certainly, being the first boat to head out is going to help us.”
Lindsay said teaming with Swenson was a natural progression considering their history—and was emphatic that he hasn’t regretted the decision one bit.
“Jess’ father has been my best friend since before Jess was born,” noted Lindsay. “Jess is very compatible with me and is good at listening. You’ve got to get along with your partner to do well in tournaments.
“You have to be open to other people’s observations and ideas,” he stressed.
The pair won last year with a combined weight of 55.72 pounds—erasing a 4.5-pound deficit after the first day. They cut into the lead by two pounds after day two, then won by 1.82 pounds over Mark Raveling of Spring Park, Mn. and Mike Luhman of Deer Park, Wis.
Raveling ranks high on Lindsay’s list of legitimate contenders to wrest away their title.
“There’s some awesome fishermen out there,” he remarked. “Mark [Raveling] will certainly be tough. Then there’s my brother, you certainly can’t count him out.”
Lindsay and Swenson already have begun their pre-fishing routine to scout out where the best locations to head to come tournament time may be.
“We haven’t really mapped out a spot at this point,” Lindsay said. “For the few times I’ve been out so far, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. There’s a lot of quantity, but not a lot of quality, when it comes to catching ones over four pounds.
“I’ve covered a lot of water in the past two weeks,” added Swenson. “Every bit of time spent out of the water is going to mean that much more of a chance at success when the tournament starts.”
There’s no disagreement between the partners in discussing their favourite part of the tournament.
“The backing of the community is terrific,” said Lindsay. “They really get behind the whole event. When the U.S. guys come up, they always mention how unbelievable the crowds are.
“People you don’t even know are coming up and ‘high-fiving’ you.”
“Coming through the tent [for the weigh-ins at the end of the final day] is pretty amazing,” agreed Swenson. “I’ve done it twice now. There’s just so many local people who are outgoing and cheering you on.
“It’s just a good time.”
But don’t look for any Muhammad Ali-type bravado from the pair when it comes to pre-tournament predictions on whether they can make it back-to-back titles.
“Oh, Murphy, I don’t want to go that far,” laughed Lindsay. “It’s tough to make it to the top year after year. Everything has to go right. You have to do lots of homework—and hope for the best.”
“I don’t want to jinx myself,” added Swenson, who believes he and Lindsay will need to haul in an average of 18-19 pounds per day to pull off a repeat.
“It’s definitely a possibility, but you never know. Everyone has just as good a chance, especially those in the top 90 from last year,” he noted.