Bass draw spawns lucky locals

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until March, but the luck of the Irish was in full effect at the home of Pam and Larry Buttner.
The Fort Frances couple was assured of a berth in the 2004 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship next July when her name was chosen first among the record 160 entries during last Wednesday night’s random draw at La Place Rendez-Vous here.
“It’s not been happening for us in Lotto 6/49, so I guess we’ll take this,” Buttner chuckled about not only her selection, but the unnecessary bonus of her husband being selected in the 28th position.
“The best part about it is Larry and I getting to spend three days together in the boat. We’ve always fished together. We like the quiet,” she added.
Buttner was on the board of directors for the tournament’s first four years of existence, co-ordinating the on-site bar area. The couple then competed in the FFCBC in 2000 and 2001, but haven’t been in the field the past two years.
By contrast, John Plasky of Fort Frances has cast his line in the FFCBC the past six years, but found himself having to enter the random draw for the second time after he and partner Joe Bolzan finished out of the top 90 this year.
Plasky was hoping to catch the draw on television but having difficulty finding it there, he jumped in his vehicle and headed down to the draw site to find out firsthand.
When he arrived, he discovered the great news that he had been drawn 39th—the last local angler to be chosen in the top 40.
“I gave a sigh of relief,” he recalled, before adding with a laugh, “Then they called me the next day and asked me if I wanted to claim the spot.
“I told them they’ve got a lot of nerve calling me to ask something like that. Of course, I wanted it.”
Next year’s FFCBC won’t be as special to Plasky for the unprecedented $170,000 purse up for grabs as it will be for the chance to fish the derby for the first time with his 28-year-old son, Michael.
“I’m looking forward to it mainly because I’ll have Michael as my partner,” said Plasky, whose best finish in the FFCBC was 25th. “I don’t think we’ll get up very high in the standings.
“I’d like to get in the money, but that’s not what’s really important.”
A second chance also was the theme for Doug and Zack McBride, who finished second in 2001 and fifth in 2002, but had an unusually tough tournament this year to miss the top 90 (and an automatic berth in the field next July).
The suspense over whether they would land a spot in next year’s field ended quickly when Zack was announced as the ninth pick in the draw.
Doug McBride said he’ll be glad to step aside as captain of the team, and jokingly discussed his relief with not having to handle certain responsibilities.
“I already told Zack that he can pay the other half of the entrance fee, and line up all the sponsors and do all the other work,” said the gleeful dad as his son and angling partner sat beside him and just shook his head with a smile at Saturday night’s Borderland Thunder game here.
The 136-team field for next year’s FFCBC is slated to include the top 90 finishers from this year’s tournament, the top 40 teams selected in last week’s random draw, and the winners of six major fishing tournaments in the region throughout the year.
If any of the top 90 finishers, or the top 40 chosen in the draw, decide not to claim their spot in the field, the corresponding number of people from the random draw’s waiting list will move up into the bottom part of the field.
The first 40 selections were as follows:
1. Pam Buttner
2. Rob Gervais
3. Michael Causyn
4. Richard Rigsby
5. Don Wood
6. Greg Thorstad
7. Jeff Steinke
8. Eric Veldhuisen
9. Zack McBride
10. Don Jones
11. Christina York
12. Steve Hurlburt
13. Dave Garber
14. Jerry Elliott
15. Lorne McNay
16. Karl David Kleman
17. Randy Anderson
18. Jake Galusha
19. Ken Ellis
20. Corey Streich
21. Brian White
22. Chad Adrians
23. Lisa Jirele
24. Pat Greene
25. Ron Bridgeman
26. Rod Halliday
27. Greg Asplund
28. Larry Buttner
29. Al McTaggart
30. Rob Steinke
31. Jim Chabot
32. Kirk Boyer
33. Denny Nelson
34. Richard L. Larson
35. Trevor Zimak
36. Guy L. Barr
37. James L. Barnick
38. Keith Travers
39. John J. Plasky
40. Paul Preblich
Here are the top 15 on the waiting list:
41. Mark Anderson
42. Robert Limberg
43. Ryan Haines
44. Dean Morken
45. Bill York
46. Ron Lindner
47. Tony Groskreutz
48. Ron Holzer
49. Arthur Ottertail
50. Pat James
51. Cos Costa
52. John Butts
53. Jay Knutsen
54. Reid Norine
55. Jim Kibiuk