Gibbins kick some bass

It came right down to the very last boat to weigh-in to decide the first ever Morson Bass International (MBI) champions on Sunday.
In the lead both days one and two, Oliver and Jason Gibbins kept the approximately 225 spectators on the edge of their seats as they showed off their final catch of the weekend.
Fishing was tough for most anglers on Day 3 with very few bringing in their allowed five fish so when the top six boats from Day 2 were driven through the tent, sixth to first, no one knew what to expect.
The first boat was Team #17 Grant Swire and Dave Woodgate of Fort Frances. They had a two day total of 26.38 lbs and needed about 10 lbs to take over first place. They were just short with 8.88 lbs.
The next boat, Team #2 Doug Vandersteen and Mark Pentney had of Falcon Lake, MB. and Bergland, ON., had 26.86 lbs. after Day 2. They needed about 9.5 lbs. to take over the lead.
The crowd went wild when they weighed in 12.40 lbs. and took over the lead from Oliver and Jason Gibbins 39.26 lbs. Emcee Lionel Robert had Team #2 stay on stage until someone else dethroned them.
The third boat, Team #18, Terry Gill of Morson and Chad Hanson of Fort Frances, had a two-day total of 27.20 lbs. They needed 12.07 lbs. to take the lead from Team #2 and they did it with 16.90 lbs., the biggest basket of the day to take the lead with 44.10 lbs.
Team #9 Dan and Almer Godin of Rainy River had a two day total of 29.14 lbs. They needed 14.97 lbs. to take over top spot but unfortunately had a tough day on the water, catching only two fish. Even with only two fish, they managed to weigh in 7.94 lbs. for a three day total of 34.32.
Team #10, Bill and Bryce Godin of Devlin and RR weighed in 29.98 lbs. in the first two days. They needed 14.12 lbs. to knock off Team #18.
However, they had even worse luck on the water than their arch rival team #9. They only weighed in one fish at 2.12 lbs. for a total of 32.10 lbs.
With only one team left to weigh, Gill and Hanson were getting anxious. Team #5, Oliver and Jason Gibbins of Morson had a two day total of 35.88 lbs. and needed 8.23 lbs. to win it all.
These two, who won the Rainy River Walleye Tournament last fall and the Kenora Bass International in 2001, know how to showboat for the crowd. They carefully raised fish after fish from smallest to biggest, showing off five nice bass. They weighed in 14.62 lbs. to capture the championship with 50.50 lbs.
Both Oliver and Jason said it was tough out there the third day. “We only had five bites all day,” said Jason.
They said they fished Sabaskong Bay all weekend and said they tried cranks and spinner baits. “Crank baits worked the best,” said Jason.
In fact on the first day they said they were working so good that by noon they were throwing back three pounders and decided to head for the landing. “We wanted to save some for the next two days,” said Oliver. They weighed in the biggest basket of the tournament that day, 18.04 lbs. and won a 14 ft. lund boat for it. Everyone else weighed in between 3 and 4 p.m.
The 2005 championship was sweet for the pair. “We finished 2nd three times before (Morson Bass Classic) and couldn’t get first,” said Oliver.
Jason said, “This is an excellent tournament and it is great to be close to home.”
Second place finishers, Terry Gill and Chad Hanson said they fished in a “top secret” spot to the west. Day 3 was their best day with 16.90 lbs. of bass.
They used jigs and crank baits and said the best colour for them was crayfish red.
This was their best finish in Morson as well having finished 4th and 7th before. They have fished the Morson tournament for seven years now.
Terry said Sunday, “We caught all our fish in mid-morning and all of them today in about 15 minutes.”
They also said it was a tough bite out there Sunday as there were 5-6 ft. waves all day.
Both praised the new tournament and plan to be back next year shooting for the championship.
Terry who also sits on the MBI board said they hope to work with Kenora and Sioux Narrows to have a Lake of the Woods Championship next year for all three tournaments.
The Gibbins received $3,500 plus a 9.5 hp boat motor for first.
Gill and Hanson received $2,000 for second.