Watts reels in Kid-Pro title

Jeff Watts figured the best way to win the 2003 Kid-Pro Tournament was the simplest—catch the biggest fish.
That’s exactly what the 14-year-old did Sunday as he teamed up with Devlin anglers Dale LaBelle and Jody Shypit to reel in a 5.59-pound whopper of a bass that gave the trio a winning total of 14.52 pounds for three fish.
“Right when we got it, I knew that might be enough to put me over the top,” said Watts, who proved he might have as good a future in bass fishing as he does in five-pin bowling (he earned a silver medal in the junior boys’ division at the YBC’s “4 Steps to Stardom” provincial showdown earlier this year).
“We caught a lot of fish today. My partners let some get away, too, though,” he kidded.
For being mainly a walleye fisherman, Watts made the transition to bass master quite nicely, according to LaBelle.
“He did really good for someone just learning how to bring in [bass],” he remarked.
Watts, who earned a fishing day trip for two with Jackfish Hammy’s Guide Service for his efforts, said the change wasn’t anything too dramatic—thanks to some good advice from LaBelle and Shypit.
“They showed me a different way to hold the rod,” he explained. “I didn’t catch a fish until noon, but then they started coming.”
Shypit, meanwhile, pointed to some fish-based foresight as a big factor in outperforming the 42-team field—the biggest in the history of the Kid-Pro tourney.
“We took him to an area where we’ve been catching some pretty good ones,” he remarked. “We figured we could find a few more good spots in that same area.
“I thought [Watts] did pretty good, especially bringing those Pot O’ Gold chocolates along with him,” he added with a chuckle.
David Chambers, along with partners Tony Richards and Rod Halliday, netted the day’s second-biggest fish at 5.19 pounds, staking their claim to second place overall with a 12.22 total.
T.J. Roen combined with partners Jason Cain and Dallas Mosbeck to take third place (11.42 pounds) while Andrew Dobie, partnered with Bill Godin and Karl Howells, came fourth (11.02).
Fifth spot went to Justin Rose and partner Jimmy Klick (10.94) while D.J. Darrah hooked up with Shoal Lake Bass Classic champs Dave Lindsay and Colin Gluting for sixth (10.65).
Ted Olsen and Bob Hell guided Tyler Lalonde to a seventh-place finish (10.51), followed by Matthew Odahl and teammates Corey Curtis and Chad Hanson in eighth (10.38).
Rounding out the top 10 were Joe Bodnar, with partners Kurt Johnson and Pat Jeffries (10.12), and Matthew Badiuk, along with Frank and Terry McClymont (9.88).
Daniel Brunetta was helped by Harry Bell and Don Cumming to an 11th-place finish (9.49), while Joanie Lee Morrison was the top female participant with a 12th-place showing along with partners Bruce Ness and Brad Carlson (also 9.49).
There was a tie for the 13th and final prize-winning position between pro angler Fletcher Klick’s two accompanying anglers, Jason Rose and Manny Cawston, who brought in a total catch of 9.46 pounds.
< *c>Fish stories
But those who missed out on the prizes certainly weren’t lacking behind their higher-placing counterparts in the thrill department.
“It was pretty exciting out there,” said Marek Willemsen, 11, who caught four fish himself while partnered with Jim Kibiuk and Bob Miller. “I caught a couple of nice ones.”
Ben Robinson, matched up with Andrew Klopak and Patrick Campeau, caught just one of his team’s 15 fish—and it was a pike. But that didn’t take the wind out of his sails.
“It was really fun to fish out there with guys like that,” said the 11-year-old. “They taught me a lot about lures and how to use them.”
Doug McBride, who along with his son, Zack, accompanied Michael Mainville out on the water, said with a grin that it was difficult to differentiate the amateur from the pros in their boat.
“[Michael] did better than we did, I think,” smiled McBride. “I think he brought in one pike that was 38 inches.”
Chip Leer went so far as to christen his young partner, Andrew Milling, a “future FFCBC champion.”
“His casting was exceptional,” raved Leer as Milling glowed with pride nearby. “If we had had the north wind behind us, he would have darn well ended up in the Northwest Territories.”
Leer called the importance of the Kid-Pro event “enormous” in terms of increasing interest in fishing among youths.
“I saw a statistic that said if you don’t introduce a child to the sport of fishing before the age of 12, there’s an 80 percent chance the kid will never pick up the sport,” he noted.
“Any exposure to fishing for young people is good, whether it be in a setting like this with all the glitz and excitement, or just going out with a mother or sister down to the lake,” Leer added.