For those of you that have not had the pleasure of meeting a special Basscat owner, let me introduce you to Mr. Phil Bangert. Several weeks ago, I posted an entry on this board inquiring as to whether there were any MN or WI BCB owners that would be willing to spend half a day on the lake with me so that I could check out a few BCB models in which I am interested. Phil responded right away and we attempted to make arrangements to meet at a resort in northern MN where I would be spending Labor Day weekend with my family. Phil hails from Missouri (pronounced “Missourah”) and was going to go out of his way to meet me while en route to a tournament on Lake of the Woods in Canada. While working on arrangements over a several day period, Phil’s tournament partner had to unfortunately cancel. Phil, knowing me only through a few phone conversations we had had, took a mighty risk and asked me to join him for the tournament. This was an opportunity that just could not be passed up. Not only would I be spending 4 ˝ days on one of God’s most magnificent creations, but, I would get the unheard of chance to experience his Eyra at the same time and in a variety of conditions. If you have never fished Lake of the Woods, you owe it to yourself. LOTW stretches over 950,000 acres with 65,000 miles of shoreline and 14,500 islands. Each time I’ve been there, I am at one point or another simply overwhelmed by its beauty. Those of you that fish tournaments as I do, know how hard it is to find a partner with which you can get along. Phil is not only a gracious person and host, but dang entertaining as well. All I can say is that his wife must be an absolute saint . I enjoyed every minute of our time together with the exception of the lure-devouring northerns that had the feedbag on. Phil is a skilled shallow cover fisherman and I learned a lot not to mention adding a few Storm and Rapala lures to my arsenal. So, Phil, thankyou for taking such a mighty chance on me. I owe you a large debt that I will most likely never get a chance to repay.
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