The Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship will crown a new winning team in 2005.
James Lindner, captain of the 2004 defending team announced earlier
this week that his partner and brother Bill Lindner will be unable to
participate in this year’s event. Bill and his wife
Katherine, are expecting their first child during the week of the Bass
Tournament. “He wanted to come, but I didn’t think
he’d be able to keep his mind on fishing,” James
chuckled. Bill will be replaced by Mike Hehner on the number one
team this year.
Bill and James Lindner (L & R respectively above) partnered to
bring in a total of 53.82lbs of bass last year. They are one of three
teams that have won the tournament more than once. In 2003 they
reeled in 55.46lbs to take top spot.
But if other anglers think that Bill’s absence is a sign that
James might not make a return trip to the podium, think
again. “Fishing the Bass Championship is very much a team
effort,” said James. “Teams need to make many
judgment calls during the three day tournament. You’re basically
chasing the fish because things like the weather and feeding patterns
have them moving all of the time. This is a case where two heads
are better than one. In Mike I have a tremendous amount of
confidence. He has fished Rainy Lake for fifteen years and he is a
very, very good angler.”
In 2004 Hehner teamed up with Chip Leer and earned a respectable 85th
place finish in the tournament with a three day haul of 28.76lbs.
