MOSSBACKS REAL IN ANOTHER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP AT TRUMAN LAKE

The Mossback Bassmasters have been pulling in Missouri BASS Federation state titles like, well... fish.

The 10-man team recently landed the club's fourth consecutive Missouri State Final Championship at Truman Lake.

The western Missouri lake has proven to be a favorite fishing hole for the Cape Girardeau club as titles were also won in the same waters in 1989, 1992 and 1995. The annual tournament rotates over three locations and the local club has now won the last four times it was held at Truman Lake.

According to club member Terry Young, no other club has ever three-peated on the lake. Young said what makes the club's achievement all the more remarkable is the team only fishes there only when the state finals are held there every three or four years."I don't know if there ever has been a club nationally that has four-peated on a non-home lake," said Young.

Young said the club, the second oldest in the state, has won at least 10 state titles, including a championship on its home waters at Wappapello Lake.

Young, a Mossback member since 1979, said it's no coincidence that the team fares well at Truman Lake."It's so much like the water at (Wappapello)," said Young. "It's shallow, murky and stump-filled."What the Mossbacks lack in familiarity with Truman Lake, it makes up for with teamwork. Young said team members met nightly during the competition to talk about their catch, compare notes and map out strategy. The Mossbacks, which has 21 members and was one of approximately 59 clubs competing, hauled in a two-day total of 43.8 pounds.

The victory allows the Mossbacks free entry into next year's final at Table Rock Lake. A plaque and trolling motor were also the spoils of victory.

The local squad also advanced two members into the Central Division Tournament, to be held on the Missouri River in Yankton, S.D., in June. Terry Holmes finished eighth and James Goodpasture placed 11th to finish among the top 12 Central Division qualifiers. Over 500-fishermen competed in the tournament.

The top Central Division finisher will advance to the National Tournament. The winner of the National Tournament gains entry into the million dollar BassMasters Classic."It's a way for the everday fisherman to compete in the BassMasters Classic," said Young.