For Mitch Kistner, the road to the first of the 2017 Bassmaster Central Opens begins in Gilbert, Ariz....
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… just 1,283 miles from sunny Arizona.
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Before getting too far along, Mitch and his Sacramento, CA co-angler, Robert Nakatomi, stop by Tucson, AZ to meet up with Patrick Spencer.
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Taking turns sleeping and driving, the caravan straps in for a long night of driving.
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Over the course of the trip, Mitch estimated having over 60 hours of windshield time..
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… and burning over 275 gallons of gas between the truck and boat.
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Unfortunately for Patrick, he received a traffic citation in the early hours of the morning passing through New Mexico.
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After a long night of hauling, the group pulls over to refuel.
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Premium roadside BBQ is a bonus while driving through Oklahoma.
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And the guys get a chance to chat with a local high school angler.
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Traveling across the country allows these west coast anglers to pull over and enjoy a change scenery from their typical desert landscapes.
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After a grueling 23 hours on the road, the group arrives at their home away from home in Branson, MO.
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Before turning in for the night, they must unload the food, gear, and equipment filling their truck beds.
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But before Mitch get's on the water, he updates his Humminbird graphs with the Table Rock Lakemaster chips.
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After a little prep, it's time to drop the boats in.
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Patrick Spencer heads out quickly anticipating the fish are biting.
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Mitch Kistner heads out and begins his prefish by surveying areas he's previously found on the map.
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Although Mitch's prefish was slow for the most part….
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…he saw glimmers of hope.
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Like this healthy Table Rock Lake Smallmouth. Unfortunately for Mitch, these fish disappeared during the tournament, as smallmouth are known to do.
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With the weather ranging from 30 degrees to 80 degrees and from sunny to tornado warnings, fowl weather gear saw it's fair of share of usage over the course of the week.
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Photographer Tanner Yeagar was still adjusting to the early mornings and long days on the water.
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But before long, it was time to check out a new area.
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The group pulls out and discusses their day of prefishing.
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Part of the joys of traveling out east is catching up with old friends, such as Greg Hackman from Springfield, MO. Greg decided to drive down and BBQ a tri-tip after a long day of fishing.
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Time to sort through tackle and put together a game plan for the last day of prefishing.
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Patrick spends half of his efforts looking shallow and fishing deep.
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Time for a bait change…
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…which quickly produces a fish.
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Patrick may have started to put something together.
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The area around Branson, MO is filled with hidden treasures, such as Johnny Morris' Dogwood Canyon Wildlife Preserve.
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The Ozark Mountains are filled with history and beautiful structures.
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After Josh Bertrand made his 2nd consecutive Bassmaster Elite Series cut in Florida, he made the 18 hour trip to Table Rock to begin prefishing.
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It's a 40 degree difference from Florida, so it's time to suit up.
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The search begins for Josh on Table Rock. A lake where he has previously made a top 12 cut in the Central Opens.
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Although, prefishing consists of lots of fish just shy of the 15" length limit.
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Like this spotted bass that fell for a jerkbait.
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Josh continues his search with enthusiasm and focus.
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With prefishing over, the guys head to the pretournament meeting where they review the rules and regulations.
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After a quick registration, Josh sit's down and ties up a Berkley Cutter for the first day of competition.
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The anglers and the crowd rise for the National Anthem before day 1 weigh ins begin.
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After the first day of completion, Mitch Kistner waits his turn at the tanks.
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Despite only having 2 small keepers, he shows the crowd his excitement to be competing.
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Josh struggles with 4 fish on Day 1 but maintains his cool as he's known to do on the Bassmaster Elite Series.
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While refueling for Day 2, Robert Nakatomi and photographer Tanner Yeagar assist an elderly man with a flat tire.
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199 boats and 398 anglers await the Day 2 launch in a chilly 32 degrees.
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Co Angler Robert Nakatomi finishes his first ever Bassmaster Open event with an impressive 21st place.
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Mitch Kistner bags his Day 2 fish with more enthusiasm than day 1, moving from 140th place to 74th.
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Josh digs deep on Day 2 to make a rally…
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…and brings in the biggest bag of the tournament at 18-0 lbs and shooting into the top 12.
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Patrick chats with fellow Arizona Pro, Roy Hawk after the day 2 weigh in. Roy had a successful tournament and finishes in fourth place.
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Josh and Patrick chat with friends as they await the final top 12 standings.
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As Day 2 ends and the fishing is over for Mitch and Patrick, they head back to pull their boats out one last time.
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But not before taking in one last sunset Table Rock Lake has to offer.
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The live release boat heads out to release hundreds of fish safely back into the Rock.
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After a successful trip, the guys take one last photo before hitting the road back to Arizona. Left to Right; Robert Nakatomi, Patrick Spencer, Mitch Kistner and Tanner Yeagar.
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Josh's drive back was a little sweeter with his 2nd place trophy riding shotgun.
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He then adds it to his impressive trophy collection. Making it a little easier to reflect back on the fishing and the memories made at the 2017 Bassmaster Open on Table Rock Lake.
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