UMF crowns “2007 Champ”
By Don Zaegel
The 2007 season of Ultimate Match Fishing ended monday night with a finish that was indeed the ultimate match. In the finals, Kelly Jordan faced off against the current raining 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion Boyd Duckett awarding $50,000 dollars to this years winner and crowning the 2007 UMF champion.
Under normal UMF tournament rules, a match consists of four seperate quarters, with each quarter lasting two hours. Over the course of the match, each angler has control of the front of the boat for two of the four quarters as the opposing angler has to scrounge for left over water off of the back of the boat. Well this year, UMF and host Joe Thomas threw in a curve. Along with the standard tounament rules, each angler was given their own boat and a two hour period to run the lake and fish wherever they wanted concluding the fourth quarter.
After the whistle blew ending the fourth quarter, Jordan had a 5 fish limit in the boat estimated around 20 lbs. that had viewers along with myself assuming that there was no possible way that Duckett and his one fish could mount a resurgance. If you were watching, I hope you stayed tuned in.
Just before turning over the keys to their own seperate boat, Duckett remained optomistic. “It’s not the number of fish that count, it’s the size”, Duckett told UMF cameras. As they launched their seperate boats to begin the final period, both anglers ran to fish the same ledge. Was this coincidence? It doesn’t matter because Jordan sat back and watched as Duckett put on a fishing clinic, catching them with what seemed like every cast. With nervousness mounting, Jordan picked up his trolling motor and ran to the same magical spot that has produced his 20 lbs earlier in the day and throughout the season and began throwing his secret salt water spoon. He immediately began culling out fish he had caught earlier in the day, but would it be enough to stay ahead of Duckett?
As the clock ran down, pinpoint casts and unwasted time was critical. With minutes left, Duckett hooked his crankbait into a fish that immediately had him moving frantically around the front of the boat as he reeled it in. He would land a 4-5 lbs giant that would make a trip to the scales worth his time.
As Joe Thomas summarized the day, both anglers stood by patiently for the results. With each sack weighing over 21 lbs. both anglers were assesed a penalty onto their final days weight. Duckett received 4/10 of a lb. in penalties for casts across the line. Jordan was given a .25 lb. penalty for a dead fish that would prove to be a dagger as Duckett edged him out by 6/100 of a lb. for a total weight of 21.90 to earn himself $50,000 and this years title of Ultimate Match Fishing Champion. What a great way to end the season. Congratulations Boyd Duckett.
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