The father-son team of John and Lorenzo Rossetti were in 5th place out of six teams heading into the second day of competition at the inaugural Bass Cat Owners Regional Championship. But they landed a tournament-best limit weighing 14.32 pounds Monday at Bull Shoals Lake to claim the win by nearly 2 pounds.
Their weights from the three sessions totaled 23.14 pounds. For the win, the Californians will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Brazil to fish for peacock bass with Bass Cat Boats' Rick Pierce.
They spent the abbreviated practice period on Norfork Lake, and while they only caught two legal fish there in Sunday morning’s tournament session, the information they learned at Norfork transferred to Bull Shoals.
“The fish are in that fall-to-winter transition,” Lorenzo said. “The bigger fish weren’t on the flats, but they were around ledges with deep water really close to the flats.”
The duo used Strike King football jigs and the KVD Jerkbait to amass their winning weight. More details of their tournament strategy will be posted on BassFan in the coming days.
First-day leaders Mark Huffman and Troy Rossman, both of Texas, added 8.01 to their day-1 weight of 13.35 to finish second overall. The team of Keith Webb and Mike Kirch, from Alabama and Illinois, respectively, finished third with 20.37.
After facing temperatures in the teens during Sunday’s first two sessions of competition on Norfork and Crown lakes, the competitors didn’t get much of a respite on day 2. The thermometer made it all the way up to 28, but intermittent barrages of sleet and cold rain made conditions tough. The winners said they’d never fished in conditions anything like those they encountered in Arkansas.
“I don’t think you really adjust to it,” John said. “It’s just miserable the whole time. You could make about two casts before your reel would freeze up.”
The Rossettis are no strangers to the Bass Cat family.
“Lorenzo has won several boats,” said Pierce. “He’s an excellent angler, a multiple-time winner of Quest money.”
He owns a Cougar and his father owns a Pantera Classic. Together they’ve won approximately 70 team tournaments over the past 15 years, with prizes including three Bass Cats, but this is the first time either has had an opportunity to travel to South America to fish.
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Pierce family,” Lorenzo said. “They flew us out here, all-expenses paid, picked us up at the airport and had a boat and truck waiting for us. All we had to do was find the fish and catch the fish. There are not too many other companies out there that treat their customers that well.”
