Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie, Pat Schlapper won the new BassTrakk Contingency Prize of $1,000 at the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake. The $1,000 bonus is rewarded to the angler who estimates his weight the closest to the official weights at the end of two days. Over the course of the first two days of competition, Schlapper’s estimated BassTrakk weight was 35-6 and his official weight ended up at 35-9.
When I called to congratulate Schlapper, he was in the middle of working on his boat and couldn’t have been happier to hear the news.
“You just gave me the first bit of good news I’ve heard in a while,” Schlapper proclaimed. “I knew I had to be really close to estimating my exact weight but I wasn’t sure if I would win.”
On Day 1 of the event, Schlapper realized that his estimated weight was a few ounces high then adjusted on Day 2 to even it out.
“I weigh my fish on a Rapala touch screen scale which has been pretty accurate,” said Schlapper. “On the first day I was actually a little high on my estimate, so on day two I actually estimated a little lower and I guessed it evened it out. My goal is to try to be within five ounces of your official weight so I at least have a chance at winning it.”
The Wisconsin native believes that being as accurate as you can on BassTrakk estimates is beneficial to all parties.
“I enter my BassTrakk weights for all the people watching more than anything,” Schlapper said. “Even though I’m a rookie, I know people still want to see who is catching them and see the shifts in the leaderboard.
“It’s just good for me and my sponsors too, it’s really nothing but good for everyone.”
Here are the top 10 finishers at Pickwick Lake for the BassTrakk Contingency Prize, and how close each angler was to their official weight.
Patt Schlapper: 0-3
Steve Kennedy: 0-5
Hank Cherry: 0-6
Scott Martin: 0-11
Kyle Monti: 0-14
Kenta Kimura: 1-0
Brock Mosley: 1-8
John Crews: 1-10
Seth Feider: 1-10
KJ Queen: 2-6