The Two-Day Tune-In
CHAD MORGENTHALER DOESN’T like to be reminded of it, but, of course, he can never forget his first-ever professional bass tournament, the 2003 Bassmaster Top 150 on the Harris Chain of Lakes. He finished 129th after catching three bass on a crankbait.
Morgenthaler and his wife were living then in southern Illinois, and he’d never before been to Florida, never seen so much vegetation in the water, never had to deal with Florida bass during a cold front. In a word, he readily admits he was “lost,” and for three practice days he wandered hopelessly through the Harris Chain’s seemingly endless canals, not knowing what he was even looking for.
“Even with such a dismal finish, the tournament proved to be a tremendous learning experience for me,” says Morgenthaler, now a seasoned veteran in the Elite Series, “and among the most important things I realized was that I had to organize my
