The third event of the 2008 season was the Ludington Gander Mountain Offshore Classic to be held July 19th and 20th in our homeport of Ludington, Michigan.  The Gander is known across the Great Lakes for drawing the largest and most competitive field in both the professional and amateur divisions.  Despite a smaller field than 2007, the tournament still attracted the most boats of any event on the lakes in 2008.

During prefishing, the team found good numbers of adult salmon with some trout mixed in in the waters just north of Pentwater.  On Day One, the salmon bite was fast and furious with the team boating its nine kings in the first ninety minutes leaving plenty of time to catch our three off species.  Unfortunately, the trout bite was tough and we were only able to boat two of three trout needed for a twelve fish limit.  Determined to change our fortuntes in Day Two, the team returned to the waters just north of Pentwater, but we were faced with adversity from the start.  We lost our first nine fish and experience issues with our electronics which made tensions high.  Despite all that, the team stuck together, refocused, and continued on to fill the cooler with nine nice salmon and three trout for a 116# limit catch by 12:00 p.m.  The box turned out to be the fourth largest of the day and propelled Team Verdict up to an 8th place finish, the team's third top ten finish in its three 2008 events.