Spring weather can be ferocious as it was on May 6th throughout Texas. With only two bass fishing events left for the Central Region Bass Champs anglers, 149 teams converged on a stormy morning at Lake Travis to fish for over $53,000 in cash and prizes. Action packed thunderstorms howled through the area during the early morning hours. James Scogin and Roland Loera braved the weather, the field and the fish to win with more than 17 pounds!
Considering the rain, the wind and most importantly the anglers and their safety, Tournament Directors Chad and Jeff allowed trailering so the anglers could launch their boats closer to their fishing holes. Many teams held off getting on the water until the weather broke, and luckily did not have to lose much fishing time. Just before 7:00 a.m. the storm pushed through and everyone who had waited out the storm hurried to their spots to catch the rest of the morning bite.
James Scogin and Roland Loera brought in 17.84 lbs to win the tournament. "It was a really lucky day for us" James began. "We started out where we had pre-fished on main lake points. On the first pass, we really didn't catch anything. Instead of leaving, we went back and started at a point that we had skipped on the first run. We were throwing flukes and top water baits. Roland caught our first keeper, and it ended up to be our kicker. A little while after that, we caught a four pounder. We fished that area until around 9:00, then went to boat docks. We caught about 15 keepers, and culled three times." They won the 1st place package of a Skeeter SX190 powered by a Yamaha 150 motor. Being a qualified Skeeter boat owner team, they also earned a check from Skeeter for $5,000 as part of their winnings. Their kicker fish weighed in at 7.88 pounds, winning the Big Bass award giving them an additional $1,000 bringing their total winnings to a whopping $35,500 payday! "The night before, at registration, we rubbed the 'lucky rock' a lady had. After the tournament she gave us the rock, and now it's in our boat. It pays to have a lucky rock! I'd also like to say that we really enjoy fishing Bass Champs, and have fished it since the started in this region. It's the greatest tournament trail going."
Kelly Mauldin and Thomas Cantwell won 2nd place with their 14.70 lb limit. "The morning started out with a bang!" exclaimed Mauldin. "Lightening was everywhere. Jeff and Chad is always looking out for the best interest of the anglers, and we were allowed to trailer for safety reasons. Thomas and I waited a while before we launched, and finally got on the water around 7:10. We hit deep points and humps, throwing Lucky Craft Pointers in water 10-25' deep. We put a limit in the boat in 30 minutes, which included our 6.14 lb kicker. After that, we threw a Carolina rig for most of the day, catching a lot of keepers, but only gaining ounces. Time was running out, and we went back to fishing jerk baits. We covered lots of water, and caught one over four pounds. As we were coming in, we knew it would probably make top five. For Lake Travis, this is a good sack." They were presented $2,500 for their 2nd place finish. "Right now we're just trying to stay within striking distance of top 10 to make the State Championship. Bass Champs is a 1st class operation. They are real professionals, and it makes you feel like you're fishing with the big boys."
3rd place was won by Jack Waldrop Sr and his son Michael with 12.28 lbs. Michael shared the events of their day. "Once we were told we could trailer, we went to another launch and waited for the rain to pass. I got to take a little nap while we were waiting. Around 6:45 dad woke me up and said 'It's time to go!' We headed up river, and started throwing a War Eagle Blue Herring spinnerbait over a shallow brush pile. Our first limit was in the boat by 7:30. After that, we started working our way back toward the weigh in throwing a Carolina rigged watermelon lizard with a very small weight. We were throwing toward chunk rock in about 15', and culled all but two of our original limit, also catching our 4.60 lb kicker. It was a good day, we never lost a fish and we didn't get wet." This father and son team won $1,500 for their 3rd place win. Sam Koebcke and Dennis Trepanier wrapped up the checks, winning 21st place for $500. Their limit weighed 9.60 pounds.