February 27th found ArmyBassAnglers Pros Alfred Pemberton and Jason Blackmon combating the rough waters of Sam Rayburn Reservoir for the 2nd Skeeter Bass Champs East tournament. "Easiest way to mitigate the risks associated with heavy waves is to trim down, slow down and allow the boat to do what it is designed to do which is turn the water away from the boat" stated Blackmon. "Our Returning Heroes Home trademarked wrapped Skeeter was awesome getting us to our area, and returning us back to the weigh in facility safely" stated the teammates.
Having no time to practice between the previous tournament the team planned to start in the Indian Creek area of the lake. "Our decision was based off of prior information received about the fish beginning to move up into shallower water" stated Pemberton. The team would draw boat number 90 and would be greeted by about 20 boats already in the creek area. "The amount of boats in that area did not make us adjust our plan, we knew the fish would be in this area" stated Blackmon. The teams weapon of choice on this day would be a combination of Castaway Rods, Ardent reels rigged with rattletraps, and Lake Fork Trophy Lures Craw Tubes.
The team would camp out on a ledge for about 3 hours without a bite. "We felt like this area should hold some good pre-spawn fish but were unable to coax a fish out of this area" stated Pemberton. The duo would make a decision to run to the back of the creek and the plan immediately paid off as the team would both stick two solid fish using LFT Texas rigged Craw Tubes. After spending another hour in the back of the creek the team moved out further toward the mouth of the creek. "Around 1100 we noticed the water temperature had warmed up to about 51 degrees and the clouds had burned off. We moved about 200 yards from where we began the day and immediately hooked up with a solid fish on the inside edge of the hydrilla" stated Blackmon.
For the next 3 hours Blackmon and Pemberton found the spot within the spot and began to catch fish on almost every cast for nearly 3 hours. The magic spot would be about 40 yards wide and was stacked with solid Sam Rayburn bass. "Al was a fish catching machine during this time. I spent more time on the net than I actually did fishing, and that was fine with me. At one point there were about 15 boats within casting distance of my boat wanting to get to this spot. We were trying not to concentrate on the other boats, but after we stuck a good 4lb fish I had to turn around and let the other competitors know they were getting a little bit too close" stated Blackmon.
After a little battery issue and an extremely tough ride back to the scales, the ArmyBassAnglers team would represent well with a total weight of 13.44 and receive a check from Bass Champs President Chad Potts. Both Al and Jason would like to thank each and everyone of their sponsors that make what we do possible. At the end of the day regardless the number of fish weighed, the ability to share the mission of the ArmyBassAnglers, Support, Defend, Fish on stage and on the World Fishing Network is priceless-this is what these events are all about.
269 Team would compete in the event. Total payout was $65,310.00. 593 fish were brought to the scales for a total of 1549.40 lbs. Total number of limits was 72 with 110 zeros and the average fish weighed 2.61 lbs.
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