Could it be age, experience or just a lucky combination of breaks that Bill Ramsey & Bill Blair won the Bass Champs South Texas season opener bass fishing tournament on Amistad? They won the event with nearly 40 lbs, setting a new record for not only their division, but for all of Bass Champs tournament trails. The 205 registered teams also set a new record for the South Texas division in entrants. What a day! There were over 150 limits brought to the scales, and it took over 20 lbs to get part of the $64,775 paid in 29 places.
The whole state of Texas has been experiencing drought conditions, and all water sheds are below pool. Lake Amstead is holding its own with a normal fluctuation level of 10-11 ft low. A cold front had marched through the area the night before the tournament, and rains were predicted for Saturday. While the day started off chilly and a little windy, the anglers had a day of overcast skies, no rain, and easing wind to fish the first event of the year.
Bill Ramsey (65 yrs old) and partner Bill Blair (70 yrs old) came to the competition after Ramsey came off of a fishing sabbatical, and Blair falling from his roof this past fall resulting in some bone breaks. Their biggest break came together today when they came to the competition in hopes that the fish they had found a month ago would hold and be there for them. "We really lucked out. Our fish were still in the same spot we found them in last month. This has been a most exciting day for us. We fished a point with a flat on it in about 15'-22' deep, throwing green & white DD-22's and watermelon red Carolina rigged creature baits. We had our initial limit in the boat by 8:30" Blair recalls. "Bill (Ramsey) caught the big one on the crank bait, and she weighed in at 10.54 lbs! We culled 3 or 4 for the next hour, and our last cull fish of the day (around 4 lbs) was caught around 9:30." Ramsey & Blair won 1st place overall, and was awarded the Skeeter SX 190 / Yamaha 150 bass rig valued at $$$$, PLUS the $5,000 Skeeter Bonus for fishing from their own Skeeter bass boat and winning the event. Payday for Blair & Ramsey finished off with a Big Bass check for $1,000. "I don't know if falling off of my roof was part of our "lucky break", but I've had several anglers ask to come over and fall off my roof now!" - Bill Blair Weighing in another limit over 30 lbs, Trent Huckaby & Bubba Haralson weighed in five chunks totaling 31.30 lbs for a 2nd place win. They pitched jigs and threw crank baits around trees & grass lines in about 15'-20'. Their 2nd place check was for $2,500.
Mike Grimes and Travis Owen caught the last check, finishing in 29th place with 20.50 lbs. It is apparent that this will be a highly competitive year for the South Texas Bass Champs anglers! In this event, 830 bass were weighed in for a total tournament weight of 2,717.82 lbs. Average bass weight: 3.27 lbs.
At each event, a non-profit organization helps with the weigh in. For doing this, Bass Champs and their sponsors provide several draw prizes that any angler or spectator can participate in. At this event, the Del Rio Leo's Club came to help out, and Bass Champs matched the draw prize participant money to $500 for them.
"What a great start to the year!" stated Chad Potts, Bass Champs President. "This is going to be such an exciting season. We have a lot of seasoned Bass Champs competitors, and are seeing several new faces too. Congratulations to our winners, and good luck to all of our anglers in the upcoming events!"
The next event for the South Texas Division will be held on February 18th at Choke Canyon.
Place Angler One Angler Two Fish Big Weight Prize Amount Bass 1 Bill Blair Bill Ramsey 5 10.54 39.66 Skeeter Sx 190/ Yamaha 150 + $5000 Skeeter Bonus 2 Trent Huckaby Bubba Haralson 5 0 31.30 $2500 3 Charlie Forster Jeff Williams 5 9.58 30.32 $1600 4 Randy Cole Tully Williams 5 8.12 28.62 $1300 5 Cody Hundley Chance Hundley 5 0 28.20 $1200 6 JD Fontenot Trey Hallmark 5 7.88 27.14 $1150 7 Tommy Durham Speedy Collet 5 0 26.00 $1100 8 Rene Meza Jose Jimenez 5 0 25.98 $1050 9 Wendell Ramsey Joe Smith 5 0 25.64 $1025 10 Lyle Larson Jeff Lynch 5 0 25.42 $1000 11 Scott Burris John Mills 5 0 25.08 $1000 12 Rick Rickman Elroy Krueger 5 0 24.32 $1000 13 Albert Hudson Bill Kingsberry 5 0 23.10 $1000 14 Jimmy Davis Duane Lyssy 5 0 22.94 $1000 15 David Day Dustin Day 5 0 22.78 $1000 16 Mike Rupard Gary Gillihan 5 0 22.56 $1000 17 Paul Montelongo JrPaul Montelongo 5 0 21.92 $1000 18 Jorge Menchaca Jaime Mallen R 5 5.62 21.88 $750 19 Steve TschirhartBill Kirchoff 5 6.42 21.80 $600 20 Robert Buchanan Curtis Pelky 5 0 21.76 $500 21 Brian Flemming Mike Flemming 5 0 21.72 $500 22 David Herzog Penny Herzog 5 7.2 21.66 $500 23 Mike Kernan David Weber 5 0 21.54 $500 24 Carl Wengenroth Darryl Smith 5 9.32 21.28 $500 25 Robert Brown William Truss 5 0 20.96 $500 26 Derick KuyrkendallForest Wilson 5 0 20.92 $500 27 Doug Chapman Kenneth Chapman 5 0 20.90 $500 28 Chris Snyder Jeffrey Piel 5 0 20.64 $500 29 Mike Grimes Travis Owen 5 0 20.50 $500 30 Roger Slaughter John Slaughter 5 0 20.48 31 Jim Angel Gary Hise 5 7.98 19.94 32 Tommy Thompson Don Crowder 5 0 19.90 33 Matt Rigby Armando Flores 5 0 19.78 34 Dale Elkins Raymond Flark 5 0 19.72 34 Lee Ray Waits Jack Waldrop Jr 5 0 19.72 36 Terry Oldham Jaime Burtron 5 0 19.58 36 Jim Criswell John Criswell 5 0 19.58 38 Dario Guerra IV Dwayne Winn 5 0 19.50 39 David Triesch Steven Charles 5 0 19.42 40 Kenneth Land John Adams 5 0 19.30 41 William Estes Brandon Kitchens 5 0 19.26 42 Jimmy Steed Charlie Haralson 5 0 19.24 43 Glenn Erskine Ryan Erskine 5 0 19.20 44 Randy Tawater Regan McMinn 5 0 18.98 45 Rick Shock Jared Poole 5 0 18.92 46 Butch ColantonioMike Kelly 5 0 18.78 46 Billy Hopkins Jack Hopkins 5 0 18.78 46 Tony Chance Dale Jones 5 0 18.78 46 Michael WimberleyAndrew Wimberley 5 0 18.78 50 Bill Flippin Josh Arp 5 0 18.72 51 Britten Gambrel Russel Gambrel 5 0 18.70 52 Carrie Fojtik Henry Fojtik 5 0 18.68 53 Paul Hefferman David Green 5 0 18.66 54 Brent Watts Terry Hall 5 0 18.38 55 Jerry Rakowitz Tim Zigmond 5 0 18.36 55 Tom Haralson Mike Bauers 5 0 18.36 57 Derek Cone Tommy Wilkinson 5 0 18.20 58 Bobby Chestnut Ernie Kuehner 5 0 17.98 59 Marty Luedke William Richardson 5 0 17.92 60 Luke Cavanuagh Heath Conrad 5 0 17.80 61 Eric Washburn Pat Wasburn 5 0 17.66 62 Silverio Garza Jr Jeffery Piil 5 0 17.56 63 Justin Farris Corbin Stock 5 0 17.40 64 Jason Davenport Charlie Brown 5 0 17.28 65 Dustin Friesenhahn Wade Brauchle 5 0 17.24 66 Foy Osburn Mitch Goodall 5 0 17.20 67 Jason Buchanan Randall Christian 5 0 17.14 68 Allen Shelton John McCalmont 5 0 17.04 69 Barry Bennett Jesse Hasty 5 0 16.82 70 David Chambers Gerry Moon 5 0 16.58 71 Charles Whited Jim Behnken 5 0 16.50 72 Alan Carmichael Bruce Kid 5 0 16.30 73 Colby Callaway Brent Holmes 5 0 16.24 74 Billy Fillmon Larry Fillmon 5 0 16.18 75 Malcolm Kitchen Erin Tauer 5 0 16.16 76 Steve Bell Troy Lynn 5 0 16.14 77 Brad Williams Jeff Pitrucha 5 0 16.12 78 Bill Garza Jr Bill Garza Sr 5 0 16.06 79 Billy Ray Williams Joe Anderson 5 0 16.04 79 Chuck Hauck Pete Powell 5 0 16.04 81 Bret Fisher Alan Fisher 5 0 15.90 82 Adam Pereira Rudy Medina 5 0 15.82 83 James Roberts Joe Connell 5 0 15.72 84 Ramiro Ortiz Jr Ray Menchaca 5 0 15.60 85 Alan Parks David Glenney 5 0 15.52 86 Danny Delahunt Terry Stewart 5 0 15.50 87 Greg Carter Bob Eckerman 5 0 15.46 88 Mike Lee Wig Adams 5 0 15.28 88 Arliss Ray Johnson Alton Johnson 5 0 15.28 90 Debbie Hunter Ron Carter 5 0 15.16 91 Bobby Joe Carothers Skyler Carothers 5 0 15.12 92 Willie Spaeth Victor Calderon 5 0 15.06 93 Jeff Jorde Sheri Jorde 5 0 14.92 94 Mark Cory Tommy Hudnall 5 0 14.76 95 Richard Cremo Richard Mims 5 0 14.74 96 Kyle Keller Michael Brawley 5 0 14.70 97 Shane Pfullman EW Billings 5 0 14.60 98 Waylon Bullard Karla Bullard 5 0 14.34 99 Mart Steward Jason Steward 5 0 14.00 100 Brett Watts Dale Thayne 5 5.8 13.96 101 Jimmy Johnson Shan Gibson 4 0 13.94 102 Ed Calderone Jody Jackson 5 0 13.80 103 Jeff Richards Greg Perkins 5 0 13.78 104 Jorge Aguilera Ronnie Perez 5 0 13.74 105 Chris Anderson Shawn Blazek 5 0 13.58 106 Ron Casstle Mike Gleason 5 0 13.46 106 Walt Simpson 5 0 13.46 108 Ronnie Bicknell David Whisenhunt 5 0 13.42 109 Glen Kusenberger Rodney Lamar 5 0 13.40 110 Ned Zamora Jose Martinez 5 0 13.36 111 Victor Salinas Jesus Ordas 5 0 13.24 112 Scott Smoot David Meyer 5 0 13.20 113 Tom Guilford Saul Jara 5 0 13.12 114 Ronnie Wipff Randy Morrison 5 0 13.08 115 Bret Nester Robert Nester 5 0 13.06 116 J.W. Lackey Ron Ricketts 5 0 12.98 117 Dan Rodriguez Cary Pruski 5 0 12.86 118 William Jones Kelsey Jones 5 0 12.70 119 Justin Bauer Jeremy Wiggins 5 0 12.64 120 Chris Clark Robert Hause 5 0 12.60 121 Cody Martin Greg Geries 5 0 12.58 122 Craig Pryor Bill Baty 5 0 12.56 123 Jason Gallas John Gallas 5 0 12.50 124 Calvin Hutzler Scott Hutzler 5 0 12.40 125 Kevin Gibson N.C. Clanahan 5 0 12.34 126 Shane King Duane Zurovec 5 0 12.28 127 John Goin George Kunkle 5 0 12.24 128 Larry Klekar David Jara 5 0 11.92 129 Gerald Goff Ed Matthews 5 0 11.82 130 Cecil Newberry Robert Dunlap 5 0 11.80 131 Brent Burnett Charles Burnett 5 0 11.74 132 Ronnie Hamby Craig Workman 5 0 11.70 133 Ramon Garza Jr Ramon Garza 5 0 11.64 134 Curtis Wesley Robbie Thorsteinson 5 0 11.58 134 Jorge De La Cabada Alvaro Villarreal 5 0 11.58 136 George Steele Eric White 5 0 11.26 137 Ralph Coggin Ross Dickerson 5 0 10.98 138 Kenny Hansel Mark Adams 3 0 10.96 139 Robert Drzymala Richard Flores 5 0 10.90 140 Eddie Adams Lex Larkin 4 0 10.86 141 Michael Prather Tommy Cole 4 0 10.82 142 John Barron Larry Franklin 4 0 10.80 143 Stan Goodson John Monk 5 0 10.66 144 William Stipp Buddy Villalon 5 0 10.64 145 Doug Morrow Bruff Morrow 5 0 10.44 146 Tim Blachette Ted Sprencel 5 0 10.42 146 Robert West Armand Martinez 5 0 10.42 148 Tommy Conner T.R. Conner 5 0 10.40 149 Mario Hernandez Andy Deleon 5 0 10.26 150 Johnnie Barnes IIII Sonny Osborne 5 0 10.16 151 Ken Parker Carter Whitney 4 0 10.12 152 Dennis Asher Barry Gooden 5 0 9.84 153 Jim Brown Rusty Foreman 5 0 9.78 154 Patrick Amick Travis Hunter 5 0 9.56 155 Jim Weeks Shawn Hatchett 4 0 9.12 156 Anthony Council Ron Barkley 5 0 8.88 157 Ray Stubblefield Josh Stubblefield 5 0 8.64 158 Shannon Pierce Jonathon Jones 3 0 8.52 159 Denzil Hallmark Bubba Quarles 3 0 8.42 160 Jim Edwards J.D. Wagner 5 0 8.22 161 Galen Slay Warren Whitley 3 0 7.94 162 Harold Drake Troy Zipperer 4 0 7.42 163 Craig White Pat White 2 0 7.20 164 Chris Warner Guadalupe De La Fuente 4 0 6.62 165 Jesse Banner Jed Davenport 3 0 6.60 166 Ira Lynn Danny Moy 4 0 6.58 167 Ken Blue Frank Bell 3 0 5.84 168 William Wood Justin Lampier 3 0 5.22 169 Carroll Gibson Jr. Carroll Gibson 2 0 5.08 170 Mark Plocek Tim Plocek 2 0 5.02 171 Tyler May Steve Wade 2 0 4.74 172 Walter Schupp 2 0 4.08 173 Eugene Fewell Don Holding 2 0 3.90 174 Ed Eldridge James Huddleston 2 0 3.30 175 Ed Parten Butch Randall 1 0 2.98 176 Israel Garcia Max Gonzales 1 0 2.96 177 David Ebner Rich Webster 1 0 2.06 178 Shawn O'Quinn Stephen O'Quin 1 0 2.02 179 John McInnis John Anderson 0 0 0.00 179 Shawn Markgraf Richard keglich 0 0 0.00 179 Jack Cohlmia Jim Perry 0 0 0.00 179 Terry White Jerry Long 0 0 0.00 179 Brian Langner Clay Nichols 0 0 0.00 179 JJ Ducharme Tommy Hawk 0 0 0.00 179 Buford Estep Jr Buford Estep 0 0 0.00 179 Will Ramirez Sam Davis 0 0 0.00 179 Floyd Pace Eric Shedrock 0 0 0.00 179 Carl Audas 0 0 0.00 179 William Bagley Roque Garcia Jr 0 0 0.00 179 Tyson Stephens Curtis Swize 0 0 0.00 179 Curtis Stock Griff Stock 0 0 0.00 179 Don Pierce Charles Thomson 0 0 0.00 179 Joe Wilson Jason Wilson 0 0 0.00 179 Bill Pillans John McCracken 0 0 0.00 179 Randy Caddell David Adkins 0 0 0.00 179 Dave Cole Larry Martin 0 0 0.00 179 Tim Reneau Clay Young 0 0 0.00 179 Shorty Sutton Ron Totten 0 0 0.00 179 James Owens Harley Brown 0 0 0.00 179 Donald Harper Dub Clinton 0 0 0.00 179 Henry Wayland Mike Wisenbaker 0 0 0.00 179 Jeremy Workman Travis Unger 0 0 0.00 179 Todd Town Tony La Paglia 0 0 0.00 179 Ray Hanselman Dustin Angle 0 0 0.00 179 Miguel Meneses Rafael Menchaca 0 0 0.00 0