Shreveport, La. -- The Baton Rouge Bassmasters club earned the ultimate bragging rights of the BASS Federation Nation Saturday.
The Louisiana No. 2 team, consisting of six Baton Rouge Bassmasters club members, won the inaugural BASS Club World Championship (BCWC) on the Red River by weighing in a combined three-day total of 150 pounds, 12 ounces. The top three teams remained in the same slots from Friday to Saturday as Alabama No. 2 finished in the runner-up spot with 143-6 and Louisiana No. 1 took third place with 115-12.
Gonzalez, La., angler Matt Michel caught the biggest bag for his team Saturday with a five-fish limit weighing 12-3 and was his team's top angler for three days with a total catch of 31-5. The three-day totals for the rest of the six-man squad include Ryan Lavigne with 30-8; Nathan Borque, 28-14; Jamie Laiche, 25-1; Tim Carmouche, 21-3; and Eugene Hoover, 13-13.
"We had a great practice," said Michel of his team's performance throughout the week. "I wish we could stick together forever. It is a great team that I happen to be on. They are some of the best fishermen I know."
The winning team targeted wood cover with crankbaits and finesse worms. Michel keyed on laydowns and some rocks mixed with grass where he threw a shad-colored medium-diving crankbait and a Zoom finesse worm.
"My teammates and I found a good pile of fish in a few areas so we pounded them really hard," said Michel. Even though he competed as a non-boater, Michel still got control of the boat for half a day each round and caught most of his keepers from the spots he found in practice.
Louisiana No. 2 topped a field of 51 teams that had reached the BCWC by competing in 10 regional events held throughout 2007. By winning the championship, each member of the Louisiana team received a fully rigged Triton bass boat/Mercury Outboard package with a total value to the team of $250,000. A cash payout of $40,100 was awarded to the rest of the Top 12 teams with the overall big bass winner, David Winnie, Ottawa, Ill., receiving $500 for a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth he caught Friday.