Skeeter Bass Champs held their third East Texas region event March 25th on Sam Rayburn. Two hundred sixty six bass fishing teams (266) had a tough job ahead of them, trying to second guess the bass. During the week prior to the tournament, weather conditions had changed drastically. Recent heavy rains had raised the water levels by several inches and near freezing overnight temperatures dropped the water temperatures by roughly 10 degrees. These teams hit Big Sam to cast, pitch and flip their way to part of the $75,760 payday in cash and prizes. Many bass have spawned out, and others just backed off into deeper water. Blue bird skies dominated on Saturday, with calm winds and welcome warmth from the sun. Normally, teams hope to draw a number to be among the first to take off, but this time were hoping to be among the last to catch that afternoon bite.
It was obviously a tough day trying to catch some good bass for these tournament contenders. On a typical tournament day, it is a safe bet that it will take at least 20 pounds to win. Not this time, with merely 80 limits crossing the scales and 107 teams not weighing any.
Jason Wells and Vic Cooper won with 17.06 lbs, an unheard of winning tournament weight. Wells and Cooper threw Texas rigged V & M black & blue lizards and Texas rigged watermelon red Yum Dingers. Jason uses a Shimano rod, Shimano Crucial reel spooled with Gamma line. They fished four different spots in the mid lake area, casting around scattered buck brush in 3'-5'. "We were going after post spawn fish mostly, and had a 12 or 13 pound limit by 9:00" Jason stated. "The water temperature started out in the 50's in the morning, but warmed to the low 60's by the afternoon. Between 12-1:00 we culled up to 17 pounds." They were awarded the 1st place Skeeter SX200 / Yamaha hpdi 200 motor valued at over $34,000.
Mike Cortelloni fished alone this event and brought in the 2nd place sack weighing 16.66 lbs. He won $4,000 for 2nd place, then doubled his winnings being the highest finishing qualified Skeeter boat owner. "I was fishing the bushes, real shallow. I was throwing a black & blue Gene Larew ring tube, and also a Sweet Beaver. The fish weren't biting very well, I didn't have a fish in the boat until 10:00. I only had 6 bites all day." They were enough to win $8,000!
Stan & Steve Burgay took 3rd place with 16.34 lbs. "We didn't catch a lot" Stan began. "We had to hunt & peck all day for our fish. We threw red rattle traps, tubes, and watermelon red Senko's. We started on the North end of the lake and ended up in Ayish Bayou. We fished around cypress trees, buck brush and willows in 2'-6'. Throughout the day, the water temps ranged from 58-62 degrees." They were presented a check for $3,000.
Jeremy Phelps had the best single catch of the day, winning Big Bass honors for his 10.50 lb bass. "I was throwing a watermelon Senko in the grass, in about 4'. She bit around 1:30, but she just picked it up and started swimming with it. I knew right away when I set the hook that she was a big one!" He set a new personal biggest catch record with it, and won $1,000 for Big Bass of the tournament. In addition the team had a Keel Shield on their boat so they won a Free Entry to the next event. He and his partner Travis Thomas finished in 27th place overall.
Top Teams:
1st 17.06 lbs Skeeter/Yamaha Jason Wells / Vic Cooper
2nd 16.66 lbs $4,000 (x2) Mike Cortelloni
3rd 16.34 lbs $3,000 Stan & Steve Burgay
4th 16.14 lbs $2,000 Rick Scott / Roy Ellison
5th 15.88 lbs $1,600 Pete & Allan Shivers
6th 15.84 lbs $1,300 Douglas Posey / Lloyd Curtis
7th 15.66 lbs $1,080 Clayton & Roger Boulware
8th 15.60 lbs $1,065 Rodney Gordon / Larry Ford
8th (tie)15.60 lbs $1,065 Butch Covington / Frank Lebaron
10th 14.86 lbs $1,050 Ben Vaughn / Clint Kirby
.......and last in the money.....
37th 12.14 lbs $500 Jeff & Dewey Vines
With only two events left before the Championship, the points race is heating up. Top 5 teams:
868 pts Clayton & Roger Boulware
865 pts David & Steve Morton
863 pts Jason Hanks & Marc Woolems
837 pts Pete & Allan Shivers
833 pts Rick Scott & Roy Ellison
The next tournament will be held April 29th at Cypress Bend on Toledo Bend.