All the Bass Champs regions are now in full swing. Lake Tawakoni hosted the second bass fishing event for the North Region March 11th. With the entire state still suffering from drought conditions, almost every lake is low. As of this weekend, Tawakoni's level is still more than 8 feet from normal pool. For anglers, it means more exposed stumps, less fishable waters, and heightened challenges to learn to fish the lake, looking at their usual honey holes on dry ground.
The morning started with grey, cloudy skies and cool temperatures. By around noon the sun started peeking out, and for some it helped the bite. Water temperatures ranged from upper 50's to mid 60's, and the bass are on the verge of spawn. 202 teams converged on the lake for a chance at part of the more than $67,000 being paid out in cash and prizes.
Gerald Bowlin and Bimmy Bayles had done a little pre-fishing before the tournament, found a few good spots and patterned the fish. Their game plan was set for the tournament. They were not first in line at take-off, and by the time they got to their primary spot, there was already someone there fishing it. "We waited, fishing abut 50 yards away, for them to leave" Bowlin said. "We watched them catch striper, drum, crappie - finally they left after about two hours, and we pulled up on it. We caught four keepers there, and we left at noon to find the rest of our limit. At our next spot, Bimmy caught our kicker weighing 7.38 lbs. When we were on our way in to the weigh in, we were adding up our catch. We figured we had about 17 or 18 lbs. Then we started taking them out of the livewell, I told Bimmy - '�Hey! We might tip 20 pounds here!" Their official weight totaled 21.16 lbs, taking the lead. There were several teams that hadn't weighed in yet, so Gerald and Bimmy had to sit back and watch, hoping that their weight would hold. Ultimately, it did and their 1st place position was secure, winning the Skeeter 200 SX powered by a 200 hpYamaha motor valued at $34,000. They also received $5,000 from Skeeter Boats as a bonus for being the highest finishing qualified Skeeter boat owner team. That's nearly $40,000 for a day of fishing!
The 2nd place team of Eric Elder and Scott Isaacs brought in another hefty sack, weighing in at 20.56 lbs. "It was great!" Eric began. "The fish started biting early, and continued all day. All total we caught 15 keepers on a variety of baits. Our fish were caught on lizards, crank baits and Terminator spinnerbaits. Most of the fish were shallow, getting ready to move up to the beds. We had three spots targeted to go to, but only went to two of them. By noon, we had a limit in the boat but wanted to cull two of them. Then, the rivets on the trolling motor sheered and we had to anchor at our next spot to fish. Finally, we culled a 2-1/2 lb'r with a 4 lb'r." They were awarded $4,000 for their 2nd place finish.
The day started out fast and furious for the 3rd place winners Brady Winans and Spencer Turner. They had a limit in the boat by 8am, catching and culling the rest of the day. "Isolated structure was the key for us today", according to Brady. "We fished out in the main lake, in the backs of pockets, anywhere that we could find isolated structure in 2'-6'. We caught them on chartreuse & blue crank baits, and also Lake Fork Tackle black neon Baby Creatures and Flippers. The better bite was early for us, but we caught 15 to cull from and ended up with a bag of chunks, all weighing 3-1/2 to 4 pounds." Their total weight was 18.52 lbs, winning $3,000.
Paul Sewell caught the biggest bass of the tournament, tipping the scales at 10.36 lbs. "This is my biggest bass ever so far, and what a time to catch it!" Paul and his partner Courtland Sewell had already made a pass in that area, only catching a few small ones that didn't measure. "The water is so low, that there are not a lot of areas to fish right now. We decided to make a second pass down that same stretch. I threw a green pumpkin wacky style trick worm, dipped in chartreuse next to a stump in about 3-1/2'. My line just took off. When I set the hook, my drag started slipping. She was only about 20 yards out, but it took several minutes to get her to the boat. Courtland took a couple of swipes at her with the net, but she was too big and wouldn't fit in it. Things got kind of tense for a little while, there - I just knew I was going to lose her. Finally, we got her in the boat and guessed she weighed around 8 pounds. We were really shocked when Chad announced the weight at 10.36 lbs!" That one fish earned Paul a check for $1,000. "I'd like to thank my sponsors: Nitro, Continental Batteries, MinnKota, Hummingbird electronics and Ardent Reels."
Bass Champs appreciates the volunteer organizations who bring their personnel to help with the weigh in process. The Community FFA helped out with this event, and Bass Champs and their sponsors provided over $1,600 in prizes up for grabs in the open drawing. Any person present can get into the drawing with a $10 raffle purchase. The non-profit organization gets to keep all the money raised, plus Bass Champs matched the funds up to $500.
The points race is already heating up, and several teams are neck and neck for Angler of the Year. There are only three events left before the Championship, and the top 6 point leaders currently line up as follows:
419 pts Brady Winans & Spencer Turner
418 pts Gerald Bolin & Bimmy Bayles
402 pts Robert Brock Sr & Robert Brock Jr
397 pts Ryan Glass & Chad Williams
392 pts Garrick McPherson & Joe Mazzurco
383 pts Keith White & Travis White