Fishing a bass tournament can sometimes seem like entering into a field of battle. When it is a cold, windy day as it was for the 194 Bass Champs Central region teams who converged onto Lake Travis February 4th, there are a host of elements for anglers to overcome. For most, on cold windy weekend mornings it is all too easy to roll back over and stay in a warm, cozy bed. For tournament anglers, it is the first of many battles to fight on competition day. This time of year, too, trying to locate and catch good size bass on Travis can also be a challenge.
Jamie Ward and Jesse Fisher Jr brought in the winning weight of 13.86 lbs, and were awarded the Skeeter SX190 bass boat powered by a Yamaha 150 motor. The team has been fishing Bass Champs for 3 years and enjoyed their first 1st place win with 13.86 lbs! Jesse started out their day catching their 5.28 lb kicker fish on his first catch. They were both throwing weightless watermelon red Senko's along bluff banks with docks. "We started fishing shallow, but other than Jesse's first fish they were all small fish" Jamie began. "We gradually worked our way into deeper water under the docks in seach of bigger fish." Throwing their weightless Senko's into water that was 50' deep, it was a long wait with each cast for their baits to slowly sink to the 25' depths that their fish were suspended in. By 10:00 they had their limit in the boat, and was able to cull 4 before the end of the day. "We knew we would at least get a good check, but I thought it would take 15-16 pounds to win. This is really great!" They would like to thank Gerald Nunn Electric who helps sponsor their tournament costs. "We're looking forward to the next tournament on Belton. It's our home lake, and we ought to do pretty good." Their 1st place package of a Skeeter SX190 bass boat powered by a Yamaha 150 motor is valued over $30,000.
Mike Wagner and Adam Clark nudged their way into 2nd place with only four fish weighing 12.70 lbs. "We did a lot of pre-fishing this past month, so we knew what we were looking for as far as types of spots to fish" stated Wagner. "There was a lot of rain last weekend, so the water was pretty stained. The low pressure also made it tough for us. We threw crank baits and jigs around cuts and rocks in water up to 20'. Our fish bit good early in the morning and late in the afternoon. We would've had our 5th fish and won the tournament if the handle on our dip net was just a little longer!" They still had a great day, winning the 2nd place check for $2,500.
Ray Shelton and Perry Adair brought in a five fish limit, and had held 2nd place for a little while. Ultimately, they seized 3rd place with 11.94 lbs for a $1,600 win. Shelton reports "We didn't have a chance to do much pre-fishing, so we decided to use crank baits to cover a lot of water. We knew the rocks and the water near them would warm up first and draw the fish in. It was so cold. We finally put our 5th fish in the boat around 11:30, and by the end of the day we had caught and culled 10 to make our final limit. Our fish were caught on crank baits, rattle traps and spinnerbaits. This is a good weight for this time of year on Travis. We enjoy fishing with Bass Champs. What really impressed me is the prayer before each tournament take-off and the playing of the National Anthem."
Rick Keagle fished alone this event, and won 4th place with his 11.78 lb stringer. He doubled his $1,300 win to $2,600 for being the highest finishing qualified Skeeter boat owner. He won an additional $1,000 with his 7.44 lb Big Bass. At every event, a non-profit organization brings a host of volunteers to help with the weigh in. The Travis Lions Club brought their crew, and to help them in return, Bass Champs and their sponsors provided products to be raffled off. At this event, more than $1,400 in prizes were provided for the raffle that anyone can participate in, and Bass Champs matched the ticket money up to $500.
The next Central Texas team event will be held March 4th on Lake Belton, which hosted the largest 2005 event with 202 teams.
Place Angler 1 Angler 2 BB Weight Earnings 1 Jamie Ward Jesse Fisher Jr 5.28 13.86 Skeeter SX190 Yamaha 150hpdi 2 Michael Wagner Adam Clark 0 12.7 $2500 3 Terrry Adair Ray Shelton 3.16 11.94 $1600 4 Rick Keagle 7.44 11.78 $3600 ($1000 BB +$1,300 Skeeter Bonus) 5 Michael Harman Carl Clardy 0 11.6 $1200 6 Flint Fisher Steve Magnelia 0 11.26 $1150 7 Nevada Bedwell Anibal Guzman 0 11.2 $1100 8 Joel Taylor Michael Fisher 0 10.7 $1050 9 Michael Braley Carl Weiss 0 10.68 $1025 10 John Ratliff Cody Bristow 0 10.62 $1000 11 Jesus Cruz Roger Jacoby 0 10.36 $1000 12 Dale Read Paul Carman 0 10.22 $1000 13 James Whited Travis Whited 0 10.18 $1000 14 Pete Albarado Patrick Anderson 5.62 10.02 $1000 15 Mike Grimes Travis Owen 0 9.86 $1000 16 Gary Wafford Jeremiah Wafford 0 9.72 $875 16 Shane Holmes Brandon Hatch 0 9.72 $875 18 Joe Bill Hale Dusty Hale 0 9.7 $650 19 Jeff Pitrucha Scott Dyer 0 9.66 $550 20 Billy Brewer Johnny Snyder 0 9.58 $500 21 Matt Hill Phillip Walker 0 9.38 $500 22 Charles Whited Jason Buchanan 0 9.3 $500 23 Jeff Parker James Goode 0 9.1 $500 24 Travis Jones Jr Jason Jones 0 9.06 $500 25 Eric Angrick Gerald McClanahan 0 8.92 $500 26 Kyle Rowe Tom Gridley 0 8.9 $500 27 Troy Jenkins LLoyd Ward 0 8.78 $500 28 Jimmy Johnson Derick Kuyrkendal 0 8.66 0 29 David Stephens Jason McCaffery 0 8.62 0 30 Brad Williams Jason DeWald 0 8.58 0 31 Stewart Herridon Jerry Taylor 0 8.5 0 31 Randy Grounds Ken Everett 0 8.5 0 33 Stan Lawing Scott Dean 0 8.44 0 34 Trey Groce Gary Groce 0 8.4 0 34 Robert True Robert Doc" Bowen" 0 8.4 0 36 Gerald Goff Ed Matthews 0 8.28 0 36 Dwayne Kinley Earl Clarke 0 8.28 0 38 Herman Larkin Gery Brent" Truitt" 0 8.26 0 38 Chris Brasher Chuck Aleksines 0 8.26 0 40 Sam Koebcke Dennis Trepanier 0 8.14 0 41 Bryan Cotter Tom Pursell 0 8.12 0 42 Greg Shifflet Stacy Webb 0 7.96 0 43 Travis Daugherty Charles Merrideth 0 7.92 0 44 Martin Jakubowsky Joe Cole Jr 0 7.82 0 45 Leonard Phillipp Robert Jenkins III 0 7.54 0 46 Everett Moore Ricky Durmon 0 7.52 0 47 Jason Windham Jerry L West 0 7.46 0 48 Mike Payne Kevin Thomas 0 7.42 0 49 Webb Fry Joel Tommy" Fergeson" 0 7.36 0 50 Grover Chambliar Juan Lopez 0 7.3 0 51 Justin Gower Greg Gower 0 7.2 0 52 Steve Thiel Brian Tate 0 7.18 0 53 Jonathon Erickson Alvah Buck 0 7.16 0 54 Daniel Barnes David O'Neal 4.38 7.02 0 55 Bennie Whitley Johnny Hull 0 7 0 56 Stan Kaminski Tim Seymour 5.6 6.84 0 57 Lynn Pierce Lynn Wood Pierce 0 6.6 0 58 Wayne Seagroves Ernie Miller 0 6.48 0 59 Chris Wilson Jr Jimmy Chapman 0 6.42 0 60 Jack Fountain Harrell Spinks 0 6.4 0 61 Randy Hibler Randall Christian 0 6.38 0 61 David Landry Phil Warren 0 6.38 0 63 Jeffery Markert Malcolm Middlebrook 0 6.36 0 63 Brian Winburne Bobby King 0 6.36 0 65 Andy Whitehead Cannon Elkins 0 6.32 0 66 Mel Barker Roy Dunman 0 6.3 0 67 Rob Hoffman Todd Bell 0 6.14 0 68 Floyd Lesiker Vickie Lesiker 0 6.08 0 69 Kelly Mauldin Tom Cantwell 0 5.98 0 70 Greg Joiner Blake Arapis 0 5.96 0 71 BJ Carothers Tim Veach 0 5.92 0 72 Jackie Volek Colter Gaswint 0 5.86 0 73 Wesley Horner Colt Thompson 0 5.72 0 74 Randy Tawater Bo Berry 0 5.7 0 75 Byron Albrecht Lowell Bennett 0 5.54 0 76 Ryan Beck Allen Bartosh 0 5.5 0 77 Samuel Smith Steve Bethea 0 5.46 0 78 Andrew Crabtree Louis Bouray 0 5.36 0 79 Danny Ray Fisher Lance Fisher 0 5.34 0 80 Bruce Kidd Brent Burnet 0 5.32 0 80 Jeremy Workman Trevis Unger 0 5.32 0 82 Trey Webb Tanner Shepard 0 5.3 0 83 Roy Smith Jim Robinson 0 5.28 0 84 David Stewart Don Hisle 0 5.24 0 85 Rick Hamilton Rodney Johnson 0 5.22 0 86 Jim Harrison Donnie Ross 0 5.2 0 87 James Stephens Johnny Homann 0 5.12 0 87 Kevin Thress Fred Thress 0 5.12 0 89 Torrey Aiken Brandon King 0 4.84 0 90 Mark Peevey Tal Sprinkles 0 4.74 0 90 Carl Wengenroth Vince Martin 0 4.74 0 90 Kenneth Cummins Brian Mater 0 4.74 0 93 Ronny Maynard Eddy Maynard 0 4.72 0 94 John Marshall Keith Mulder 0 4.66 0 95 Brian Holmes Jody Daugherty 0 4.64 0 96 Allen Hoffman Kenny Clifton 0 4.62 0 97 Tom Lorden OsBerto Aguirie 0 4.54 0 98 Gary Weimer David Barnard 0 4.48 0 99 Monty Mitchell Clinton Robertson 0 4.44 0 100 Lance Dillard Lee Beuershauson 0 4.38 0 101 Linden Walden James Gary Flint 0 4.36 0 102 James Scogin Roland Loera 0 4.34 0 103 Terry Valentino Travis Thomas 0 4.32 0 104 Andy Armendariz Sr Shane St Clair 0 4.24 0 104 Allen Shelton Strider Browning 0 4.24 0 106 Jimmy Routon Darrel Routon 0 4.04 0 107 Eric Washburn Pat Washburn 0 3.82 0 108 Mike Onjanow Adrian Sanchez 0 3.78 0 109 Larry Owens Jim Blair 0 3.52 0 110 Terry Kircus Guy Norris 0 3.46 0 111 Brian Anderson Kelly Hudson 0 3.4 0 112 Curtis Pelky Bob Buchanon 0 3.38 0 112 Joe Bray Jay Frazier 0 3.38 0 114 Chad Miller Tye Heinneman 0 3.28 0 115 Rick Scott Roy Ellison 0 3.26 0 116 Chad Schramme Brian Fields 0 3.22 0 117 Matt McClendon Kris McClendon 0 3.16 0 118 Mike Clark Les Bowles 0 3.14 0 119 Timothy Grimm Dean Meinke 0 3.12 0 119 Richard Witthouse Don Blumrich 0 3.12 0 121 Matt Fly Leroy Foulltrod 0 3.08 0 122 Brad Stewart Wayne Orender 0 3.04 0 123 Dan Taylor Jason Gagliano 0 3.02 0 124 Floyd Hill Joe Sierra 0 2.94 0 125 Chans Martin Sterling Martin 0 2.92 0 126 Jack Waldrop Sr Michael Waldrop 0 2.8 0 127 Tim Dixon Jeff Epling 0 2.64 0 128 Wes Gissell 2.44 2.44 0 128 Brandon Tingey Terry Tingey 0 2.44 0 130 John Moon 2.24 2.24 0 131 Bud Tatsch Joshua Inge 2.22 2.22 0 132 Corey Costello Ray Crain Jr 0 2.08 0 133 Mark Hubbard John Kraemer 0 2 0 134 Eddie Pefrey Ricky Maynard 1.98 1.98 0 135 Damon Ross Scott Ross 1.84 1.84 0 136 Russell Parrish Don Brinson 1.72 1.72 0 136 Craig Exner Heath Siegmond 0 1.72 0 138 James Cantwell Randell Cantwell 1.7 1.7 0 139 Perry Speaker Lawrence Best 1.68 1.68 0 139 Ken McKee Rod Borja 1.68 1.68 0 141 Ray Pollock David Gandy 1.6 1.6 0 142 Lee Ray Waitts Jack Waldrop Jr 1.56 1.56 0 143 Rance Rogers Mike Rogers 0 1.52 0 143 David Smith Michael Hitt 0 1.52 0 143 Derek McFarland Christopher Whited 1.52 1.52 0 146 Troy Stinson Kendall Lanier 0 1.5 0 147 Terral Roberts Michael Roberts 1.44 1.44 0 148 Mike Tennant Brian Washburn 1.38 1.38 0 149 Mike Kernan David Weber 0 0 0 150 Paul Brown Mike Barker 0 0 0 150 Bill Guzman Dean Taylor 0 0 0 150 Todd Garrett Raymond Glass 0 0 0 150 Scott Stagner Dan Ross 0 0 0 150 Richard Cone Billy Jeschke 0 0 0 150 Randell Cross Nicholas Cross 0 0 0 150 Don Gordon Jason Patureau 0 0 0 150 Adam Wilhite Darren Everett 0 0 0 150 Lawrence Wesch Leland Wesch 0 0 0 150 Donnie Hughes Norm Wilson 0 0 0 150 Roger Boling Jerral Boling 0 0 0 150 Travis Warren Harold Warren 0 0 0 150 Charles Hice David McGuffey 0 0 0 150 Brent Watts Terry Hall 0 0 0 150 James Meredith Jacob Meredith 0 0 0 150 Wayne Harm 0 0 0 150 Larry Lawson Mike Hello 0 0 0 150 Bobby Schernik Chase Schernik 0 0 0 150 Gary Raesz Keith Russon 0 0 0 150 Tracy Craytor Ray Faust 0 0 0 150 Wayne Orender jr William Leslie 0 0 0 150 Robert Jackson Kenneth Briant Jr 0 0 0 150 David King Gary King 0 0 0 150 Joe Cole Sr Derek Cole 0 0 0 150 Roger Von Rosenberg Steve Franklin 0 0 0 150 Doug Kennemer Kelly Kennemer 0 0 0 150 John Penny Donald Merritt 0 0 0 150 Joe Loer Tony Ochoa 0 0 0 150 Michael Bass Lila Bass 0 0 0 150 Allen King Rick Neely 0 0 0 150 Tyler May Steve Wade 0 0 0 150 Dennis Creech Steve Ashford 0 0 0 150 Anthony Goodson Joe Lacerte 0 0 0 150 Randy Jacoby Shawn Brannan 0 0 0 150 Lino Gutterez Ruben Ribera 0 0 0 150 Bobby Amidon Brad Payton 0 0 0 150 Mike Wimberley Levi Galindo 0 0 0 150 Bryon Chapman D.W. Shirley 0 0 0 150 Randall Kirkes Kyle Kirkes 0 0 0 150 Fidel Ben" Bentura" Rick Mickan 0 0 0 150 Randy Frederick 0 0 0 150 Butch Patton Jason Carter 0 0 0 150 Thomas Doyle Dustin Doyle 0 0 0 150 Travis Wenkler Andrew Tredemeyer 0 0 0 150 Steve Wilson Raymond Cantu 0 0 0