|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
TEAM TOURNAMENT
|
 |
|
|
| Date: | | May 12, 2012 |
| Region: | | 2012 North Region |
| Tournament: | | Lake Tawakoni |
| Tournament Trail: | | 2012 Bass Champs Tournament Trail |
|
|
|
      |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
| $20,200 payday for Joel Spann & Junior Mitchell at Bass Champs on Tawakoni |
| By: Patty Lenderman |
|
Skeeter Bass Champs keeps pumpin’ out the cash for participating anglers, paying back 109% in cash and prizes. $43,550 was divided among 21 teams paid as the North Region competed in the 4th of five events of the season on Lake Tawakoni May 12, 2012. Joel Spann & Junior Mitchell enjoyed a huge payday coming out on top of the pack taking home over $20,000.
Winners Joel Spann and Junior Mitchell had done some scouting two weeks prior to the tournament. “We found a few good spots, and caught them really well on top water baits.” On tournament day, they got a late start to their morning and didn’t have the luxury of slowing down. “When we arrived that morning, we had to get registered and launch the boat. We barely got in the water before our number was drawn for take-off.” They headed to an area that had a couple of secondary creeks on the northern end of the lake. “It was a pretty good run to get there. The wind was blowing pretty hard, so it was a rough ride.” Once they arrived, they committed to that area all day. “We started out just like we did in practice, on top water baits.” Nothing, not one fish did they catch. “We knew the fish were there.” Switching to spinnerbaits and jigs, they slowly began to assimilate a limit. “The fish were shallow, in 1’ to 2’ of water. By around 9am we had a limit in the boat.” When they came to the areas of the secondary creeks near drop offs, they caught better fish. “We didn’t catch a lot, just good ones when we did.” They were only able to cull one time, catching a total of 7 keepers all day. Their best five weighed 18.15 lbs, winning the tournament and the guaranteed 1st place $20,000 check. They also used Sure-Life in their livewells for an additional $200 bonus. “We’ve been fishing Bass Champs tournaments since they first started. We don’t get to fish in all of them, but we fish all we can. Over the years we’ve been in the money a few times, but to finally be able to say we won one of these – considering the caliber of guys we fish against – is just phenomenal!”
2nd place winners Tommy Climer Jr and Tony Climer stated that they just had a really good day. “We didn’t have a solid game plan, so we just rolled the dice and went fishing.” Working off of gut instincts alone, they hit their first spot and started their day catching them on frogs. Staying with that pattern, by 9am they had a limit. “After that slowed down, we went to our second spot, a grassy area, and really got into them.” Using Craw worms and Sweet Beavers in shallow water, “we probably caught three more limits of fish.” They quickly noted that they weren’t catching any fish in clear water. “The water had to be a little dirty and had to have some wind on it. Most of our fish were caught on the Sweet Beavers.” Their final limit weighed 17.74 lbs, yielding them a 2nd place $3,000 check. They would like to thank Dobyns Rods, Rockwell Marine, Red Head Graphics and C & E Alternators.
Lee Livesay and Chad Bailey came in a close 3rd place, just 2/100ths of a pound behind 2nd place. “We had a good day. It was a little rough for us out there in that wind with our small boat, but it was alright.” They started out at shallow, grassy, main lake points about 3’ deep. “We caught a pretty good one right off the bat, then a whole bunch of small ones.” They stayed on the move hitting more main lake points and some docks using a combination of jigs, spinnerbaits and Sweet Beavers. “We had a limit in the boat by 9am, but it was a small limit.” Hitting well over 20 spots, they culled all but one of their initial limit giving them a final weight of 17.72 lbs. “There were thousands of carp everywhere we went! We just had a real good day.” Bass Champs presented them $2,000 for their 2nd place finish. “Chad and Jeff do a really good job with these tournaments. We’d like to thank Bass Champs for having them.”
The Big Bass of the day was brought in by the team of Rodney Thompson and Mario Valenzuela. It weighed in at 8.25 pounds garnering the team a check for $1,000. It also anchored their 10th place overall finish for an additional $650. Their winnings just kept rolling in as they doubled their money being the highest finishing team in a Skeeter Boat for another $1,650. They added another $800 in winnings from Costa Del Mar and Bio Bor for a total of $5,100.
It took 12.34 lbs to grab a check in this tournament, brought in be 21st place winners Jackson and Robert Case Jr.
Skeeter Bass Champs is proud of the top notch line up of sponsors that enhance every tournament with incentives and bonuses for participating anglers.
Sponsor Bonus Winners:
Skeeter Bonus ($1,650) Rodney Thompson & Mario Valenzuela
Biobor Bonus ($600) Rodney Thompson & Mario Valenzuela
Dodge Ram (Free Entry) Shonn Blassingame & Cody Burdine
Costa Del Mar ($200) Rodney Thompson & Mario Valenzuela
Sure Life ($200) Joel Spann & Junior Mitchell
There were some dramatic shifts in the points standings as Shonn Blassingame & Cody Burdine took over the lead for Anglers of the Year. At the conclusion of the last tournament, they were in 3rd place rankings for this prestigious title. Lee Yowell & Brian Schott continue with their 2nd place position in this race with one tournament to go. Brandon Baker & Scott Barnett made a jump from 5th place to 3rd in this race to the finish.
Anglers of the Year points leaders:
639 pts Shonn Blassingame & Cody Burdine
631 pts Lee Yowell & Brian Schott
597 pts Brandon Baker & Scott Barnett
587 pts Keith Ivy Jr & Arthur Tucker
582 pts Tim Wilcoxson & Eric Elder
There are just a few more chances to win this season at Bass Champs. The remainder of the 2012 Team Schedule is:
May 19 (South #5) Falcon - (3 Fish Limit)
June 2 (Central #5) Lake Belton
June 16 (East #5) Sam Rayburn
June 23 (North #5) Ray Roberts
Bass Champs will be hosting the 19th Annual Skeeter Owner’s Tournament on Lake Fork June 9 & 10 as well as the 7th Annual Berkley Big Bass tournament also on Lake fork October 20-21.
For more information on any Bass Champs events, click to www.BassChamps.com or call 817.439.3274
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
