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Results
TEAM TOURNAMENT
Date: October 27, 2012
Region: 2012 Bass Champs Championships
Tournament: South Championship 2012
Tournament Trail: 2012 Bass Champs Tournament Trail
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Father and son team catch winning stringers in Bass Champs season finale on Falcon
By: Patty Lenderman

It was a grueling tournament filled with challenges from high winds as well as competing against a covey of skilled anglers all converging on Lake Falcon October 27-28 in the final Bass Champs championship of the year. Known for its big bass, Falcon gave up ten bass to competing teams over the course of two days, but there were two in the double digit range that anchored some heavy creels.

Anglers who qualified from any of the four regions could fish every championship. 124 teams made the trek to Lake Falcon for their chance to win a brand new Skeeter ZX20 powered by a Yamaha 225 SHO. There was one more twist. Teams were only allowed three fish to make a limit each day.

A strong front marched through the area bringing with it high winds and cooling temperatures. This made it difficult for some to stay on targeted fishing areas without protection from the high winds.

The father and son team of Charlie and Bubba Haralson championed the season finale bringing in six bass over the course of two days that totaled 45.98 lbs. “The lake was really crowded,” Charlie recalled. “Dad had done some scouting and practicing before the tournament, so we had a few areas we wanted to try.” They headed to rocky points, ditches, and ledges in depths ranging from 6’ to 20’ using Strike King SD crank baits, Oldham football head jigs tipped with Rage Craw trailers as well as Big Bite Baits Trick Sticks. On the first day, they had three good ones in the boat by 9am that weighed around eighteen pounds. By 1:00 they had all of their weigh fish for the day totaling 21.91 lbs. On the final day, “we went to some of the same areas, but hit several new ones as well.” They have fished Falcon for many years, and know the lake well. “We caught better quality bass (Sunday). Part of the reason may have been changing boat position, managing the areas we fished and just local knowledge of the lake.” As the clock was ticking down, they had two eight pounders in the boat and a seven pounder. “Dad made the last cast at 2:50 and we upgraded the seven pounder to another eight.” This family has been fishing with Bass Champs since the South Region was formed in 2004. “I’d like to thank my dad for being such a great partner. He fished with my brother in this circuit for the first several years, and they have a first place Bass Champs win together. Now dad has a first place win with each of his sons.” Bass Champs presented the championship winners with the new Skeeter ZX20 powered by a Yamaha 225 SHO. “We’d like to thank Bass Champs for putting on such quality events for us to fish.”

Second place was won by the team of Michael Keel and JP Duran with a total of 43.00 pounds. “We came to Falcon two weeks before the tournament. Out of all of the spots we checked, only one was holding a few decent fish. We were hoping more would move in by the time the tournament date got here.” The spot was a long ridge, and only one area of it was important. It was a spot where rocks dropped sharply from 13’-16’. “We actually tried to start out in a different area the first day, but got blown off of that spot and headed to the ridge.” They had a slow start, and didn’t have their first keeper in the boat until 11am. “There was a long lull after that that we didn’t catch any more fish.” All of a sudden it picked back up again and within ten minutes they had two more nice fish in the boat. They were in a strong position going into the final day. “The second day we just went straight to the ridge and decided we were going to stay there all day no matter what.” At 8:30 they put their first bass in the boat. Then another at 10:30. Then JP hooked a real nice one, and when Michael tried to net it he knocked it off the hook! “There was a long lull in the bite – and our conversation for a long time after that.” Finally at 2:30, Michael hooked their kicker weighing in at 9.91 pounds. Their two day 43.00 lb total earned a 2nd place finish and a check for $3,000. “This is our third season to fish Bass Champs and our best finish so far. We’re proud our plan worked out.” They would also like to thank Texas Boat Center on Lake Palestine. “They keep us on the water!”

Derick Kuyrkendall and Forrest Wilson raked in a 3rd place win with a two day six fish total of 42.62 lbs. “We caught all of our fish on white ¾ oz Falcon Special Jo Baby spinnerbaits in 4’ to 6’ of water.” The consistency in their pattern for the two day event garnered a check for $2,300. Being the highest finishing team in a Skeeter boat, Skeeter doubled their winnings to a $4,600 payday. “We’d like to thank Bass Champs, Boerne Marine, and especially our wives for letting us fish!”

There were so many big bass brought in over the course of two days. More than ten of them exceeded the nine pound mark. One of them was well over 10 pounds. The biggest of them all weighed in at 11.27 lbs, brought in by Rick Scheen and Mike Harman who received $500 for that single catch. Mike stated, "I Flipped a Real Deal custom tackle jig on a Powell 705 Mag flipping stick to catch the giant on. I’d like to thank Legend boats, Mercury Marine, Excite baits, TTZ and Grande bass for all their help in the 2012 series of tournaments. Thanks to Bass Champs for running an outstanding tournament trail for us to enjoy."

Sixteen teams were awarded checks, the last ones in the money were Glenn and Ryan Erskine with a weight of 33.29 lbs, winning $600.

“We’d like to thank all of our 2012 sponsors who help make Bass Champs one of the most lucrative tournament trails in the industry,” stated Chad Potts, President / Bass Champs. “Mostly we would like to thank every angler who fished with us. Many of you have been with us since we started, and it is great to make new friends each year. Our 2013 schedules are out and we’d like to thank everyone for their input regarding how you would like to see a tournament series formatted. We have made some exciting changes that includes more money guaranteed at each event next year. We have also gone to a three fish limit in every tournament. Please read about how you can cash in on sponsor incentives putting even more winnings in your pocket. Everyone have a great and safe holiday season and we’ll look forward to seeing everyone in 2013!”
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