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Results
TEAM TOURNAMENT
Date: June 15, 2013
Region: 2013 East Region
Tournament: Lake Sam Rayburn #5
Tournament Trail: 2013 Bass Champs Tournament Trail
StatsResultsBig BassStoryPhotosPoints
Brothers win Bass Champs finale on Rayburn, Anglers of the Year announced
By: Patty Lenderman


For many, Saturday June 15 was an ordinary summer day. For Bass Champs East Texas anglers, it was a whole ‘nuther story. $43,650 was on the line to be paid out and 144 teams were gunning for a piece of the pie. In addition, it was the final regular season tournament for this region, and was the last chance for the Angler of the Year race. Championship qualifiers would be determined, as only the top 75 teams in each region advance to the championship where over $130,000 is guaranteed to be paid out in cash and prizes.

Anglers were let loose in flights in the wee hours of the morning, to go on the hunt for the best three bass to bring back to the scales. Mother nature chose heat as the challenging element to throw at these contenders with temps in the mid to upper 90’s, and didn’t hardly throw them a relieving wisp of breeze.

David Turner and Butch Harper were the first to christen the scales with their catch of the day, having a 10.64 lb bass to weigh in. It was their only fish, and rushed it to the scales soon after they caught it to help ensure live release back into the lake.

The first flight was due to weigh in at 3pm. Michael and Lance Lowery were the first to best the overall top weight of Turner & Harper’s single big bass with a 14.80 lb limit, but theirs would be beaten three more times before the scales officially closed.

The top weights were stacked tight, but brothers Jared and Jason Dean came out on top winning 1st place with 15.56 lbs. They had decided to fish in deep water, and committed themselves to stay in deep water all day. “It started out really slow for us, but ended up to be a great day.” They used jigs in deep brush piles for their catch, and caught their first keeper at 7:40am. Hours went by without another keeper. “We had found some decent fish during practice in the grass, but we decided to stay in these deep water spots and swing for the fence.” It was after 1:00 before they caught their last two fish to complete a three fish limit. They nosed ahead of the rest of the pack by a few ounces to win the $15,000 check for 1st place. Fishing in a qualified Skeeter boat, Skeeter added another $5,000 to their winnings and because they used Sure-Life in their livewells, they garnered another $200 check. “We would really like to thank our families for encouraging us!”

It was close, but Mark Mowery and Joe Mauldin took 2nd place with 15.32 lbs. They too started their day fishing brush piles. “We hit several places, about nine or ten of them. Our morning started out really slow, and we didn’t have a keeper until 10:30am.” They caught their first keeper on a frog while fishing the grass in 4’-7’ depths. “We had a limit in the boat by noon.” Their day wasn’t quite done. “We lost two five pounders right at the boat.” Later, they were able to make one last cull, exchanging a 2lb 3oz fish for a 2lb 8oz, upgrading their weight by five very important ounces. Bass Champs presented them a check for $5,000 for their 2nd place win. “We’d like to thank Jason Wells and Vic Cooper for letting us stay at their camp this weekend.”

3rd place was won by Brian Shook and Danny Iles with a 15.16 lb limit. “We had a slow day, and only caught 8 fish total. Mostly we fished deep water, but flipped the grass in-between those areas.” They started in deep water, throwing a variety of Carolina rigged Strike King plastics. “We caught two small keepers in our first area, then went to other deep spots 16’-25’ deep.” Their shallow grassy spots didn’t produce any ‘weighers’ for them. They continued to catch and cull from their deep water spots until 1:00, and their last cull was to exchange a 3 ½ lb fish for a 5 pounder. They enjoyed a $3,000 check for their day and would like to thank 6th Sense Lures, Jordan Marine, Power Tackle Rods, Needmore Tackle, Carlson’s Marine, Costa Del Mar and Ranger boats.

The single catch made by David Turner, netted by partner Butch Harper held for Big Bass of the day at 10.64 lbs. “It was tough all day for us,” the team explained. “We were catching all small fish until we went to deeper water, about 15’, with a Carolina rigged super fluke.” It was 1:15 when they made this catch, and brought it straight in to the scales. “She was too big to lay right in the livewell, so we wanted to get her weighed in and released as quickly as possible.” The team won $1,000 for that catch, and their weight also held for an 18th place $600 check. They kept reeling in their winnings with sponsor incentives, including a $200 check from Under Armour and another $200 check from Costa Del Mar.

It took 9.99 lbs to grab a check in 20 places paid. The final check winners were Donald Randall and Don Taylor, winning $600.

The Rowdy Crew was on scene, filming several top contenders in the Angler of the Year race on the water, as well as catching the action at the stage for the Bass Champs TV show and the WFN website. To see the video’s and interviews of this finale event click to www.worldfishingnetwork.com/news

The Anglers of the Year points race was tight coming into this tournament. Martin Elshout and Mark Price were on top by three points ahead of Cory Rambo and Rusty Clark. TV crews were onboard their boats filming the action all day. Elshout and Price brought in just over 8 pounds, then Rambo and Clark came in with nearly 11 pounds capturing the Anglers of the Year title. As part of their reward, all of their entry fees for the 2014 East Region events are waived. Congratulations to them for this achievement!

There are three tournaments remaining to wrap up the Bass Champs final regions tournaments. Once all regions have been completed and championship qualifiers determined, the location will be announced in July. For a complete listing of championship qualifiers click to www.basschamps.com or call 817-439-3274.
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