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TEAM TOURNAMENT
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| Date: | | June 28, 2014 |
| Region: | | 2014 Central Region |
| Tournament: | | Lake Belton #2 |
| Tournament Trail: | | 2014 Bass Champs Tournament Trail |
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| Belton tough on Bass Champs anglers, Crumley & Alexander take the win |
| By: Patty Lenderman |
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Bass Champs Central Region held their fourth event of the season on Lake Belton June 28, 2014. Hot summertime conditions did not help increase the bite factor, and sheer determination coupled with a little luck was what these 142 teams depended on. Dean Alexander and Eric Crumley took the overall win with 9.47 lbs.
“We figured it would be tough on Belton, based on the time of year,” Crumley explained. “We didn’t have any practice, just showed up to fish the tournament.” Paying attention to the weather, they determined that the topwater bite would probably be good. “We fished main lake stuff with a topwater bait in areas where we could sit the boat in about 20’ of water, and throw to the bank. We had a limit of small mouths by 10am.” After that bite quit they headed up river and tied on a big brush hog. “We made one cull with a four pound black bass, and that gave us our nine pounds. We caught a few more after that, but none of any consequence. “On our way back in, we checked the time and had seven minutes left that we could have shut down and fished a brush pile. We were thinking we could at least be in the top ten at that point, and anything could go wrong if we shut down. Maybe the boat wouldn’t start, or something. We decided to go ahead and weigh in what we had.” Their kicker weighed 3.66 lbs, and adding their other two their total weight was 9.47 lbs. While there were bigger kickers brought in by other teams, their total weight held up for a 1st place win. Bass Champs presented them with the new Ford F-150 pickup truck, for which they chose the cash option. Sure Life added another $200 to their winnings for using the product in their livewell. “I’d like to thank my partner Dean for making some really good decisions for us. There have also been a lot of these Bass Champs guys we fish against, and they know who they are, that have also helped us a bunch over the years. I’d like to thank them as well. Thanks to my family, and last but not least, the Good Lord.”
Charles Whited and Bill Polkinghorn came in 2nd place with an 8.25 lb total, anchored by their 4.20 lb kicker. They were awarded a check for $4,000.
High school angler Zane Washburn and his partner Ryan Phillips secured a 3rd place win with 7.57 lbs. “We headed to a rocky flat, about 5’ deep, to start our day with Yellow Magics. The morning bite was pretty good, and we had a limit in the boat by 9am.” Having secured an initial limit with topwater baits, they decided to stick with that pattern for most of the rest of the day. “The bite got really slow. We used crank baits for a little while, and was able to cull one time. We only caught one fish between 10am and 3pm.” This is the first tournament of the year this duo has been able to participate in, with conflicting schedules with the High School Golf team Zane is on. “We were hoping we would make the top fifteen, but never imagined we would finish in 3rd place!” Bass Champs awarded the team with a check for $2,250. Zane would like to thank his dad for taking him fishing his entire life.
Rounding out the top five includes 4th place Matt Cannon and Chris May with 7.47 lbs, and 5th place Matt Hill and Barry Mott with 7.02 lbs.
It took 5.51 lbs to catch a check in 19 places paid. William Blaine and Dustin Walton won that spot, garnering a $500 check. They also had the biggest bass of the tournament weighing 4.41 lbs, catching an additional $500. The sponsor bonuses started rolling in and they won another $200 from UnderArmour, $500 from BioBor, and won two new Revo reels.
Darrell Wuensche and Donnie O’Neal enjoyed the Skeeter bonus, doubling their $600 winnings to a $1,200 day.
The Central Region has one event left to fish. The Angler of the Year points race is tight, and is still within reach of several top teams in the points standings. The top five with one tournament remaining are:
558 pts Matt Hill & Barry Mott
538 pts Darrell Wuensche & Donnie O’Neal
537 pts Rick Clark & Adam Clark
533 pts Wendell Ramsey & Wendell Ramsey Jr
527 pts Bill Rule & Lucas Larson
The final event for the Central Region will take place on Lake LBJ September 13. In the mean time, the North Region has its final event coming up on Lake Fork July 12. All Bass Champs regular season tournaments are open to anyone who would like to fish and have a chance to win big.
Once all regions have completed their regular season events, the location of the two day championship will be announced. TWO Skeeter boats will be awarded, to the 1st and 2nd place teams. This will take place October 11-12, 2014.
Mark your calendars and sign up for the 9th Annual Berkley Big Bass tournament on Lake Fork! October 18-19 ten places will be awarded each hour, plus more exact weight checks will be awarded. There will be a Junior division, a Women’s division and Berkley will be giving away product as well! Skeeter Boats will award the angler catching the biggest bass over the slot AND the angler who catches the biggest bass under the slot a brand new Skeeter boat powered by Yamaha. You don’t want to miss this! For complete rules or how to enter, go to www.BassChamps.com or call 817-439-3274.
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