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TEAM TOURNAMENT
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| Date: | | March 5, 2011 |
| Region: | | 2011 North Region |
| Tournament: | | Lake Fork |
| Tournament Trail: | | 2011 Bass Champs Tournament Trail |
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| Low temps and BIG paydays for Bass Champs anglers on Lake Fork |
| By: Patty Lenderman |
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Bass Champs North Region held its 2011 debut event on Lake Fork. Horrid winter weather had made cancellation necessary of the original kick off event, but anglers still got a taste of it March 5, 2011. Danny Dulude and Darrell Dodd conquered a field of 246 teams to take home $26,000!
Lake Fork is unique among many lakes, as it has a slot limit. Only fish under 16” or over 24” may be kept – that means throwing away a lot of illegal 5 to 8 pound fish! Four teams brought in kickers over the slot, battling bruising weather throughout the day. Sustained winds at 25 mph and gusts to 35 mph gave trolling motors and their operators quite a work out, and finding places to fish with a little protection from it proved challenging. Temperatures dropped with the cold front more than 20 degrees, and with the wind chill it was bone cold.
Danny Dulude and Darrell Dodd won 1st place with 17.48 lbs. “Danny had found a spot the week before that was out of the wind,” Darrell stated. “I had also done some pre-fishing, and come tournament day we discussed spots and found out they were only about 200 yards apart. We decided to start in his area.” The area was described as a creek with standing timber and 20’ depths. “We just tied up to a stump and used shaky heads and drop shots.” By 7:30 the duo had three fish in the boat, but around 10:30 the action slowed down considerably, and it took until 1:00 to wrap up a limit. Darrell caught their kicker weighing in at 10.73 lbs, anchoring their win. Bass Champs presented them with the guaranteed 1st place purse of $20,000. They were also the highest qualifying team in a Skeeter boat to receive Skeeter’s $5,000 bonus. Their kicker was also the biggest bass of the day for an additional $1,000. When they’re not fishing, Darrel raises cattle and is a building contractor while Danny is an executive for Clayton Homes. Between them, the team enjoyed a $26,000 payday.
The father & son team of Chris and Robert Hall did quite well winning 2nd place with 16.04 lbs. A firefighter by trade, Chris said their plan was to get out there and cast as many times as possible to find fish. “We didn’t want to go far with the wind as bad as it was. I tied on a crank bait, and dad was using a brush hog.” Chris immediately started catching fish, and Robert did not take long to switch baits. “It took us until after noon to finish a limit.” Their limit consisted of four under the slot and one over weighing 9.32 lbs. “I’d like to thank my dad for fishing with me, and am looking forward to many more years fishing together.” The team received $5,000 for their 2nd place win.
3rd place was won by lone angler John Byler. “I really missed my partner (Robert Hall) today. He couldn’t be here because of other family events.” John’s day was challenging from the start. “I waited until light to launch. Right off the bat the cord on my trolling motor broke, and I spent quite a bit of time fixing that.” He finally started fishing around 10am. “I caught two dinks, then headed to another cove. I thought for a while, analyzing what they seemed to be drawn to.” Realizing that it was the thinner stumps he needed to focus on, he finished a limit of all ‘unders’. “I ran into another angler, and we talked a while. After going by him I decided I didn’t like that water so I headed out to a point.” That’s where he caught his 9.77 lb kicker. “He just engulfed my crank bait. That was at noon. I spent the next three hours wondering if I measured it right!" John had worn green for his son. “I’m very superstitious, so I had to wear this all day. I would like to thank my wife Christie. She takes care of everything while I’m out fishing. She would have come to the weigh in, but it was just too cold.” John, who owns a fastener company, won $3,000 for 3rd place, then also received the Dodge and Fun N Sun bonuses. “I’d like to thank Dodge and Fun N Sun. This is great!”
Thirty three teams were awarded checks with Kurtis Walker and Bruce Breisch receiving the last one weighing in 8.86 lbs.
Bass Champs will be back on Lake Fork in a few weeks (March 27th) for the Richest One Day Big Bass Tournament in the Country. The RAM MEGA BASS. This tournament is an hourly big bass event that features a New RAM Truck for the heaviest fish weighed in EVERY HOUR!
The next tournament for North Region anglers will be April 16th on Lake Ray Roberts. In the mean time, Bass Champs staff and crew will head to Lake Amistad for South Region event #3.
Every single Bass Champs event is open to anyone who would like to fish. Sign up now for your chance to win thousands of dollars! For more information call 817-439-3274 or click to www.BassChamps.com.
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