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BIG BASS TOURNAMENT
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| Date: | | October 13, 2007 |
| Tournament: | | Berkley Big Bass Lake Fork 2007 |
| Date: | | October 13, 2007 |
| Tournament: | | Berkley Big Bass Lake Fork 2007 |
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| Sam Trinca uses Berkley Power Hawg to Win 2nd Annual Berkley Big Bass on Lake Fork and take home a new Skeeter SX 200 with a Yamaha VMAX 200! |
| By: Patty Lenderman |
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For the second year in a row, Bass Champs hosted the annual Berkley Big Bass tournament on Lake Fork October 13-14. More than 700 anglers converged to try their luck in getting one of 84 hourly checks given away each day at Lake Fork Marina. This is an “amateur’s only” tournament with a twist - only Berkley lures could be used to catch eligible fish! Since there were so many more anglers participating this year, the number of hourly checks increased from 10 to 12 places per hour and the dollar amount increased on the top three places. The total payback in cash and prizes increased to more than $115,000.
There was more to be won than the hourly checks. Lake Fork is a slot lake, meaning only bass less than 16" or more than 21" can be put in the boat. All bass between those lengths are ineligible and must be released immediately. Two boats were given away - one to the angler with the biggest bass over the slot limit, the other to the angler with the biggest bass under the slot.
Fall weather is settling in, bringing with it cooler days. Everyone enjoyed being outdoors, even though there was a little wind on Sunday making for some big swells and white caps on the lake. The first day four big bass over the slot limit were brought to the scales. Lots of bass were brought in to be weighed, and on Sunday one more bass over the slot was brought in.
Congratulations to Sam Trinca of Monroe, LA. Sam caught the biggest bass of the tournament weighing 9.72 pounds and his Berkley bait of choice was a blue fleck Power Hog. “I had a few spots picked out to fish that had good promise of holding big bass.” He was fishing with his friend Richard Baltman, and they headed to an area just off a main lake point with scattered grass. “I rigged the bait Texas style, and she bit at 11:15 Saturday. My line just tightened up, and I set the hook. She stripped drag a couple of times, even though I was using 50 pound spiderwire line with my drag tightened way down. Thank goodness she stayed down. Once I got her to the boat, Richard scooped her right in.” There was still a day and a half that someone else could bring in a bigger bass. “We just kept fishing trying to beat it. The second day, we didn’t bring a radio with us and didn’t check in until 12:00 to see if it was still holding up. Lake Fork produces a lot of double digit bass, and with that many anglers one could come in at any time.” Finally, their wait was over, and it was official - their 9.72 bass held up as the biggest of the tournament. “It’s not the biggest bass I’ve ever caught but it’s definitely the best!” Trinca was presented a check for $600 for his top of the hour win, plus a Skeeter SX200/Yamaha 200 equipped with a Minnkota trolling motor valued at $37,000.
On the other end of the spectrum were anglers competing to have the biggest bass under the slot limit. Jerry Norris of Kilgore, TX won the second Skeeter boat (SX 190/Yamaha 150/Minn-Kota) given away with his 3.02 lb catch. “I caught her on Saturday, about 11:00 using a shad colored Berkley Frenzy #7 crank bait. The area I was fishing was a point with stumps and boat houses. I didn’t get to pre-fish, but I’ve fished this lake a few times in the past and I pretty well knew where I wanted to go. This bass was sitting right on a stump when I caught her. I was fishing on the other end of the lake, so I knew once I went in to weigh her, I wouldn’t be able to go back out. At 1:00 I headed that way, giving myself plenty of time in case I had any boat problems.” Jerry had no idea that he was in contention to win the second boat, and was glad he was unaware of it while he fished Sunday. He was extremely excited to be presented with his new Skeeter valued at over $27,000.
“It was a great weekend” stated Chad Potts, President of Bass Champs. “This is our second year presenting the Berkley Big Bass tournament, and we are already looking forward to the next one. I’d like to thank everyone for coming out and fishing with us, and for the spectators who came to watch. With the increase in participation, we were also able to increase the payback to the hourly winners. Lake Fork Marina is a great location for our tournament, and we appreciate them for hosting it for us. I’d also like to thank Andrew Marks, Marketing Manager for Berkley. He was at the tournament the entire time, helping with every aspect. The Berkley interactive trailer was brought in for everyone to enjoy. Andrew was able to enlighten everyone about all of the Berkley products and where to find them. The area tackle stores increased their Berkley products stock for the participants in the tournament.”
During the awards ceremony, Mr. Marks of Berkley addressed the crowd and said, “Thank you for coming out and fishing with us this weekend and for choosing Berkley. It is great to see such an increase in the number of participants in only our second year of this event. We know you expect quality and productivity from the baits and products that you purchase and we are proud that you include Berkley in your decision. As a company we will always strive to be the innovator of new designs and continue to provide anglers with products that help you catch more fish. We sincerely enjoy being involved in this event and we are looking forward to seeing all of you here again next year.”
For complete results from the 2nd Annual Berkley Big Bass on Lake Fork, please visit: www.basschamps.com.
If you would like to receive all of the latest Bass Champs news, schedules, results and television show information via email. Go to http://www.basschamps.com/basschamps/newsletter.cfm to subscribe to our Free E-Newsletter.
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