By Patty LendermanBass Champs teams are on a roll, kicking off the North Regions 2017 season on Cedar Creek with 252 teams participating in a $71,880 payback tournament. Charles Buck and his son Mitch reeled in the winnings topping them all with a 23.49 lb sack!
Any day I get to go fishing with my son is a good day, Charles began. We had pre-registered to fish this tournament, and when we got there my son drew boat #131. It was a good wait at the landing until it was time for us to take off. They had done some pre-fishing, and had one spot in mind to fish. As we headed to our area, we had to slow down for the bridge and noticed another angler in distress. We stopped to make sure he was ok. He said he was ok, so we moved on. They headed to the back of a creek to fish water up to 9 deep with a ½ ounce spinnerbait in a Coleslaw color. We caught two good ones early, then after that it was just one here and one there. We got to cull three or four times, and caught our last fish at 1:00. Bringing in their catch, their limit tipped the scales to 23.49 pounds, winning the guaranteed $20,000 check by just over half a pound! Im just glad my son and I get to fish together every now and then. He just got laid off last week, so this will really help. I have to wonder if stopping for that other boat gave us a little bit of good karma. We definitely enjoyed the day, and hope to fish another Bass Champs tournament together soon!
It was close, but the team of Craig Dowis and Michael Vasquez cinched a 2nd place finish with 22.82 lbs. We were focusing on secondary points, looking for bass staging for the spawn, Craig explained. We had found some fish holding in a few spots the week before, so we set out after them with a Carolina rig in 4-8 of water. They started their creel early with a solid two pounder. Within 30 minutes after that they put their first five pound chunk in the livewell. There was a lull for the next few hours where we didnt catch anything. At 11:30 they started biting again and we finished up a limit that included another five pounder. At that point we had around 17 pounds, and were culling by noon. They hit four or five areas throughout the day, two of them producing better fish. Some bigger fish had moved into our target areas since we practiced, and that certainly helped! They were able to cull a couple of times before the end of the day to their final weight. On our last cast, a fish broke off on us. We didnt get to see it, but who knows? That could have been the one to put us over the top! They were presented with a 2nd place check for $5,500. Michael would also like to thank his wife and family for their support and encouragement.
Rounding out the top ten teams:
3rd $4,200 20.69 lbs Melvin Yezak & John Yezak
4th $3,400 19.22 lbs Josh Stapleton & Charlie Priddy
5th $2,400+ 18.81 lbs Garrick McPherson & Dusty Spurgin
6th $2,000 18.72 lbs David Baumann & Mike Williams
7th $1,600 18.63 lbs Chris Gilroy & Michael Fuller
8th $1,500 18.32 lbs Jerry Ketcham & Tom McKnight
9th $1,400 17.96 lbs Branden Hollingshead & Jeremy Lambert
10th $1,300 17.95 lbs Zachary Willcutt & James Cottom
and last in the money
33rd $600 14.61 lbs Matt McMillan & Trevor Romans
The biggest bass of the tournament was brought in by the team of David Horton & Preston Smith. This 7.18 lbr anchored their 13th place finish, adding $1,000 to their winnings for a $2,070 payday. They also won the Costa Sunglass bonus and the Abu Garcia Bonus.
The Sportsmans Auto Network added extra cash and prizes to two teams.
Free entry fee’s for 12 months (over $5000 value) to the 5th place team of Garrick McPherson. (Moritz Chevrolet)
$1000 Cash to 14th place Stan Lawing (Moritz Chevrolet)
The highest finishing team in a qualified Skeeter Boat got to double their winnings with the Skeeter Bonus. This went to the 21st place team of Rick Mayo & Sean Davis.
Fun-N-Sun added winnings to several teams in this event. 23rd place winners Justin Keithley & Josh Keithley enjoyed an extra $500 as did 24th place finishers Randy Millender & Katlin Keaton. Fun-N-Sun also paid a bonus to the first out of the money team of Perry Taylor & Thomas Taylor.
Dont miss a single chance to win big in Bass Champs tournaments.
So far top teams have earned $364,180 in five events!
Jan 14 East Region Sam Rayburn PAID $106,900
Jan 21 South Region Falcon PAID $49,650
Feb 4 Central Region Travis PAID $52,450
Feb 11 East Region Toledo Bend PAID $83,300
Feb 18 North Region Cedar Creek PAID $71,880
Chad Potts, President of Bass Champs reminded everyone: The 9th Annual Mega Bass event on Lake Fork is coming up March 19. It is the richest one day hourly event in the world with $20,000 given away every single hour of the tournament. Two Skeeter boats will also be given away at the end of the day for the anglers catching the biggest bass over the slot and the biggest bass under the slot! More sponsors are adding to the winnings too! One of the bonus opportunities is through the Sportsmans Auto Network. If you have a dealership you use, encourage them to sign up into the Sportsmans Auto Network. Its easy, and increases your chances to win even more!
COMING UP NEXT:
Feb 25 South Region Amistad
March 4 Central Region – LBJ
March 11 East Region Sam Rayburn
March 19 Mega Bass Lake Fork
March 25 South Region – Falcon
April 1 North Region Ray Roberts
April 8 Central Region – Belton
April 22 South Region – Amistad
April 29 North Region Lake Fork
May 13 East Region Toledo Bend
May 20 Central Region – LBJ
June 3 North Region Tawakoni
June 9-11 Skeeter Owners Tournament Fork
June 25 Techron TX Shootout Sam Rayburn
Oct 14-15 2017 Team Championship TBA
Oct 21-22 12th Annual Berkley Big Bass – Fork
For more information, visit www.BassChamps.com or call 817-439-3274
