Alfred Williams of Jackson, MS won the American Bass Anglers Ram Truck Open Series Mississippi tournament, held June 24th on Ross Barnett Reservoir. A cold front and torrential rains the night before the tournament set the tone. The skies lifted throughout the day allowing for overcast morning and sun filled afternoon.

Running out of Madison landing near Ridgeland, MS, Williams brought in a five-fish limit weighing 16.64 pounds, anchoring his bag with 5.08-pound kicker. For the Boater Division victory, he took home a check for $5000.00.

“I’ve been catching about 14-15 lbs. a day during practice and I knew it was gonna be tough.  I expected it to take a lot more than that honestly because it took more to win some of the past tournaments.  We got started early this morning and when you catch a couple good ones that quick the day just really picks up and goes from there.  We caught a good bit of fish too.  25-30 and most of them were keepers.  Even with the storm and front that passed last night, once you get them stacked up in an area you can catch them.  You won’t have one on every cast but if you can get the bait in front of them they will bite it.  I’m happy because we fished clean.  We didn’t lose any, and they all made it in the boat.” Williams said.

In second for the boaters, Ray King of Brandon, MS landed a five-bass limit going 16.42 pounds. His bag was anchored by a 5.59-pound kicker, which turned out to be big bass for the boaters.  He collected $800.00 for placing and $530.00 for big bass.

“I started off up the lake and threw crankbaits all day long.  I was shallow, not any deeper than 6 ft. and managed about 20 fish today.  I just never got the real big bites to push me up over the top.  I only needed a few more ounces today but sometimes more than others that’s all the difference ever is.” Ray said.

Thomas B Smith of Pearl, MS took third for the boaters with five bass going 13.46 pounds to earn $600.00.

“Started off a little rough this morning with some engine issues but got it fixed.  I stayed with top water baits and managed about 8 keepers.  As soon as that sun come out though it was over.” Said Thomas.

In fourth, Shannon Denson of Brandon, MS came in with 13.13 lbs.

Finishing 5th was Jason Cordell of Pelahatchie, MS with 12.22.

In the Co-Angler Division, David “Flip” Flippo of Amory, MS won with three bass going 12.19 pounds. He sealed his victory with a 5.84-pound kicker.  For the Co-Angler Division victory, David took home a check for $850.  His 5.84-pound kicker gave him an additional $95 for the Co-Angler big bass, it was also the biggest bass caught in the tournament.

“The fella I was fishing with told me we were gonna have limits.  I’m not from down here so I didn’t know anything about the lake other than one spot.  I caught 4 keepers today and the big one bit at 10:45 AM and I couldn’t be happier.  This was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to the 2 day.” Flip said.

Taking second for the co-anglers, Glen Mire of Brandon, MS brought in a three-bass limit weighing 8.24 pounds. He collected $250.00 for the effort.

“I caught mine on a frog pretty much all day.  We stayed in the main lake and I stuck with it.  I culled a couple times but it ended up working out.” Said Glen.

Nathan Martin of Golden, MS placed third among the co-anglers with three bass going 7.83 pounds to earn $200.00

“Buddy it was a grind.  The first 2 keepers came pretty quick this morning and then it stopped.  It was a long day catching a couple shorts in between but my last keeper finally came about 20 minutes before we had to be in.” Nathan said.

In fourth place among the co-anglers, Anthony Thomas of Jackson, MS brought in three bass for 6.78.

Marion Hall of Hattiesburg, MS finished in fifth place with three bass at 6.76 pounds.

Slated for October 7th and 8th, the next tournament will be the $10,000.00 and $5000.00 first place guarantee at the 2-day Championship held on Lake Pickwick McFarland Park, near Florence, AL October 7th and 8th.  Anglers must have fished in 3 of the Mississippi divisional events to qualify.  At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance to the 2018 Ray Scott Championship, slated for the Red River in Bossier City, LA.

For more information on this tournament, call Chris Wayand, tournament manager, at 256-230-5627 or ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.ramopenseries.com .

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Ram Truck Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.