Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, and title sponsor of the Texas Team Trail (TXTT), has renewed its partnership with the popular bass fishing circuit with a multiyear extension.
“We’re thrilled to renew our partnership with Cabela’s,” said Mike Hastings, Texas Team Trail tournament director. “Not only are they a great partner and title sponsor for the Texas Team Trail but they’re also such a well-respected brand and leader in our industry. We’re fortunate to have their support and look forward to building on our relationship for years to come.”
“Cabela’s is proud to continue its support of the Texas Team Trail and the opportunities it offers anglers,” said Andrea Crass, director of communications and partnerships for Cabela’s. “This circuit is one of the largest and most popular team events in Texas, and we’re excited for a new season that will feature some of the best fisheries in the state.”
Blakelock-Benedict catch 11.42 kicker to clinch TXTT victory
by Brett Carlson
Bart Blakelock & James Benedict
MANY, La. – Historically, Toledo Bend has been known as a great place to go and catch numbers of largemouth bass. Its neighbor to the east, Sam Rayburn, owns the long-standing reputation of holding trophy fish, those rare giants that weigh over 8 pounds. At the second Cabela’s Texas Team Trail event of 2015, Bart Blakelock and James Benedict proved that times are a changing. Toledo Bend is now producing both numbers and giants, as evidenced by the winning team catching three bass over 8 pounds, including a jaw dropping 11.42-pound kicker.
Blakelock and Benedict opted to fish a small ditch on the north side of the lake. The two anglers had a good feeling about the area, despite the wet and windy conditions.
“We fished it a week ago and the water temperature was up to about 58 or 59 degrees,” said Blakelock, the Lake Charles, La., native. “Today, it was cooled down to about 53 or 54, which I thought was good for a Rat-L-Trap bite.”
Blakelock explained that he and Benedict were targeting staging fish in 6 to 8 feet that were on the way in. The area was protected from the blustery weather and the water clarity was perfect – stained, but not too dirty.
“There was a little patch of hydrilla at the end of the ditch,” he said. “That was the best spot; it was about the size of two pickup trucks. We just went back and forth on that 25-yard stretch of ditch all day. I was throwing into about 4 and dragging into the 6- to 8-foot ditch.”
Benedict got the morning started off on the right foot. On just the second cast of the day, he loaded up on the 11.42 kicker.
“When he first hooked it, I got the net and thought it was about a 7- or 8-pounder,” recalled Blakelock. “But when it got closer I tried to put it in the net and I didn’t think it was going to fit in there at first.”
Soon after, Blakelock got into the action with a 7-pounder and then a 3-pounder. At 9 a.m. another big fish came into the boat, this one weighing about 8 pounds.
“Then it slowed for a little while,” Blakelock said. “In fact, we had only seven bites all day. We were having some issues with the cranking battery so we decided we would only fish until 1:30 p.m. At 1:15, I caught the 9-pounder and we decided to come in because we knew we had over 30 pounds.”
The official winning weight for five fish was 35.56 pounds. Blakelock and Benedict caught all their fish on a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap in Rayburn Red color with 17-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon. For winning the second qualifier of the season, the two earned a Triton 189 TRX with 150-horspower Mercury Pro XS, valued at $28,500, $1,270 for Big Bass and $2,355 in Anglers Advantage cash.
“I’m so fired up; I can’t believe it,” said Blakelock. “We fish the lake a lot and that’s the largest stringer we’ve ever caught in a tournament. To have a day that like that is so special. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. Me and my partner, we are beside ourselves.”
Simon and Durio take second
Jonathan Simon of Orange, Texas, and Cade Durio of Lake Charles, La., sacked a 26.28-pound limit to finish the Toledo Bend event in second place. The two earned $8,327 with Anglers Advantage and Ranger contingencies.
“We can’t complain about second,” said Durio. “We were fortunate to catch 26 pounds; that’s a heck of a limit any day.”
Simon and Durio fished the mid-lake region and targeted points in 18 to 20 feet of water.
“We positioned the boat in 10 feet of water and used our Talons to pole down,” added Durio. “That made it easy to make the right cast in that wind. And having a Ranger made getting to all those points a lot easier. Once we got set up, we caught everything on Carolina rigs with Bass Candy Flukes.”
Durio explained that their Ranger was positioned near a wall of grass. The two would throw out to bare-bottom points and then bring their baits back toward the grass.
“On my second cast of the morning we had one right at 8,” Durio recalled. “The second cast at our next point we caught another 8-pounder. So we had a really good morning. Then we just culled ounces – catching a bunch of 3-pounders. I bet we caught somewhere around 40 keepers today; it was a very fun day to be on that lake.”
West brothers third
Brothers Clint and Clay West finished third with a five-fish stringer weighing 26.09 pounds. Like Simon and Durio, the two caught three limits and culled 3-pound fish all day.
“We started off throwing a trap and caught only one, so we changed to an Alabama rig and moved to some deeper water in the back of Housen Bay,” said Clay. “Right away I caught one about 3 1/2 pounds. Then there was another tournament that let out and it looked like a parade coming at us. But we stayed in our area and ended up having over 21 pounds by noon.”
The two eventually changed spots and continued to catch quality bass, but no kickers.
“We decided to return and finish the day at that same spot. We caught a 6 1/2-pounder on a Carolina rig with 20 minutes left in the tournament.”
The West brothers’ main presentation was throwing a Hog Farmer umbrella rig with 3 1/2-inch Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits. They preferred the Hog Farmer because it had five wires and eight willow blades.
“We were fishing the ledge right where it dropped from 15 to 25 feet. We fished hard and stayed steady.”
After taking seventh at the season opener, the West brothers are in serious contention for the Lucas Oil Team of the Year award.
“Rayburn and Toledo are in our back yard, so we will have to really do our homework for the next two. But we have high expectations.”
Goodwyn-Crelia fourth, Guidry-Ferguson fifth
In fourth place with five fish for 25.61 pounds was TJ Goodwyn and Philip Crelia. Behind them was Jeremy Guidry and Paul Ferguson with 25.26 pounds.
“We didn’t catch a lot fish; we only put seven in the boat,” Guidry said. “We started fishing shallow grass, but that didn’t work out. So we ended up going to some deep fish and we caught ’em on V&M football jigs (with craw trailers) in like 10 to 20 feet. The wind made it real hard to stay on those offshore spots.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 teams at the 2015 Cabela’s Texas Team Trail event on Toledo Bend:
6th: Stan Burgay and Darren Wiggins, 24.60
7th: Steve Hope and Brett Killingsworth, 23.63
8th: David Curtis and Mark Mueck, 22.67
9th: John Iles and Matt Morrison, 21.78
10th: Jamin Brower and Ricky Blankinship, 21.09
Up next
The next Cabela’s Texas Team Trail event is slated for March 28 on Lake Ray Roberts in Sanger, Texas, the third of four qualifying tournaments.
