Flournoy & Chumley hit a Bullseye at Techron TX Shootout on Rayburn with over 33 pounds!
| By: Patty Lenderman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After dodging a bullet with the first tropical storm of the season making its way through East Texas, William Flournoy and James Chumley hit a bullseye fishing the 3rd Annual Techron TX Shootout on Sam Rayburn, cashing in over $60K! Nearly 300 teams participated in this world’s largest one day team event hosted by Bass Champs that paid back over $137,000 in cash and prizes. It may have been the recent weather having the bass all stirred up, giving way to the tremendous fish seen at the scales.
The timing was just right for this highly-coveted event on June 25, 2017, with tropical storm Cindy just having passed through the area just scant days before. The elements came together just right for these teams to find the biting bass they needed to cash in on this world’s richest team event. The excitement started just before 2:00 when the first team to weigh hit the scales with their huge sack of bass. William Flournoy and James Chumley christened the scales with a 33.02 lb sack that included an 8.89 lb kicker! They had a long wait to see if their incredible weight would hold up as the rest of the field were yet to come in. Watching the entire field bring in their catch with a few close calls rivaling their weight, finally the scales closed to declare them the winners of this tremendous event. “We drew boat #235, so we were having to fish behind other boats,” they explained. Using a combination of worms and jigs in open water for their catch, they lucked on to the fish they were looking for and caught nearly all the fish they weighed before 8am. “We only caught eight keepers all day, and caught our last 8 pounder about 1:00 on a Stanley Jig.” They knew they had over 30 pounds in the boat, and needed to get the fish weighed to be released back into Sam Rayburn. They were shocked when the scales locked in at 33.02 lbs. “We were a nervous wreck!” When it was all said and done, they had won 1st place and the guaranteed $50,000 purse. Their winnings didn’t stop there – they were also the highest finishing team in a qualified Skeeter boat for another $10,000. Lowrance added to their winnings as well with the GEN3 bonus for an incredible finish to their day. “We would like to thank our wives for their encouragement and support, as well as a special thanks to Lonnie Stanley!”  So many teams brought in sacks exceeding the twenty-pound mark, the line-up was stacking up tight. Three different teams brought in huge kickers bumping ten pounds anchoring several huge limits brought in. The anticipation from the crowd and the contenders continued to grow with each team that came in to weigh. Incredibly, the 2nd place winners also had an excessive bag, weighing in at 31 pounds even! Brothers Ronnie and Ricky Madole reported that their morning bite was on, using 10XD crank baits. “The fish were really biting for us, and we basically had all of our fish by 10am. After that we were only catching four pounders. We lost several good fish but had a great day!” Their 2nd place finish landed a check for $10,000. Husband and wife Michael and Crystal Lowery slid into 3rd place with another great sack weighing 28.95 pounds. Included in their limit was a 9.17 lb kicker! Michael is a seasoned tournament angler, but his wife Crystal is pretty new to bass fishing. Chad Potts asked the couple how their day went, and Crystal explained that she caught a lot of sun and learned how to net! Nevertheless, the duo finished the day with an $8,000 payday. Twenty teams brought in limits exceeding 20 pounds. Rounding out the top 10: There were two other nine pounders brought in. A 9.56 lb’r anchored the 8th place finish for Troy Roder & Dakota Ebare. The team who caught the $1,000 check for biggest bass of the day was Chris and Rusty Harvey with their 9.73 lb sow. This money fish bit at 2pm for them on a Texas rigged Ol’ Monster worm. “We really appreciate everyone for coming out and fishing this event with us,” Chad Potts announced. “Techron has become a big part of this event, helping to make it the world’s richest team tournament!” Bass Champs continues to provide tournament angling opportunities open to anyone who would like a chance to win and have fun. The 12th Annual Berkley Big Bass tournament on Lake fork will happen October 21-22. All of the information and details can be found at www.BassChamps.com – be sure and sign up to fish! The 2018 schedules for all of Bass Champs events have now been posted. Be sure and mark your calendars for next years’ tournaments! In the meantime, Bass Champs TV show has several special and exciting episodes coming up on the WFN channel. Don’t miss out!
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