It is undeniably summertime here in Deep East Texas. Temperatures continued to climb throughout the day hitting triple digits in the ‘feels like’ temps. Thankfully there was a pretty consistent breeze that helped a little to endure this hot day on the lake. When it is hot like this, taking care of the fish in livewells becomes a part of the job out on the lake. As incentive to take great care of the fish caught, any fish brought in that is dead gives the team a one-pound penalty per deceased fish. Considering how tight the weights were, that can make a big difference in the standings. Also, with over 200 teams participating, Bass Champs offered three ‘Zero’ bonuses. Chad Potts explained “When you have this many teams catching that many fish in temperatures like this, it puts a lot of fish in a position to undergo a lot of extra duress going through the weigh in process. We developed this conservation bonus to do two things. (A) Cut down the number of bass being weighed in, getting released back into the lake a lot quicker, and (B) Give more teams who would not have won a check in the regular payout a chance to win for participating in this conservation effort.” Two $500 checks were given out and $250 for the third team drawn to win the conservation bonuses.

The first team to breach twenty pounds was Sammy Christian and Allan Shivers. Their biggest fish weighed 8.50, and their limit hit 24.22 lbs to set the bar in both categories. That was only the beginning. Lee Batson and Jason Greer came in with their catch and heaved their biggest to the scales. It weighed 10.92 lbs! Adding the rest of their catch, they took over the lead with 25.06 pounds. But that was just the beginning.

Harold Moore of Caldwell, TX and Bryan Lohr of Lumberton brought in a huge sack. While it was filled with big chunky bass, none of them would hit over ten pounds to check for the Big Bass category. Heaving their entire sack onto the scales, it registered 29.71 pounds – but they had a one pound penalty, bringing their official weight to 28.71 pounds. What an amazing sack of bass! “The first part of the day we caught our fish on 6th Sense C-25 crank baits,” Harold began. “Later we went to structure areas with a ¾ ounce 6th Sense jig.” Bryan caught their biggest fish on a Carolina rig, anchoring their $50,000 win. Sure Life added another $200 to their day for using the product in their livewell.

Jesse and Brandon Moody of Apple Springs, TX hit 2nd place overall having 27.96 pounds. “We used a 6th Sense C-15 crank bait all day,” the team reported. They had a nice kicker in their bag weighing 9.52 pounds. “We lost a seven pounder earlier in the day that would have put us over the top!” Bass Champs awarded them $10,000 plus another $250 from Lowrance.

Lee Batson and Jason Greer, both of Heath, TX held onto a 3rd place win with their 25.06 lb sack. “We stuck to brush piles all day with a 6th Sense Hybrid jig,” they explained. “We had a limit in the boat by 7am, then we headed to another brush pile. Jason landed our big bass (10.92 lbs) at 9:00. He named her ‘Sarah’”. They received a 3rd place check for $8,000 and got another $1,000 for winning Big Bass.

The rest of the top 10 line up was quite tight:
4th $5,000 24.93 lbs David Curtis & Mark Mueck
5th $3,000 24.76 lbs James Chumley & William Flournoy
6th $2,500 24.51 lbs Terry Stevens & Daniel Metreyeon
7th $2,000 24.22 lbs Sammy Christian & Allan Shivers
8th $1,600 23.18 lbs Ricky Collins & Johnny McKee
9th $1,300 22.70 lbs Todd Driscoll & Shawn Malone
10th $1,150 22.45 lbs Bobby Vice & Ricky Guy

Techron has been the premier sponsor for this annual event for the last few years. Joe DeFina, Business Manager for Techron flew from California to attend the event. “This is such an awesome community,” DeFina began as he surveyed the anglers and the crowd. “Techron makes products that fit both diesel and gas applications, and later in 2018 we will introduce the new marine products as well.” He continues “This annual tournament is a grass roots opportunity for us to meet with the end-users, the consumers of our product. We appreciate this sport so much, and the men and women who participate in it in venues across the board. It is an honor to be a part of the Bass Champs series. Chad and his team run a first class operation. Next year we will feature Techron Marine products, and showcase the features and benefits of this new protection plus formula. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this tournament, and am looking forward to next year. Congratulations to all participants, especially those taking home checks!”

For full standings, click to www.BassChamps.com