21st Annual Sam Rayburn McDonalds $560,000 Big Bass Splash,- Umphrey Family Pavilion, Lake Sam Rayburn, TX. Chilly, but nearly purr-fect spring-like weather greeted final day anglers with light winds and accelerated bass-bites. Which was fortunate for the 3,724 anglers who fished this event, but almost became unfortunate for an 11 year old angler who was chewing his nails after a final day weigh-in of an 11.52 lb bass nearly nudged the youngster out of the $102,000 first place prize by only 5/100ths of an ounce……INCREDIBLE!!!!
Day-1-ReCap; It all came together Friday morning at 6:01am when KICKS 105.7 fm Radio broadcast the long awaited “Anglers, Start Your Casting! You could call this “HAWG-DAY” as Jerry Propst of Jasper TX, brought in a 10.53 lb lunker nudging the early morning effort of Hal Hawthorne’s 10.34 lb McLunker to a 2nd place possibility. All three exact weight Triton bass-boats were recorded and awarded. Anglers were greeted with warm, but threatening weather with a late season cold front being predicted.
Day-2-Recap; The predicted cold front ARRIVED with gusting north winds and dropping temperatures for 2nd day McBasser’s. But the leader-board shuffled the standings to include an 11 year old angler that could possibly set a new record for the McBass circuit as being the youngest angler “EVER” to win a Big Bass Splash event. The 3.0 and 4.0 Exact weight Triton bass boats were awarded. The 5.0 exact weight boat was unclaimed and became a “luck-o-the-draw” item for final day activities.
Day-3-ReCap; Chilly, but nearly purr-fect spring-like weather greeted final day anglers with light winds and accelerated bass-bites. Which was fortunate for the 3,724 anglers who fished this event, but almost unfortunate for an 11 year old angler who was chewing his nails after an final day weigh-in of an 11.52 lb bass nearly nudged the youngster out of the $102,000 first place prize by only 5/100ths of an ounce……. INCREDIBLE!!!!
Top-5-Overall McWinners;
1-(11.57)- It was “WOW-TIME” during the second day 7am to 8am hour when 11 year old, Brandon Adams, of Florence TX, struggled in to the weigh-in stage with his early morning catch. “Eleven Pounds -point- five seven ounces, announced the weigh-master as the crowd began screaming and applauding the grinning youngster. Brandon was fishing with his dad who ran their Viper/Johnson bass-rig to Farmers flats where Brandon started working an Allstar rod and Abu-Garcia reel spooled with 17 lb test Berkley. “I was dragging a 10” black and blue Berkley Power worm when a sudden strong tug caused me to set the hook. “My dad immediately dropped what he was doing when he saw how big the bass was after it jumped, Brandon informed, further telling that his dad then spread-eagled along the gunnel reaching out and saying “PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DON’T GET OFF!!! As soon as I was able to reel the bass in close enough to the boat my dad immediately latched onto the big bass with a “DEATH GRIP” and hauled it into the boat. After the very exciting 2nd day weigh-in, Bob Sealy managed to intimidate Brandon just a “wee-bit” on stage by telling him that if his bass held out as the largest of this tournament that Brandon would become the youngest angler EVER to win a Big Bass Splash event as well as winning the $102,000 first place prize! ..TICK..TICK..TICK! Then a final day effort by Jim Sluss of Newton TX, almost derailed young Brandon’s hopes after Sluss weighed-in an 11.52 lb bass. And with just a 5/100ths of an ounce difference, eleven year old Brandon Adams, of Florence TX, became the winner of the 2005 McDonalds Big Bass Splash and set bass tournament history as the youngest angler to win a national tournament. This was Brandon’s second year at fishing the Big Bass Splash, winning $2,000 for an 8 lb bass he weighed-in at the 2004 event. Brandon won a Hummer H-2 hitched to a Triton TR21XPDC/Mercury Optimax bass-rig valued at $102,000 -plus- $1,000 hourly McCheck.
2-(11.52)- Jim Sluss of Newton TX, caused some hearts to flutter as well as some near “heart attacks” within the Adam family clan when he struggled in with his early Sunday morning catch. “Eleven -point- five-two pounds” announced the weigh-master. You could almost hear the sounds of exhaled relief amongst the cheers of the morning crowd, as the bass narrowly missed displacing 11 year old Brandon Adams 11.57 lb McLunker by only 5/100ths of an ounce. “At first I thought the bass was only a four pounder, MR Sluss interviewed, but after a few seconds it “thumped” my line pretty hard and all heck broke loose as I couldn’t release my drag fast enough to keep up with it. The bass had me stumbling all over my boat before I could catch my balance to finally land that big bad fish. MR Sluss ran his Ranger/Yamaha bass-rig to a Buck Bay grass-bed to work his Allstar rod and Garcia reel spooled with 15 lb test Berkley Big Game mono. A Carolina rigged green-pumpkin Senko dragged across the grass enticed the 9:15am big bass to bite that put a “heavy” imprint on the leader-board for its 11.52 lb weight. Jim Sluss won the 2nd place overall prize of a Dodge truck hitched to a Triton/Mercury bass-rig -plus- $1,000 hourly McCheck.
3-(10.53)- Jerry Propst of Jasper TX, managed to catch an 10.53 lb McLunker on the first day after running his Stratos/Evinrude bass-rig to Farmers grass to fish a TX rigged watermelon Mizmo lizard. Jerry was working his Allstar rod and Abu-Garcia reel when the big bass hit on a 1:45pm big bite. Jerry’s first day catch held over for day-3 overall for the 3rd place position to win a Cherokee Travel trailer -plus- $1,000 hourly McCheck.
4-(10.34)-A BassCat/Mercury bass-rig took Dibol TX, angler, Hal Hawthorne to San Augustine flats where he worked his Titan rod and Shimano reel spooled with 17 lb test Bass-on line. “I had picked a four leaf clover from my yard and put it in my wallet before coming out to fish, stated Hal, and was really glad that I did! MR Hawthorne’s 7:15am first day catch, caught on a bubble-gum Senko from an 8′ grass-clump, held for 4th place overall position to win a Honda ATV four wheeler -plus- $1,000 hourly McCheck.
5-(10.09)- “At first I thought I had hooked a big catfish because it stayed down and didn’t come up, stated Harvey Hester of Spring TX, and I told my son to get the net, BUT THEN IT ROLLED on top and the big bass fight was on!” Harvey was fishing a 6′ brush patch up in the Canyon’s with an Allstar rod and Shimano reel spooled with 15 lb test Big Game mono rigged with a watermelon/seed Zoom wacky worm when the big fish hit at 8:30AM. “I really got excited when that big bass rolled, Hester related, and after a good toe-to-toe “tug-of-war” fight I managed to get the bass in close enough for my son to net it. Harvey’s final day bass took the 5th place overall position to win a Honda ATV four wheeler and $1,000 hourly McCheck.
Day-1-Exact weight bass;
(3.0)-Randall Flukinger/LaPorte, TX-
(4.0)-Randy Runnels/Nacogdoches, TX–
(5.0)-Joe Smith-Woodville, TX-
Day-2-Exact weight bass-
(3.0)-Ben Avant from Downsville LA,
(4.0)-Dwayne Rawlinson of Nacogdoches TX,
(5.0)-(UNCLAIMED)-Became a final day draw-boat.
Day-3-Exact weight bass-
(3.0)- Gary Griffin Conroe TX, put his Triton/Mercury bas-rig over Caney Creek grass-flats to work an American Rod-smith rod and Shimano reel rigged up with a 3/8 oz white War Eagle spinner-bait. “I was slow-rolling a slick point when the fish hit at 7:30am, Gary stated, and after I weighed it on a Berkely scale at 3.2 lbs I brought it in to collect my 3.0 $16,760 Triton bass boat.
(4.0)-A Ranger/Mercury bass-rig took J.R. McDonald to Five Fingers to work his luck with an Allstar rod and Shimano reel spooled with 50 lb test Spider-wire. “I was “blooping” a green Chug-bug when the bass hit, the Hemphill TX, angler informed, after weighing in his exact weight effort to win a $16,760 Triton bass boat. After catching it at around 7:35am I weighed it on a Berkley scale at exactly 4.0 lbs and the rest is history. As a respectful gesture by Bob Sealy the 2005 Big Bass Splash event was named after J.R. McDonalds wife who had passed away recently.
(5.0)-(UNCLAIMED)-Became a final day draw-boat.
(5.0)-Draw-winner-Troy Washburn-Brookeland, TX-
(5.0)-Draw-winner-Mike Newman-Broken Bow, OK-
Day-1-T-Shirt Bonus-(7.34)-Larry Richards/Hamshire,TX-$1,000
Day-2-T-Shirt Bonus-(8.68)-Douglas Knight-Fred, TX-
Day-3-T-Shirt Bonus-(8.75)-Douglas Knight-Fred, TX-
Little Angler Winners;
Bass-(4.37)-Alan Medley-(12 yrs)-Vidor, TX-
Catfish-(1.04)-Colby Brackin-(12 yrs)-Lumberton, TX-
Perch-(0.14)-Britney Scott-(4 yrs)-Jasper, TX-
Crappie-(1.26)-Katlyn Dubea-(8 yrs)-Harlingen, TX-
RMH Charities Donation-$18,620
All bass were recovered and live released by the Sealy Outdoors fish recovery team-
Day-1- tally- 323 bass weighing 1,552 lbs-
Day-2- tally-244 bass weighing 1,122 lbs-
Day-3- tally-282 bass weighing 1,248 lbs-
With $560,000 being offered in cash & prizes 3,724 anglers arrived from 14 states and one foreign country to enjoy the Big Bass Splash event. A three day long “Block Party” held at The Umphrey Family Pavilion offered live entertainment with “Louisiana Express” leading off on Friday, with Tracy Lawrence headlining Saturday, and Zona Jones entertaining the crowd on Sunday. Several National professional fishing celebrities were also on hand to mingle with the crowds each day of the tournament.
The 2005 Big Bass Splash paid out 12 big bass places per hour for a total of 288 checks paid for $154,800 in hourly wins. The first “exact weight” bass of 3.0-lbs, 4.0-lbs, and 5.0-lbs weighed-in each day of this event awarded their anglers Triton-TR175/Mercury bass boats valued at $16,760 each. Big Bass anglers were also eligible for final day elimination draws of Triton-TR1753/Mercury bass boats.
Triton TR173/Mercury Elimination Draw Winner: Michael Mazzola/Port Arthur, TX-
The top five biggest bass weighed-in during this three day long Big Bass Splash event received “OVERALL-PRIZE” awards with first place taking home the $102,000 Sportsman’s Package of a Hummer H-2 “hitched” to a Triton-TR21XPDC/Mercury-225 Optimax bass boat. Second overall won a Dodge Sport Truck “hooked-up” to a Triton-TR165/Mercury bass boat, and third won a Cherokee Travel Trailer. Fourth and fifth place overall finishers received Honda ATV four wheelers.
FREE ADMISSION, Outdoor attractions & exhibits, Family fun & excitement, Family activities & games, “FREE” outdoor concerts, AND a “FREE” chance to win and take home a Cherokee Travel Trailer.
Cherokee Travel Trailer Winner: Chris Carroll-Lufkin, TX-
Next Years Lake Sam Rayburn McDonalds Big Bass Splash event is Scheduled for April 21, 22, 23, 2006.
Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash sponsors; Triton- Mercury- Lowrance- MinnKota- Cherokee- Academy- Lucky Craft- Shimano- Maui Jim- Rejuvenade- Spike-It- FS- Eagle Claw- Texas Fish & Game- Pro-Tec- Rayburn Country- Ron Carter- Stanley- Rat-L-Trap- And the McBass Anglers.
For more information on the Big Bass Splash contact Sealy Outdoors Inc, (888)-698-2551.This Ed Snyder/Outdoors Tournament report sponsored by , The Jasper Newsboy, The Stump Restaurant & Club, The Bass Buster Inn, Rayburn Country Resort, and the Lake Sam Rayburn Pavilion Association.By: Ed Snyder / Ed Snyder Outdoors
