I’ve heard for the last several years that there is no more big bass in Richland-Chambers. That the lake has been fished out. That its just become a dry hole where a two pound fish has a chance at getting big bass. I guess that the couples of the Northeast region of C.A.S.T. had never heard those rumors because the number of big fish that was brought in to the scales was incredible to say the least. It has been a long time since I have weighed so many bass in a tournament that were over five pounds.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself. The conditions for our couples on Sunday, April 28, were ideal. No wind at all allowed our anglers to fish any spot on the lake that they wished without having to fight rolling whitecaps as has been the case the last few times that we have fished Richland-Chambers. The water ranged from muddy with 6 inches of visibility to stained with a foot and a half of visibility. The spawn seemed to be over on the lake with several teams reporting seeing beds but with no bass on them. Barbara and I saw at least a dozen beds and not a one had a fish. So it was the post-spawn pattern that worked the best for many of our couples with the bass coming from secondary points inside coves. Very few bass were caught in the back of coves, as they all seemed to have started moving out toward deeper water.
It was the father-daughter team of Bob and Stacie Starford of Plano who managed to bring in the heaviest bag of bass with five fish going 17.22 lbs. Big bass of the tournament was a true monster. Charles Avent of Alba flipped Horizon white spinner baits at a old lay down and landed a 12.49 lbs trophy. We are proud to say that this large bass was released alive immediately after weighing and is waiting for the next lucky (or as Charles said “skillful”) angler to come along and try to catch her again.
Our local sponsors for this tournament was B & V TOWING, which is owned by our very own Erbie and Carolyn Voyles. We are truly delighted when one of our couples sponsored the tournament and Erbie and Carolyn have done so for the last three years.
| 1st Place | Bob & Stacie Starford, Plano | 17.22lbs | $700.00 |
| 2nd Place | Charles & Linda Avant, Alba | 16.33lbs | $566.00 |
| 3rd Place | Chris & Kim Forner, Waxahachie | 11.67lbs | $240.00 |
| 4th Place | Tommy & Darlene Childs, Tool | 11.02lbs | $190.00 |
| 5th Place | Rayford Richman & Diane Thornton | 10.55lbs | $264.00 |
| 6th Place | Chad & Brenna Tregellas, Ft. Worth | 9.13lbs | $160.00 |
| 7th Place | Guy & Rosemary Cavazos, Dallas | 8.00lbs | $150.00 |
| 8th Place | Joe & Mary Jim Woods | 7.92lbs | $140.00 |
| 9th Place | Steve & Debbie Heck, Ft. Worth | 7.16.bs | $125.00 |
We need to say a very heartfelt word of thanks to our sponsors because we know just how important they are to our success. RANGER BOATS, MERCURY OUTBOARDS, MOTORGUIDE, BERKLEY, TRAILER ARMOR, CONTINENTAL BATTERIES, EAGLE CLAW FISHING TACKLE, HORIZON LURES, LUXOR CUSTOM JEWELERS, J & G ENTERPRISES, LUCKY CRAFT LURES, and THE SHAD CONNECTION DISCOUNT MARINE SUPPLIES.
Our next tournament will be on May 20th,at Lake Bob Sandlin. We will be headquartering out of Barefoot Bay Marina (903) 856-7212. For any additional information that you may need about CAST or the tournament please check our web site at www.fishingworld.com/CAST/ It’s also not to late to bring a friend or join CAST.
