Clark & Shaw win $10,000 on a windy day at Bass N Bucks on Sam Rayburn

Here it is on the verge of being Spring, and the anglers are just as ready to catch big bedding bass as the big bass are ready to get on the beds. This transition from winter to spring has the weather unsteady, being cold one day and warm the next, bringing the bass into shallow water and then pushing them back out with the cold fronts. Prevalent southern warm winds challenged the 268 teams heading out to win one of the 44 places paid out totaling over $59,000 in all cash to the anglers. When the scales opened at 3 pm, anglers began trickling in at the water tanks with their bags of fish to weigh in. As the weigh-in progressed, the weights just kept getting heavier.

Rusty Clark and Shelby Shaw didn’t waste any time putting a limit in the boat. By 7 a.m. they had five keepers that would weigh around 12 lbs. They explained “we were just fishing the standard Carolina rigged watermelon red lizard. We found a spot last week while pre-fishing that we started at today and got our first limit. After that, we went to our old holes.” Their better fish were holding along a 15′ ridge in a creek channel, and they caught about 5 limits to cull from throughout the day. Dave let out a grunt as he lifted their sack to the scales, which included a 6.81 lb kicker. Their best 5 weighed 23.09 lbs, taking 1st place and winning a $10,000 check. Shelby’s 7 yr old son was excitedly waiting there to watch his dad weigh in. They would like to thank their sponsors, Skeeter boats, Dawson Marine and Allstar Rods.

“We just had a day of fishing out in the Caney flats” stated Mark Price and Martin Elshout, 2nd place winners. “We had found a bunch of little ones yesterday, but they grew bigger for us today. We threw a lot of different things, a white spinnerbait, a carolina rigged white fluke, and then we also flipped the bushes with a watermelon lizard. We caught fish all day, one here and one there. We had a limit in the boat by 8:30, and we were able to cull four of those.” Their final weight was 22.48 lbs, winning the 2nd place check for $4,200.

Ryan Ganey and Joe Coatney won 3rd place with 20.69 lbs. “We had a real good day” they began. “We caught our first limit in 30 minutes on a white / chartreuse spinnerbait. After that, we flipped the bushes with a black & blue Sweet Beaver. The bite was best before 10:30, but we caught a total of four limits to cull from. We had three others on our line that would’ve put us in first place.” They won a $3,200 check for 3rd place.

The father & son team of Herb and Brian Hampton teamed up to fish together for the first time in 6 years. Throwing ½ ounce chartreuse & white spinnerbaits as well as small crank baits in 3′-5′ of water outside the bushes, they worked hard to earn their limit, finally putting their fifth fish in the livewell at 2:30. They had a nice kicker in the bunch, weighing 7.84 lbs. They would like to thank Hampton Racing of Baytown, TX as well as Brian and Jennifer Pletcher of Coastal Reporting for their support.

Top Standings:

Kicker Fish Bait Company and Stanley Jigs sponsored the first three places out of the money with products, bringing the total number of places paid out in cash and prizes to 47.

Champion Boat owners are eligible for a $2,000 Bonus for a first place finish or $1,000 for the highest finisher should the winner not be in a Champion Boat. The $1,000 Champion Boat Owners Bonus went to the 4th place team of Herbert & Brian Hampton.

Big Bass honors went to Mike Metcalf & Glenn Kirk for their 9.30 lb kicker. Kicker Fish Bait Company sponsors the $1,000 Big Bass check at every event. It wasn’t an easy day for them, but this wasn’t their first “rodeo”, either. They had boat problems, motor problems, trolling motor problems. While this may have slowed them down a bit, it didn’t stop them from pushing ahead. Mike was throwing a Carolina rigged Baby Brush Hog along a secondary point. Throwing in semi-deep water, he hooked on to her at about 1:30. They needed help getting back to the weigh in, and a fellow Bass N Bucks competitor showed true sportsmanship, giving them a hand and towing them in. They would like to thank their sponsors, Ameritech Buildings of Jasper, TX and Captain Kirks Marine.

Bass N Bucks has just as an exiting history as it does a future. Dave and Tricia Concienne’s love of the sport and the anglers has always shown through in their events, making it fun and prosperous for the participants. Through the years they have watched young anglers grow up and continuously improve their skills. The Bass N Bucks tournament trail has also been a place for individual anglers to test and hone their skills, with some gaining the confidence from their accomplishments to take off and become full time professional anglers. At each weigh in, families and friends as well as people who just enjoy the excitement of a tournament competition weigh in come to enjoy the accomplishments of the anglers and to see a lot of big bass.

“This is really exciting! For the first time in 12 years, the third event had more teams registered than the season kick-off” stated Dave Concienne, Tournament Director. “This is a favorite time of the year for many bass fishermen, looking to catch those fat spawning bass. We didn’t see any today that looked like they had been fanning the beds or spawning, it is just on the verge of beginning. They ought to be in full swing by our next event, and we’ll see even more huge fish!”

There were 856 total fish brought to the scales, weighing 2,190 pounds. Average fish weight equaled 2.56 lbs.

Fishing for the Championship? Any team or individual who fishes all 5 events in the first series will automatically qualify. There’s also a second chance to qualify for the Championship in the 2nd series, starting in June! The top 20 teams (by points) will advance to the Championship from the 2nd series, as well as the top three highest finish in points man & woman couples teams! The Championship will be paying out $150,000 in cash and prizes!

The next event will be April 17th on Sam Rayburn. Hurry – join in on the fun! Win some BIG BUCKS! There are only two events left in the 1st Series of Bass N Bucks East Texas Team Circuit. The 2nd Series will begin on June 18th. For more information, please call 409-727-8941, visit BassNBucks website or email to [email protected].

Official 2005 Bass N Bucks sponsors include: Champion Boats, Mercury Motors, Southeast Texas Toyota Dealers, Lowrance, Minnkota, Shimano, Wulf Outdoor Sports, Kicker Fish Bait Company, Rat-L-Trap, Snag Proof, Xtools, Dual Pro Charger, Power Tech Propellers and Stanley Baits

Other sponsors include: Fishingworld.com, Super 8 Motel, ProRule, McFerrin Insurance, BassMedics Rejuvenade, The Stump Restaurant, Ann’s Tackle Shop, Need More Tackle, Rayburn Tackle, Piney Point Plaza, Holiday Inn Express and Toledo Town & Tackle.By: Patty Lenderman / Lakecaster