Bass Champs kicked off the first of five events for their Central Region anglers January 28, 2012 on lake LBJ. Twenty one teams were awarded checks in this 105% payback event, but Lance Dillard and Lee Beuershausen were the big winners, taking home more than $25,000.
Everyone enjoyed a gorgeous day on the lake as they vied for favorite spots to fish. Catching didn’t seem to be a problem. Finding big ones was a challenge.
Lee Beuershausen & Lance Dillard got a late start. Official fishing time began at 7:10, and they were just getting on the water at 7:00. “Once we got out there, we found people already sitting on the first three spots we had picked out.” They’ve been fishing LBJ for several years, and knew of many more areas. “We started hitting shallow main lake points with crank baits and Texas rigged senko’s.” Staying on the move hitting points and docks, at 10:30 they put their fifth fish in the livewell. “That fifth fish was our kicker (7.33#).” They estimate hitting nearly 40 spots before days end, and was able to cull three of their smaller fish before coming in. Their best five came to a 19.90 lb total, winning the tournament by just shy of a pound. Bass Champs presented them with the guaranteed 1st place check for $20,000. They were also the highest qualified team in a Skeeter boat and garnered an additional $5,000 with that bonus. Because they used the Sure Life product in their livewell, they also received another $200 bonus. Lee, a swimming pool professional and Lance, in the septic system profession, has been fishing with Bass Champs for 8 years now and in this event ended their day with a $25,200 total. They would like to thank Power Tackle Rods for their support.
Dale Read and Ronny Maynard teamed up to win 2nd place with an 18.91 lb total. “We had a great day! We started at the lower end of the lake throwing plastics around isolated docks.” It didn’t take them long to put a limit together. “It was 8:30 when we put our fifth fish in the boat.” That included their kicker, weighing 7.33 lbs – exactly the same as the 1st place team! “After that, Ronny caught a five pounder and we made our first cull.” Their secret bait was Texas rigged Eager Craws. “We caught most of our fish in less than five feet of water.” Later in the day they made a move to Sandy Creek and were able to cull three more times to their final weight. “Our last cull was at 2:40, we had run back to the lower end to finish up.” This marks their second 2nd place finish with Bass Champs, receiving a check for $3,000. “We’d like to thank Jackie Roberts Fish Finders Marine, TTZ, Shimano Reels and GLoomis Rods for sponsoring us.”
Dustin and Johnny Grice, a father & son team of 24 years placed 3rd with 18.76 lbs. “The day started out really good, we had a limit in the boat by 8:00.” Placing their efforts in the front of deep docks, they caught half their fish on jigs, the other half on spinnerbaits. Once they put their limit in the boat, fishing got really slow. “We used an Eakins jig with a homemade skirt, and a green pumpkin Zoom chunk as a trailer.” Their spinnerbait was also customized, in a chartreuse/white color pattern. “Dad and I have been fishing partners since I was 6 years old. It’s really great to fish with him as a partner. We’ve been fishing Bass Champs together about 10 years now, and really enjoy fishing their tournament trail. Bass Champs has a great circuit and we really appreciate them putting them on for us anglers.” They would also like to thank Elite Prosthetics for their support.
Jeff Smith caught the biggest bass of the tournament weighing 8.16 lbs, fishing with partner Garrett Hennig. “We got on ’em real good in the morning, landing three the first hour.” Among those three was the Big Bass. “We were fishing next to a creek in 25′ of water with a customized Carolina rig.” They poured their own plastics. The duo spent the next three hours not catching another fish. “We worked all day to finish a limit, and never moved to another spot. We also broke off twice on a couple of really good ones. If we landed them we may have won the tournament!” They received a $1,000 check for their Big Bass catch, and another $1,000 check for their 4th place overall win. They increased their winnings thru sponsor incentives including the $200 Biobor bonus and two new Abu Garcia Reels for using a Revo to catch their big one.
It took 12.89 lbs to be in the money this event, Shelby Floyd and Jeff Douglas being the last in the money line.
It’s just getting started for the Central Region, there are four more opportunities to win some big money this season! The next Central Region tournament will be February 25th on Lake Belton.
Bass Champs hosts four regions that are open to anyone who would like to fish. The next event will be the kick-off for the North region February 4 on Cedar Creek. To enter or get more information on any Bass Champs tournament click to www.BassChamps.com or call 817-439-3274.
Team Championship lakes and dates are now available
East Region Toledo Bend September 8-9
North Region Lake Lewisville September 15-16
Central Region Lake LBJ September 29-30
South Region Lake Falcon October 27-28
Any team that has entered all five events in any region automatically qualify for all 4 championships
Set your DVR’s for Bass Champs Television on The World Fishing Network! Mondays @ 8:30 PM Central
By: Patty Lenderman
