Talk about a mass of big bass. That is what was brought to the scales at the 1st Summer Series event on Sam Rayburn for the Bass N Bucks Open Trail event. Out of 127 teams that fished, there were 85 limits brought to the scales at Twin Dikes Marina and a total tournament weight of 1,355 pounds! That’s a lot of hefty bass. Bobby Lebert and Paul Eason brought in 31.37 lbs of it to win the event and a $5,000 check.
The weather was unbelievable. The days leading up to the event had triple digit heat indexes, and the same was expected for Saturday, June 18th. That day was truly a dream for this time of year. The sky was overcast and a light wind blew most of the day. Even better, the temperatures stayed in the upper 70’s. The morning started off with a light mist, but it did not last very long, making the morning feel cool but the bass bite was hot! The scales opened at 2:15pm and it didn’t take long to see that almost everyone had found some great catches.
Bobby Lebert and Paul Eason brought in a massive sack of big healthy bass. This mass of bass sent the scales to a whopping 31.37 lbs. They also won a $1,000 Big Bass check, sponsored by Kicker Fish bait company for the biggest of their kickers, a 9.74 pounder! They also had another to go with it that weighed over 8 lbs. That’s over 17 pounds in just two fish. They fished main lake points in 18-20′ of water using watermelon red and watermelon candy trick worms on Carolina rigs. They fished 6 spots that they had found in practice. One key that they found was just to keep moving. Before the end of the day they had boated three limits of bass to pick from. They would like to thank a few of their sponsors, Skeeter boats and Lowrance electronics.
2nd place and $2,500 went to Robert and Gary Glende for their 21.79 lb sack. They also fished deep and found their fish on main lake ledges in 18′-22′. They fished carolina rigged watermelon flukes and DD-22 crank baits in a shad pattern. Their best bite came between noon to 1:00 and their stair stepper limit included a 6 pounder, a 5 and a 4 pounder. They were also the highest finishing qualified Champion Boat owners which earned them an additional bonus check for $1,000.
John Hale and Bill Cook won 3rd place and $2,000 with their 21.57 lb sack. They went shallow and fished in 3′-5′, catching their fish just outside of the pepper grass. John felt like they were relating to a nearby drain. Throwing Reaction Ribbits in both a black and a white color pattern with pearl-red bellies, they caught a total of 8 keepers and missed two others. They rigged their frogs on an Allstar rod, Shimano reel and 20 lb Izor line.
Top standings:
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1st
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$5,000
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31.37 lbs
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Bobby Lebert & Paul Eason
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| 2nd | $2,500 | 21.79 lbs | Gary & Robert Glende | |
| 3rd | $2,000 | 21.57 lbs | Bill Cook & John Hale | |
| 4th | $1,700 | 21.30 lbs | Glenn Kirk & Mike Metcalf | |
| 5th | $1,500 | 20.27 lbs | Brian Schott & Ryan Pinkston | |
| ….and last in the money…. | ||||
| 21st | $ 400 | 16.41 lbs | Donald & Alice Stringer | |
There were several couples who came out to compete hoping to qualify as one of the top three couples at the conclusion of these three summer events. The top three couples, plus the top 20 teams in overall points from this series will compete in the Bass N Bucks Championship in September.
The next event will be held July 16th on Toledo Bend at Cypress Bend Park, and the last event will be August 13th on Sam Rayburn at Twin Dikes Marina. Don’t miss out on the summer fun at Bass N Bucks. For more information, please call 409-727-8941 or visit the Bass-N-Bucks website.
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.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE STANDINGSBy: Ray Lenderman / Lakecaster
