Newberry’s crowned Champion in a come-from-behind finish at Bass N Bucks on Sam Rayburn

The 2011 Bass N Bucks Sam Rayburn and Summer Series has gone full circle, wrapping up the crowning of Champions September 17-18, 2011 at the Umphrey Family Pavilion. Rickey & Dicky Newberry made a big come back on day two to win the Ranger / Yamaha Grand Prize by just over 3 ounces!

The weekend started with the annual Championship Banquet honoring the Anglers of the Year for both the Sam Rayburn Series and the Summer Series. Congratulations to Casey Sobczak & Jonathan Garrie as well as Jason Wells & Vic Cooper who will receive free entries into the series they earned AOY for in 2012. Mike Atchley of Cowboy Catering cooked a fine meal for the ceremony and take-off and weigh in procedures were gone over with the qualifiers.

The weather was beautiful, with temps barely hitting 90 degrees. The wind was calm. The bite was tough for these experienced teams, trying to keep up with fish as they move into other territories as the lake continues to drop.

Many “swimmers” were seen as teams brought in their creel to be tallied at the end of day 1. Todd Castledine and Brent Broussard led the pack with 18.23 lbs, closely followed by Jerrel Pringle and Keith Keel with 18.03 lbs. Big Bass was tied at 6.68 lbs, brought in by Dicky & Rickey Newberry, anchoring their 3rd place standing of 17.38 lbs, along with Michael & Lance Lowery also having a 6.68 kicker in their creel. It was nearly a three way split for Big Bass lead on day 1 with Doug & Mason McCain having a 6.67 kicker.

Day 1 Top 5 line up:

Coming into day 2, it was still anyone’s game as the weights were fairly tight. A small front had moved in, with scattered showers that seemed to help the bite. Every cast counted as the teams fished for the top prize of a Ranger Z120 powered by Yamaha 225 hp valued at nearly $50,000.

While nearly every team brought in heavier sacks on day 2, it was Philip & James Crelia who were the first of the top five to come in and establish the weight to beat. Adding 19.96 lbs to their overall weight, their two day total was 36.00 lbs. As more teams put their sacks on the scales, they kept the lead until Todd Castledine & Brent Broussard, day 1 leaders, came in with the first sack over 20 pounds seen in this two day event. Their two day total soared past the pack to 38.28 lbs. Anticipation was still high as the crowd waited to see the rest of the top five leaders come in. Jerrel Pringle & Keith Keele, in 2nd place on day 1, fell short bringing in 16 pounds for a 34.09 lb total. Then Dicky & Rickey Newberry brought in their sack tipping the scales to 21.11 lbs, nudging over the top mark hitting 38.49 lbs to win the Championship!

“It’s been a tough weekend,” Dicky began. They targeted grass beds exclusively using a 10″ V&M worm rigged Texas style both days. “The first day, we had about 14 pounds in the boat at 11:00. After that, Rickey caught our 6.68 kicker that added a few pounds to our limit. We made one last cull at the end of the day with a four pounder.” On the final day, they went back to that same spot and caught another 14 pound limit. “When the bite played out there, we moved to another grass bed. That’s where I caught one just over 7 pounds.” Continuing to cast to the last minute, at 2:45 their last cull was made. “We caught another four pounder at the end of the day, exchanging it for a two pounder. Both days it was our ?end of the day bite’ that helped push us over the top.” And just barely! The Newberry’s won the tournament by 21/100ths of a pound or just over 3 ounces. Out of 10 fish weighed in over the two day event that’s not much! Bass N Bucks awarded them the Ranger Z120 powered by Yamaha 225 hp as the Grand Prize of the Championship, valued at nearly $50,000. This makes Championship #5 for Dicky with Bass N Bucks. His first win was in 1996, having won on Richland Chambers, Livingston and Rayburn. In each of the 2011 Bass N Bucks tournaments, Cabela’s has awarded the top finishing qualified team a $250 bonus. For the Championship, Cabela’s awarded $1,000 that the Newberry’s added to their win.

Brent Broussard and Todd Castledine had brought in strong sacks both days of the tournament. Overcoming mechanical problems on day 2, they still brought in over 20 lbs to add to their creel. “When our boat had problems, it forced us to stay in one spot for nearly 6 hours,” Brent recalled. Using a combination of lures including Strike Pro crank baits, Combat swim jigs and football head jigs, they hit grassy pockets in the mid lake area. “We caught a lot of fish, and was able to cull four times the first day.” On the final day, they culled five times but missed a cull that cost them. “We had an 8 pounder jump out of the net. That really hurt us.” It was in the last 30 minutes of fishing that they made their final cull pushing their sack over the 20 pound mark. Bass N Bucks awarded them a $4,000 check for their 2nd place finish. “As always, we want to thank God for being with us. We’d also like to give a special thanks to Randy Qualls for loaning us another Legend boat after we broke down. He was really there for us.” Additional sponsors include Strike Pro Lures, Combat Lures, Kicker Fish, Power Pole, Hydrowave, Humminbird, Sun Dawg glasses, and Mercury.

James & Philip Crelia were sitting in 5th place at the end of day 1. Bringing in an even better sack on day two, they rose up in the standings for a 3rd place overall finish with a 36.00 lb two day total. “The early bite was key for us. We missed a few big bass the first day, but managed a 6.68 lb kicker. We caught fish on several baits including a Texas rig, Zara Spook, frogs and spinnerbaits.” The final day they stuck to a Texas rigged worm for their catch. “We hit drains 3′-10′ deep that had a little grass on each side. Again, the early bite was good then there was a long lull until they started back up again around 1:00.” They anchored their limit with a 7.67 lb kicker to win 3rd place and a $2,000 check. They would like to thank Hometown Tackle in Center, TX and Legend Boats for their support.

As you can see by the kickers brought in on day 2 there was a lot of shuffling in the standings for Big Bass as well. Shelby Shaw caught the biggest of them all weighing 8.15 lbs to win $700 for that single catch. “It was around 9am, and we were fishing an area that had shallow grass back in a pocket. I was using a white buzz bait, and it hit about 10′ from the boat. I think I caught it more out of self defense than anything!” he laughed. He and partner Lance Hughes ended up with a 19th place overall finish for an additional $400.

2nd thru 20th place teams received 100% payback of the side pot money collected.

Top Teams:

21st thru 25th place were awarded sponsor products. Ben Matsubu and Bob Waltermeyer received the final products with their 26.22 lb two day weight.

“We really appreciate all of you coming out and fishing with us again this year,” announced Dave Concienne, Tournament Director. “You are all very tough teams to beat, and there was no way of guessing who would come out on top in the Championship. It has been another great season and we look forward to seeing you again in 2012.”

The Toledo Bend Series Championship has been postponed due to the extreme low lake levels. “We have the Championship tentatively rescheduled to the first weekend in January, but if we get some good rain between now and then, and Toledo comes up a few feet, we’ll give all of the qualifiers a call to come fish!”

Stay tuned to Bass N Bucks website for latest information and news, plus complete standings for all of the events and the 2012 schedules. the BassNBucks website or call 409-727-8941.

Special thanks to Bass N Bucks 2011 sponsors:Ranger – Yamaha – Cabela’s – Rat-L-Trap – V&M/Cyclone Baits – Vicious Fishing – Wulf Outdoors – Lowrance – Jasper Chamber of Commerce – ProRule – Snagproof – Fishingworld – The Stump Restaurant – Needmore Tackle – Ann?s Tackle – Toledo Town & Tackle – Fin & Feather Resort – R1 Bass – Holiday Inn Express – Premier Yamaha Boating CentersBy: Patty Lenderman