Sanford Takes $5,000 and Vote $2,500 for wins on Sam Rayburn

by: Patty Lenderman

The Bassmaster Weekend Series operated by American Bass Anglers offers a gateway for highly competitive anglers to ultimately qualify to compete in the coveted Bassmaster Classic.  The Texas Southeast region kicked off their 2010 season on Sam Rayburn March 13 at the Umphrey Family Pavilion.  This is the only Pro/Am tournament trail that offers guaranteed money to the winning Co Angler!  Five states were represented, with participants from states as far away as Oregon.

In this series, the boaters are allowed to weigh in five bass, while the co-anglers can have only three.  Water temperatures have been on the rise for weeks, and with it the move of big bass to shallow water.  Water temps are still starting out in the low 50’s in the morning, rising to upper 50’s by afternoon.  When it hits 60 – watch out!  The action will be furious!

Nearly 200 anglers participated in this event.  Drawn for pairings, the boats were launched and it was on for the 2010 inaugural tournament. 

When the scales opened at 3:00 and the flights began coming in, the weights started out small with skinny limits but grew as the weigh in progressed. 

In the Boater division, Charles Bebber took the initial lead with a 16.07 lb limit.  Rowdy Slaughter took the lead away from him weighing four fish at 16.19 lbs, but anchored Big Bass honors with his 10.01 lb kicker.  Bob Vote beat that weight by ounces and nosed ahead with 16.48 lbs.  Roy Sanford seized the lead from him by nearly a full pound weighing 17.40 lbs.  Soon after, James Stricklin weighed in his stringer at 17.51 lbs, but suffered a half pound penalty taking 2nd place, securing the title for Sanford.

Riding his Nitro bass boat, Roy raced to his targeted fishing area.  “I was able to beat everyone up there.”  He managed a small limit at his first spot using Senko’s in the backs of drains and creeks in water up to 5’ deep.  “I had to move to another spot and look for bigger bass.”  Switching to a rattle trap, he caught his kicker weighing just over 7 pounds at noon.  “I culled all of my first limit with the rattle trap.  The bite definitely got better later in the day.”  Roy was presented $5,000 for his 1st place finish and would like to thank Nitro, American Rodsmiths and Bass Pro Shops.

James Stricklin Jr had a great start to his day, catching a 6# on his 3rd cast.  “She swallowed the bait, and the trailer hook got stuck in her gut.  She ended up dying, and it cost me.”  Switching to a swim bait, he wrapped up his limit by 10:00.  “The key was to focus on shallow water.  The temperatures were registering at 56-60 degrees in the backs of the creeks.  I saw all of them bite.”  Continuing to catch fish the rest of the day, he was unable to cull to better weights.  Stricklin would like to thank American Rodsmiths, My Cash Center, Stanley Baits, Ranger Boats and Evinrude motors.

Bob Vote won 3rd place in the Boater division with his 16.48 lb limit.  “I caught one on a jerk bait, the rest were in the bushes from a creature bait.”  Late morning proved to be the best catching time for Vote, as he slowly assembled his limit.  “I caught my biggest, around 7 pounds, at 11:30.  By 1:30 I finally had a limit, but didn’t get to cull any.”  He said he lost three that just may have helped.  He would like to thank Stanley Baits for their support.

The Big Bass on the Boater side was caught by Rowdy Slaughter weighing in at 10.01 lbs.  Using weightless senko’s along the banks with brush in 4’-6’ of water, he had all four of the fish weighed in this event by 8:00.  “They were very lethargic.  Water temp was only about 52 degrees where I was.  It just shut down for me after 8:00.”  He managed his biggest tournament fish by then, and his four fish limit also secured a 5th place overall win.

Top 5 Boaters:
1st 17.40 lbs          Roy Sanford  Brookeland, TX
2nd 17.01 lbs          James Stricklin Jr Texarkana AR
3rd 16.48 lbs          Bob Vote  Kingwood, TX
4th 16.40 lbs          Clifford McCarty Longview, TX
5th 16.19 lbs           Rowdy Slaughter Portland, TX
Big Bass  10.01 lbs   Rowdy Slaughter Portland, TX

Fishing is just a family thing, with Bob’s son Andy Vote taking the win in the Co Angler division.  “We had a very good day and caught lots of fish!” Andy reports.  “We targeted grass in 4’-8’ of water and used everything – Stanley spinnerbaits, senko’s, chatterbaits, lots of things.”  By 8:30 he had a three fish limit weighing around 8 pounds.  “I caught a lot of three pounders, but was only able to cull one time.”  His final weight was 10.83 pounds to take the win and receive a check for $2,500.  Andy would also like to thank Stanley Baits for their support.

For Dennis Adkins, this was his very first Bassmaster Weekend tournament.  He and his boater headed to brush and lily pads to fish shallow water with a spinnerbait and a rattle trap.  “The bite got better as the water warmed,” he reports.  “I had five good keepers and was able to cull twice.”  His final weight on three fish was 9.66 lbs for a 2nd place win.  “I’d like to thank my wife Sherry for her support.”

3rd place was won by Billy Skweres with 9.41 lbs, also taking Big Bass honors in the Co Angler division with his 4.69 lb kicker.  Using a watermelon baby brush hog in the bushes in the backs of pockets and also flats, he had three by 11:00.  “They were all shallow, no more than 4’ deep.  I was able to cull one time before the end of the day.”  Billy would like to thank his boater Dicky Newberry for the day.

Top 5 Co Anglers:
1st 10.83 lbs           Andy Vote  Kingwood, TX
2nd 9.66 lbs            Dennis Adkins  Prineville, OR
3rd 9.41 lbs             Billy Skweres  Houston, TX
4th 9.30 lbs             David J Brown DeRidder, LA
5th 8.41 lbs             Allan Shivers  Vidor, TX
Big Bass  4.69 lbs     Billy Skweres  Houston, TX

For complete standings, click to www.abaproam.com

There are a total of five events for this division, all of which will be on Sam Rayburn with the exception of the next tournament which will be held on Toledo Bend April 28 at Cypress Bend Marina.  For more information, contact American Bass Anglers at 888-203-6222 or Tournament Director Porter Trimble at 256-230-5628.

For Complete Results Click Here

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers offers over 1,000 tournaments per year in 40 states that are designed for the weekend angler. American Bass Anglers commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and the American Fishing Tour, The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, The American 150 Series or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.

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