(May. 19, 2008 - Cypress Bend Park, Toledo Bend, TX)... Bass N Bucks wrapped up the 1st Series in their 2008 East Texas tournament trail May 18 at Cypress Bend Park. There was a lot on the line for participating teams not only in payback but also points. It was the decisive event for the Anglers of the Year title. The top 20 teams enjoyed a portion of more than $35,000 paid back in cash and prizes. Charles Bebber & Keith Caka won 1st place with room to spare.
It was a gorgeous day on the lake. The morning started out cool, warming to the mid 80’s by weigh-in. There was enough breeze to put a chop on the lake under mostly sunny skies. As the teams began bringing their catches to the scales to be weighed, it was apparent that it had been a tough day for many to find quality bass. Bass N Bucks anglers have always come through with hefty bags, and the weights just kept getting bigger as the procession of anglers continued.
Keith Caka and Charles Bebber were among the last few to weigh in. First checking their biggest, weighing just over 7 pounds but not catching the standing big bass weight of the day, they added their other four to the scales for a total of 22.11 pounds and winning the tournament. "We were throwing Carolina rigs and football head jigs," the team explained. They spent their efforts at deep main lake ridges and humps with scattered grass in up to 22’ of water. "We had a small limit by 7am, about 12 pounds. After a while, we moved and tried two other areas but didn’t catch anything we could cull with." They went back to their initial spot and started catching better quality bass. "God blessed us with three big bass, all from the same area. All of our biggest bass were caught between 9:00-11:00." Bass N Bucks presented them with a $15,000 1st place check, then they also won another $2,500 for their Ranger Cup Bonus. "We’d like to thank Gullo Yamaha and Power Pole for sponsoring us."
Bart Blakelock and Johnny Watkins brought in the second sack to tip the 20 pound mark totaling 20.33 for a 2nd place win. "It was a great day! By 8:00 we had about an 8 pound limit in the boat, and we just culled up from there." They were using Stanley Bug-eye jigs with Zoom Mag 10 trailers. Deep drops, up to 25’ were also their areas of choice but they focused more on drops with wood than with grass. "The fish were biting really good that first hour or so, then it got slow for a while." They had caught a ten pounder during practice, and went back to that area to see if they could catch her again. Around 11:30 they got their big bite and put an 8.43 in the boat. As they put her on the scales, Tournament Director Dave Concienne asked his crew for confirmation on the current Big Bass leaders’ weight. It was also 8.43 pounds, for a Big Bass tie! "Did you throw back out in that spot after you caught this one?" Dave asked the team. Without hesitation they answered "Oh, yea!" They enjoyed a $3,000 payday for their 2nd place finish and $500 splitting the Big Bass pot. Their sponsors include Tempest Rods and Stanley Baits.
3rd place was won by Mike Metcalf and Glen Kirk with 19.63 pounds. "We hit a lot of points with Carolina rigs" they explained. "Mostly we just prayed. We were praying a lot that the younger guys would lay off a little and give us older guys a break!" Moving around a lot, they reported catching one or two at each stop. By 10:00 they had an initial limit put together, then culled several times before days end. Their biggest cull to their final weight was a 2 1/2 pounder. "The wind dictated where we fished. Mostly we stayed in calmer areas." They won $1,500 for their 3rd place finish. Their sponsors are Captain Kirk’s Marine, Mercury Marine and Ameritech Buildings of Jasper.
Tim White, fishing with his partner Jason Moorhead brought in the first winning Big Bass of the day weighing 8.43 pounds. For the first time in Bass N Bucks history, that weight was tied exactly to the 100th of a pound, sharing Big Bass honors with another team. "We were fishing windblown stumpy points in 12’-13’ with crank baits" Tim explained. "We were catching a lot of fish, including some nice size white bass. When I got the bite, I thought it might have been another (white bass). That is, until she jumped. As soon as we saw it, Jason scrambled to get the net ready and I put my rod tip down to try to keep her in the water. The race was on at that point." Tim caught this beauty between 9:00-10:00, helping to round out a nice early limit. Their total weight was 18.34 pounds for a 7th place overall finish. They took home $500 for the Big Bass and another $1,000 for 7th place.
Top 10 Teams:1st $15,000 22.11 lbs Charles Bebber & Keith Caka
2nd $ 3,000 20.33 lbs Johnny Watkins & Bart Blakelock
3rd $ 1,500 19.63 lbs Glen Kirk & Mike Metcalf
4th $ 1,000 19.08 lbs Shane Gibson & Jimmy Johnson
5th $ 1,000 18.58 lbs Alan Moore & Clint Teutsch
6th $ 1,000 18.39 lbs Stan Burgay & Lance Hughes
7th $ 1,000 18.34 lbs Jason Moorhead & Tim White
8th $ 800 17.42 lbs Roy Geesey & Bill Daigle
9th $ 800 16.90 lbs Scott Bailey & Russ Carter
10th $ 800 16.63 lbs Phil Marks & John Barns
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