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TEAM TOURNAMENT
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| Date: | | March 15, 2014 |
| Region: | | 2014 South region |
| Tournament: | | Lake Amistad #2 |
| Tournament Trail: | | 2014 Bass Champs Tournament Trail |
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| Ramsey & Wallace win BIG at Bass Champs on Amistad |
| By: Patty Lenderman |
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It was hump day for Bass Champs South Region teams, fishing the third of five season events on March 15 at Lake Amistad. Over $54,000 was paid back in cash and prizes, reflecting a 122% payback event. San Angelo anglers Wendell Ramsey and Ronnie Wallace were the top winners, enjoying over $26,000 worth of cash and prizes.
It had been over a year since Wendell Ramsey and Ronnie Wallace had been on Amistad. “We just decided to go to some old holes, between markers 4 and 7. We knew it was going to be tough. We just got lucky, and got the right three bites.” They went to points, backs of drains and flats. “We just kept moving, fishing both the Mexico and American sides. We covered a lot of water.” They used a variety of baits, trying to find fish, including a Yum Flash Mob Jr (similar to an umbrella rig), Rage Tail Space Monkey, and a small Strike King crank bait. At 9:30, they latched on to their second keeper of the day, and it would be their kicker weighing in at 6.79 lbs. “When we finally put our third fish in the livewell to complete a limit, it probably weighed around 9 pounds. We were able to cull the two smallest ones, the last cull was around 2:00.” They reported culling by mere ounces at times, with a final weight of 13.37 lbs to win the tournament. Bass Champs presented them with a new Ford F-150 pickup truck, valued at over $25,000. Their kicker held up to win Big Bass of the day, garnering an additional $500 check. Since they used a Revo reel for their catch, they also won the Revo bonus of two additional reels. Sure Life added to their winnings for using their product in their livewell with another $200 check. “There are a lot of people that help us out. Field & Stream Sporting Goods, Deans Marine, Rage Tail Lures and Pro Line Trolling Motors. Their help and support keep us going. We’d also like to thank Jeff, Chad, and the whole Bass Champs crew. They do a great job putting these tournaments on, and are a real top notch organization.”
Logan and Terry McDonald secured a 2nd place win with 12.32 lbs. “We had done some pre-fishing a week before the tournament, and found some spots holding a lot of small fish. We decided to go back to those same spots for the tournament, and caught bigger fish.” They had three primary areas they were targeting. They all were at bluffs with rocky banks. “The key was to look for something a little different on them, like a lay down or something.” Paralleling the banks in water 8’-10’ deep, they had their work cut out for them. “We didn’t have a single fish in our livewell until around 11:45, and it weighed around five pounds.” They found that while they could entice smaller fish with worms, they found the size bass they were looking for with a suspending Spro jerk bait. They managed a limit, two of them were just legal. By days end they were able to cull the smaller ones, stating those were the only five bites they had. “This is our first year fishing Bass Champs. It’s really neat, and a great deal We really enjoyed it.” Bass Champs presented them a 2nd place check for $4,200 plus they won the Talon bonus for an additional $250. “We’d like to thank Blue Line Drilling Company for buying our ‘lucky’ jerseys!”
Jason Gallas and Ken Parker also did not get a chance to scout for fish before the tournament, so had to rely on the knowledge of their co-worker, Derrick, at their Boerne Marine Tackle store to point them in the right direction. “We decided to target creek drop-offs in water 12-15’ with a Camini white shad swim bait umbrella rig, a Joe Baby and an Oldham spinnerbait.” They put all of their faith in one spot. “The fish were biting as soon as we got there! We were able to put a limit together in about three hours, and culled four times after that only keeping one of our original fish.” Later in the day they did move to some bedding areas, but didn’t find any luck there. They won the 3rd place check for $2,300. “We are partners in the tackle store, and would like to let all of our customers know we really appreciate their business!”
Travis McGuire and Chris Snyder won 7th place overall for $1,050 but thanks to sponsor incentives their winnings did not stop there. They were the highest finishing team in a qualified Skeeter boat, so doubled their cash winnings to $2100. They also won the Ford bonus, giving them free entries into Bass Champs tournaments for the next 12 months. That bonus is valued at over $5,000!
It took 6.85 lbs to be in the money in 21 places paid. Steve Wilson & Santos Perez Jr won the last $500 check.
The results of this tournament put Jerry and Logan McDonald in lead position in the Anglers of the Year race, 483 pts, with only two events left to fish. Rounding out the top five in the AOY race are:
474 pts Trent Huckaby & Tyler Young
462 pts Richard Bacon & Brendan Kennell
461 pts Mike Bates & Tye Heineman
459 pts Dustin Day & Jeffrey Piel
The next South Region tournament will be on Lake Falcon April 26, then the season will wrap up on May 31 back at Amistad. In the mean time, Bass Champs staff and crew are headed to Sam Rayburn for the East Region’s third event of the season.
If you haven’t already signed up, time is running short to get in on the action at the 6th Annual Ford Megabass tournament on Lake Fork April 6. A Ford truck will be the top prize every hour of this big bass tournament, with many more checks won each hour. It gets even better – the person who catches the biggest bass of the day will also win a new Skeeter boat!
For more information, click to www.BassChamps.com or call 817-439-3274
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