Fifteen anglers brought limits to the weigh in, after all was said and done almost 2000 inches of bass were turned in! At the end of the day though Dwain Batey was able to catch the size to put him over the top. For his victory Dwain took home $770 in cash and a brand new Manley Gold Series Rod!
The top finishers were gracious enough to share a few secrets to their success:
1st Place - Dwain Batey - 82.5"
All of my fish were caught on a Skirmish Baits M9-RT crankbait fishing from 1 to 5 feet deep in the Prairie Creek area. The water was too dirty towards the back, but closer to the mouth there was a sweet zone where it was just the right clarity. My fish came fishing parallel to the bank mostly on isolated wood cover. I had one bank about 100 yards long that produced most of my fish, and seemed to be replenishing with new fish throughout the day as the water warmed up.
2nd Place - Benny Williams - 80.5"
I went to an area that I knew I could target prespawn, spawning and post spawn fish without moving much. Early in the morning I caught my fish on a sexy shad KVD 1.5 square bill then switch to clear ghost sexy shad square bill as the sun came up. All of my fish came from crank baits aside from (1) 14.5" cull on a magnum finesse worm on a half ounce head in Okeechobee craw color. The morning bite was key.
3rd Place - Craig Wood - 75.25"
All my fish were caught on a War Eagle copper jig with a black craw trailer. They were caught on a riprap wall near the War Eagle marina, I had pre fished this area weeks in advance and it seemed to produce fairly consistently.
Big Bass Winner - Carson Mcbride
14 year old Carson Mcbride smashed this 19" smallmouth to take home Big Bass honors and over $400 in cash and Skirmish Baits bonus bucks!
Join us for the next event on April 23rd!
