(Apr. 07, 2008 - Umphrey Family Pavilion, Lake Sam Rayburn, TX)... The competition was stiff on Sam Rayburn for nearly 200 teams April 6, 2008. Bass N Bucks anglers enjoyed a gorgeous spring day with challenging water conditions searching for elusive big bass. More than $44,000 was won by the top 25 teams in cash, prizes and Ranger Cup bonuses. Two teams weighed in the same exact weight to win 1st place!The recent rains in the area has muddied up the waters on Sam Rayburn and raised the lake level. That, coupled with a cold front that came through the area dropping the water temperature, made for a hard to find bite.
Randy Millender & Kenneth Nichols weighed in the first 1st place sack at 22.34 lbs, anchored by a 6.90 lb kicker. "We just flipped bushes with tubes in 2’-4’. We caught a lot of two pounders that way, then later we backed off a little with Carolina rigged lizards to fish the inside grass line in front of creeks." They caught bigger fish with that tactic, and Millender added that the 20# test line he was using made a big difference. They’d like to thank Falcon Rods, Ranger Boats and Gary’s Marine.
Right behind them Todd and Donald Littleton hefted their bag on the scales. "Uh-oh!" David Concienne, tournament director exclaimed. The tally locked in at 22.34 lbs - a tie for 1st place! "In my 15 years of being tournament director, this has never happened before!" The Littleton’s were also in amazement. "We weren’t on any fish. We did a lot of running, hitting several spots. We caught a 7 pounder and a 2 pounder pretty early, then didn’t have anything else to put with it until after 1:30. We were sweating it." They finally found a few more cooperative bass to finish their limit, but couldn’t cull the last one pounder in the live well. Both 1st place teams were presented with $9,500. The Littleton’s would like to thank Bayou Outdoors Supercenter in Bossier City for their support.
In 3rd place with 22.26 lbs, less than 1/10 of a pound behind the first place teams was David Truax and Richard Bodin. "Mostly we fished Carolina rigged flukes, about 8’ deep on flats with short scattered grass" Truax explained. "We had a small limit put together around 10:00, and the last hour finally culled two smaller fish." Out of six spots they hit, three of them produced. "We did catch one flipping the bushes with a crawworm." They won $2,500 for their 3rd place finish, and another $2,500 for the highest qualified Ranger Cup team. I’d like to thank God for giving us today"
Rounding out the top 10:
| 4th | 20.76 lbs | $1,300 | Justin Morton & Kevin Cox |
| 5th | 20.22 lbs | $1,000 | Gary Miettinen & Alan Miettinen |
| 6th | 19.92 lbs | $1,000 | Jason Wells & Vic Cooper |
| 7th | 19.42 lbs | $1,000 | Rodney Dotson & John Taylor |
| 8th | 19.24 lbs | $1,000 | Clarence Braddock & Lanny Diemert |
| 9th | 18.79 lbs | $1,000 | John Gunnels & Dicky Newberry |
| 10th | 18.50 lbs | $1,000 | Charles Bebber & Keith Caka |
| .... And last in the money.... |
| 24th | 14.90 lbs | $ 500 | Roy Carlson & Bill Wilcox |
The 25th place team of Alan Moore & Clint Teutsch received sponsor product from E2 Bait Company, Phillips Boat Cleaning Products and certificates from The Stump Restaurant.
| Big Bass 8.00 lbs | $1,000 | Keith Caka & Charles Bebber |
Keith landed the big sow in 8’ of water on a grassy flat with a drain running through it. He caught her on a weightless Senko around 9:00.Nichols Marine and Texas Marine had Ranger Boats on display at the weigh in site. The top Ranger Cup winners were:
| 1st | $2,500 | David Truax |
| 2nd | $1,000 | Justin Morton |
| 3rd | $1,000 | Gary Miettinen |
Bass N Bucks East Region is heading to Toledo Bend May 18 for the next tournament. It will be the last in the 1st Series, with the 2nd Series beginning in June. Don’t forget to sign up now for the Tracy Byrd Big Bass tournament April 26th. For more information, call 409-727-8941.
