took the Monarch Trophy FIRST PLACE award with 18.40 pounds of fish. Mark and Morna caught their fish on a Kriet Kreature bait that they had purchased at Academy Outdoors. Mark and Morna targeted shallow water stump flats in the Peach Creek area. Mark had practiced and found these fish last week and felt with all the fisherman on the lake these fish would get pounded but they held up for this team during the tournament.

Mark and Morna were able to catch their first 4 keepers in the first 40 minutes and managed their 5th keeper at 8:30AM. Mark was telling me a story that the morning on the way to Stowaway Marina he accidentally ran a red light and his impulse was to look in his rear view mirror and you guessed it their was a Harris County Sheriff. The sheriff just went around him and kept going. Morna looked over at Mark in disbelief and said you know what this means don’t you??? Mark said yes he just ended his shift and want to get his tail home. Morna being optimistic said no "Goofy" today is our LUCKY day. Congratulations to this team on their WIN!!

Second place team of Donnie and Juanita Robinson tipped the scales with 18.35 pounds that brought them the second place trophy. Donnie and Juanita fished Little Lake Creek all day. They had their limit by 9AM. They prefished all day on Friday and did not catch a keeper. They had their fingers crossed that maybe they could catch a keeper fish on tournament day. With the wind and the waves keeping them away from two other areas they decided to hunker down in Little Lake and fish all day. Donnie and Juanita’s fish were caught using 3/8 oz. war eagle spinnerbaits in chart/white/and orange color. They were also using Kicker Craws in Black/Blue color. Donnie and Juanita found a "MAGIC LOG" that produced four of their keeper fish. Juanita said that they are thankful their reels were spooled up with Seaguar fishing line due to the cover they were fishing. Donnie and Juanita would like to thank their sponsors: Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Outboards, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Kicker Fish, American Rodsmith rods, Seaguar Fluorocarbon Line, Vertical Lures, and Dawson Marine. Good job to this team on their second place trophy.

Third place and NEW C.A.S.T. Southeast members were Wesley and Crissy Johnson with a total weight of 16.25 pounds. Wesley and Crissy targeted the North end of the lake and fished in depths of 2 - 4ft. of water. Wesley and Crissy used Texas rigged trick worms and were able to catch their limit at their first stop by 10AM. Wesley and Crissy said it was all about timing because when the wind would lie down they were able to get bites but if the wind picked up the bite was very few. Wesley and Crissy targeted small points in creek channels and pockets and finally made the decision to pull out a little deeper in the pockets to catch fish that were bedding a little deeper. Wesley stuck a good fish but because he had not retied his line after catching fish.... the line decided to SNAP! Wesley gave himself a hard time because he knows better to retie. They finished the last 30 minutes of the day fishing by Stowaway Marina in 9ft. of water with a centipede on a Carolina rig. Wesley and Crissy our thankful for their own business Conroe Commercial Door Solutions which allows them to do the passion they love. Congratulations to this team on being new members of C.A.S.T Southeast family and on their third place finish.

No strangers to the podium, Les Brown and Peggy Schaffner, were the Dawson Marine BIG BASS winners of the tournament with a Conroe Toad that weighed 7.04 pounds. Les and Peggy targeted 3 foot depths flipping black/blue jigs. Congratulations to this team on their Big Bass catch.

Monarch Trophy and Awards at the Monarch Trophy website provide C.A.S.T. Southeast with the great plaques that are awarded to our winning anglers. Please visit their website or store for all your awards, engraving, or gift needs.

Many of our C.A.S.T. anglers utilized their Just Keepers weigh in bag from the duncanbags website to bring their hefty fish to the scales. We also saw some of our anglers riding away in the morning with the Save Phace masks on. If you have not had a chance to try one of these masks it is a great investment on them cold, rainy mornings and even works well to block the wind when flying across the lake.

DAWSON MARINE gift certificate giveaway winners go to Johnny / Jolyne George, and Keith / Jana Cole. Please visit the Dawson Marine webste for all your boating or repower needs. Dawson Marine also has 3 great locations to serve you and has an excellent service department that can get you back on the water. Stop by Dawson Marine or go to the Skeeter Boat website and inquire about the Skeeter Real Money program. You may be eligible to WIN up to $3000 in C.A.S.T. Tournaments just for being a Skeeter/Yamaha boat owner.

ACADEMY gift card winners were Billy and Mary Ingram, Brian and Karen Butler, Donnie and Juanita Robinson, and Troy and Kari Reed.

C.A.S.T. Southeast would like to thank all of our past and present members that showed up to fish and extend a warm welcome to our newest members of the C.A.S.T. family Don / Sandy Jeane, Edwin / Julie Loitz, Wesley / Crissy Johnson, and Richard / Barbara Muller.

C.A.S.T. Southeast would like to thank Lamar and Vince Anderson, and Staff at Stowaway Marina with providing us with lodging and our tournament location. We would also like to thanks Carol McMinimy and Ashley Glenweinkel for helping out by taking pictures.

C.A.S.T. Southeast would like to recognize our sponsors that make C.A.S.T. the greatest fishing couples tournament trail: Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Skeeter Real Money, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Dawson Marine, Castaway Rods, Howard and Patricia Etue with E2baits.com, Monarch Trophy and Awards, Randy Duncan with Just Keepers weigh in bag, ProRule, Strike King, Doug Hannon Wavecast fishing reels, The Lakecaster, fishingworld.com, Genesis Homecare and Hospice, and Save Phace. Please support all of our sponsors...

NEXT TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Our next tournament will be on Lake Sam Rayburn out of Jackson Hill Marina on March 21, 2009. Registration will be at the tournament site that morning. Registration will be between 5:00 AM and 6:30 AM and start time will be determined that morning before registration.

We will also allow trailering for the tournament and Jackson Hill Marina can help you with your lodging needs. They have RV trailers and cabins for rent. You can contact Jackson Hill Marina at 936-872-9266 for more information. If you need more information please call tournament directors John and Jennifer Anderson at 832-514-0449/281-731-7302 or you can email them at johnandjen2@msn.com

[Click to enlarge image] 3rd Place -Wesley and Crissy Johnson - 16.25 lbs. Photo by CAST SE

[Click to enlarge image] Big Bass - Les Brown and Peggy Schaffner - 7.04 lber. Photo by CAST SE