(Jul. 27, 2009 - Lake Pat Cleburne, TX)... This time of year many tournament trails have wound down and finished up, making it a great time to have a fun Big Bass Tournament. Skeeter Bass Champs hosted the Dawson / Skeeter incentive event on Sam Rayburn at the Umphrey Family Pavilion July 25, 2009. Ten places were up for grabs each hour totaling $1,900 - a total of 70 winners taking home a part of the purse with one angler winning the grand prize of a Skeeter boat powered by a Yamaha VMax motor.Open registration was held Friday the day before at the tournament site and free Skeeter boat demo rides were available to everyone. As part of the incentive program, everyone who participated in the demo rides was made eligible for an additional $1,000 bonus.
Anglers were spirited and feisty heading out on Sam Rayburn in the hunt for big bass. A gorgeous morning, scattered clouds and a calm lake greeted the field of 310 contenders. In a big bass tournament, contestants may only weigh one bass per hour, but can weigh in every hour so each contestant had a chance at seven checks!
The scales are only open 30 minutes each hour. There are back tanks to hold your bagged fish while deciding whether or not to weigh that hour, and front tanks leading to the scales showing you have committed to weigh your fish. Many times anglers will hold at the back tanks until the last minute - or seconds before the scales are closed to ensure a check for that hour.
Paul Thompson from Taylar, Arkansas christened the scales as the first to weigh with a 3.68 lb bass. Starting in the 1st place seat, as more anglers weighed he was bumped down to win 8th place that hour. James Shaw had the heaviest weight at 7.82 lbs for the $500 check.
Anglers divulged all of their top secrets to catching their fish, including Carolina rigged buzz baits, wacky worming a jig, and dragging top water lures in 60’ of water.
8:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 7.82 lbs | James Shaw Jasper, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 5.90 lbs | Ryan Cooper Bownsdills, LA |
| 3rd | $250 | 4.46 lbs | Chuck Guthrie Killeen, TX |
| 4th | $150 | 4.44 lbs | Cecil Martin Temple, TX |
| 5th | $140 | 4.04 lbs | Bo Standley Silsbee, TX |
| 6th | $130 | 3.88 lbs | Rodney Dotson Silsbee, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 3.70 lbs | Tommy Dickerson Orange, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 3.68 lbs | Paul Thompson Taylar, Ark |
| 9th | $100 | 3.66 lbs | Tyler Bearden Tomball, TX |
| 10th | $100 | 3.52 lbs | Cody Goodman Beaumont, TX |
A light steady breeze kicked off keeping everyone cool. When the scales opened again, Mick Batson wasted no time to weigh his fish and take over the lead for the hour and the tournament. His trophy weighed 8.10 lbs and a new mark was set to beat.
9:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 8.10 lbs | Mick Batson Forney, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 6.58 lbs | Bob Brown Houston, TX |
| 3rd | $250 | 5.50 lbs | Billy Skweres Houston, TX |
| 4th | $150 | 4.44 lbs | Steven Due Buna, TX |
| 5th | $140 | 3.98 lbs | Jason Woods Orange, TX |
| 6th | $130 | 3.70 lbs | Rick Barnes Broaddus, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 3.58 lbs | Max Hawthorn Silsbee, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 2.64 lbs | Alvin Jones Downsville, LA |
| 9th | $100 | 2.40 lbs | Ashley Jones Monroe, LA |
| 10th | $100 | unclaimed |
Houston angler Albert Hamilton sat in the 1st place seat for the 10:00 hour with 5.88 lbs until nearly the very end. Cody Goodman from Beaumont, Texas brought his 7.44 lb bass to the scales to win the hour in the last minutes that the scales were open.
10:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 7.44 lbs | ody Goodman Beaumont, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 5.88 lbs | Albert Hamilton Houston, TX |
| 3rd | $250 | 5.46 lbs | Rowdy Slaughter Brookeland, TX |
| 4th | $150 | 4.76 lbs | Lance Duff Liberty, TX |
| 5th | $140 | 4.70 lbs | Brian Branum Brookeland, TX |
| 6th | $130 | 4.08 lbs | Landan Ware Jewett, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 3.96 lbs | Yarri Schriebvogel Jasper, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 3.96 lbs | Max Hawthorne Silsbee, TX |
| 9th | $100 | 3.66 lbs | Brent Broussard Nacogdoches, TX |
| 10th | $100 | 3.60 lbs | Tommy Bullard Vidor, TX |
Keeping it lively at the weighin sight, Chad Potts, Tournament Director devised an ever changing game of Name That Tune & Artist, guys against the gals. Making up the rules as he went along, changing to give the guys the advantage at every opportunity, the girls still won the game.
11:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 6.22 lbs | Clifford McCarty Longview, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 4.74 lbs | Chris Clemmons Lufkin, TX |
| 3rd | $250 | 4.18 lbs T | odd Castledine Nacogdoches, TX |
| 4th | $150 | 3.98 lbs | Dennis Bacon Colmesneil, TX |
| 5th | $140 | 3.84 lbs | James Silva Orange, TX |
| 6th | $130 | 3.54 lbs | Rusty Clark Sam Rayburn, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 3.46 lbs | James Shaw Jasper, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 3.38 lbs | Reece McKinney Katy, TX |
| 9th | $100 | 3.32 lbs | Rowdy Slaughter Brookeland, TX |
| 10th | $100 | 3.08 lbs | Rodney Dotson Silsbee, TX |
The day kept heating up and fishing was getting tougher. The breeze faded away and the sun was intense. Thirty checks and one boat was left to award. The new game Chad started with the crowd was "Name the next line of the song" and everyone participated and had fun.
12:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 6.48 lbs | Brent Broussard Nacogdoches, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 5.62 lbs | Tyler Bearden Tomball, TX |
| 3rd | $250 | 4.62 lbs | Roy Sanford Sam Rayburn, TX |
| 4th | $150 | 4.30 lbs | Patrick Richardson Shreveport, LA |
| 5th | $140 | 4.16 lbs | Steve Cornely Warren, TX |
| 6th | $130 | 3.74 lbs | Nick Albus Trinity, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 3.54 lbs | Carl Ferrell Buna, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 3.38 lbs | Albert Collins Nacogdoches, TX |
| 9th | $100 | 3.30 lbs | Michael LaFleur Orange, TX |
| 10th | $100 | 3.30 lbs | Bill Burns Brookeland, TX |
Dawson Marine had several Skeeter boats on display with personnel to answer any questions about them. Navionics representatives were also in attendance to explain their products to any inquiring angler.
1:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 5.04 lbs | Joe Moss Jasper, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 4.92 lbs | Billy Skweres Houston, TX |
| 3rd | $250 | 4.82 lbs | Mark Jackson Lumberton, TX |
| 4th | $150 | 4.56 lbs | Anthony Holcomb Rusk, TX |
| 5th | $140 | 4.48 lbs | Billy Gatwood Hattiesburg, MS |
| 6th | $130 | 4.42 lbs | Allan Grissom Houston, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 4.40 lbs | Yarri Schriebvogel Sam Rayburn, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 4.38 lbs | Pete Ellis Vidor, TX |
| 9th | $100 | 2.94 lbs | Gary Martin Waco, TX |
| 10th | $100 | 2.74 lbs | Albert Collins Nacogdoches, TX |
The last hour marks the final chance to win a check and see if the 8.10 bass weighed in during the 9:00 hour will hold. No more holding at the back tanks, it’s straight to the scales for anyone who still had any fish to weigh.
2:00 hour
| 1st | $500 | 6.14 lbs | Roy Sanford Sam Rayburn, TX |
| 2nd | $300 | 4.74 lbs | Keith Caka Montgomery, TX |
| 3rd | $250 | 4.58 lbs | Robert More Natchitoches, LA |
| 4th | $150 | 4.14 lbs | Yarri Schriebvogel Jasper, TX |
| 5th | $140 | .08 lbs | Brent Broussard Nacogdoches, TX |
| 6th | $130 | 3.58 lbs | Bryan Fox Pineland, TX |
| 7th | $120 | 3.56 lbs | Cindy Sadler Gladewater, TX |
| 8th | $110 | 3.38 lbs | Tim Schiller West, TX |
| 9th | $100 | 3.34 lbs | Billy Skweres Houston, TX |
| 10th | $100 | 3.34 lbs | Billy Gatwood Hattiesburg, MS |
The scales were closed and winners declared. The hourly checks were distributed and the Skeeter demo ride bonus winner was drawn. Having to be present to win the bonus, several names were drawn. The $1,000 bonus check was awarded to Harold Lee.
Mick Batson of Forney, TX had the heaviest bass of the day weighing 8.10 lbs to win the grand prize of a brand new Skeeter SX190 powered by a Yamaha 150 VMax motor. The winning fish was caught on a 10" red shad Berkley power worm in 12’ of water. "It was my first fish of the day. Caught it at 6:06am." Batson enjoys Big Bass tournaments on Sam Rayburn, and in the Dodge Mega Bass tournament last year he won a truck. "I have one spot that I fish on Rayburn. I found it pre-fishing for the Dodge tournament last year. It holds a lot of big bass this time of year."
If you would like to check out more Skeeter boats, Dawson Marine has three locations to serve you in Beaumont, Jasper and Houston, TX.
Skeeter Bass Champs will be holding another Big Bass tournament on Lake Fork. The 4th annual Berkley Big Bass tournament will be held October 17 & 18. For cal 817-439-3274.
