| Tuff Man Tournament Series Guerra and Stokes Win Tuffman Championship on Lake Belton |  |
| by Rick Smith |
| Page(s): 1 |
| (Jan. 14, 2009 - Belton, TX)... If you did not make it to the Central Texas Boat Show last weekend then you missed a lot of fun. There were over 20 vendors displaying several hundred boats and dozens of displays of fishing tackle and boating accessories. Saturday’s crowd broke the all time attendance record. Sales for all vendors were brisk with some dealers saying it reminded them of the old days. On Saturday the Ninth Annual Tuff Man Bass Championship was held on Lake Belton in cold, windy conditions, better suited for fish and ducks than fishermen. Still 61 teams braved the weather for a chance to win $10,000 and the title of Tuff Man Champions. The teams launched their bass boats at Cedar Ridge Park. Steve Karlick, weigh master, played the National Anthem with the American flag waving in the blustery wind. At safe daylight Karlick started the boat teams with a numbered start. This allowed for the orderly, safe movement of the boats from Cedar Ridge Cove to the main part of Lake Belton. All fishermen were required to wear their Coast Guard approved life vests and the drivers to have their engine safety lanyards attached. The teams were allowed to fish until 3:00 PM at which time they reported back to Cedar Ridge launching ramp. They then loaded the boats on trailers and headed to the Bell County Exposition Center in Belton for the official weighing in of the fish. The weigh-in was held inside the dome of the Expo during the 30th Annual Central Texas Boat Show. Thirty-five teams were driven by truck into the dome while sitting in their boats waving at the crowd estimated at 1,500 people. The fish were taken from the boats’ live well aeration tanks and carried to the stage where pro-fisherman, Randy Behringer, announced the results as weigh master, Steve Karlick, weighed the fish. Weights were also displayed electronically to the crowd. John Guerra of Temple and Paul Stokes of Belton took first place fishing in a Legend bass boat with a five fish stringer weighing in at 19.53 pounds. They also had big bass at 7.57 pounds. For their efforts they won $10,000 from the tournament plus $500 for big bass underwritten by First National Bank of Gatesville, and $2,000 in contingency money for fishing out of a Marine Outlet Legend bass boat for total winnings of $12,500. The final standings were:
Additional cash was paid thru 20th place. A total 135 fish were brought through the arena weighing in at 320 pounds. All fish were released back into Lake Belton. The Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society (B.A.S.S.) Kids Casting Contest was sponsored by the Heart of Texas Bass Anglers of Killeen. In the age 7-10 category, the winner was Dalton Mullins of Killeen, age 10, who scored 140 out of a possible perfect score of 150. Age 11-14 was won by Ryan T. Mc Neill of Temple, age 14, who scored 130 points Both of these youths will go on to the state competition held later this year. Locally they won medals and fishing poles and reels that they will use at the state championship. The dates for the 31st Annual Central Texas Boat Show are tentatively scheduled for January 8-10, 2010. For more information you may contact Rick Smith, President of CTMA, Inc., the show production association at rick@marineoutlet.com. |
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