Terry Stevens stopped fishing early, but still won the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, Georgia Division 8 tournament, held Feb. 12, 2011, on Lake Seminole near Bainbridge.
The Marianna, Fla., angler brought in five bass weighing 24.95 pounds after anchoring his bag with a 5.37-pounder to win the Boater Division and $2,839. After catching a total of eight fish, he quit to let his co-angler catch more fish.
“I caught fish in all different kinds of ways,” Stevens explained. “I caught one on a Shad Rap, one on a jerkbait, one on a Rat-L-Trap and two on a jig. I caught four early and then went to another place, but someone was sitting on my spot. Then, I went up a creek and caught three good ones. When I caught my five good ones, I stopped fishing and let my co-angler fish the rest of the day.”
Running out of the Bainbridge Boat Basin Marina, the anglers could fish anywhere on the 37,500-acre impoundment straddling the Georgia-Florida line along the Apalachicola River. In second for the boaters, Tom Hamlin of Lizella, Ga., landed a five-bass tournament limit going 22.44 pounds to collect $1,420.
“I fished a green pumpkin jig with a chartreuse trailer in about 10 to 15 feet of water,” Hamlin said. “I struggled for the first two hours. As the day got on, they started biting a little better.”
In third Frank Jordan, Jr., of Bainbridge, Ga., caught five bass for 21.68 pounds. He caught everything on a crankbait, fishing water two to eight feet deep in Spring Creek.
Bradford Hambric of Leesburg, Ga., landed in fourth with four bass at 20.25 pounds, followed by Patrick Fisher of Clearwater, Fla., with five bass for 18.50 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 7.01-pounder that took tournament lunker honors.
“I caught all of my fish on a Rat-L-Trap,” Fisher said. “I caught the big one later in the day by the mouth of Spring Creek. I lost two good fish early in the morning.”
In the Co-Angler Division, Kevin Topper of Woodstock, Ga., brought three bass weighing 13.45 pounds to the scales. His biggest weighed 5.11 pounds. For the effort, Topper pocketed $1,420.
“I was cranking all day long,” Topper said. “We fished in 14 to 20 feet of water in Spring Creek. I caught a total of seven fish.”
Jimmy Braddy of Whigham, Ga., took second with three bass going 9.79 pounds. He caught one on a Carolina rig and the others on crankbaits.
“I caught only three fish, but lost two good ones at the boat,” Braddy said.
Nicky Jenkins of Gainesville, Ga., landed only two fish, but finished third with 9.38 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 6.50-pounder that won the division big bass contest.
“I caught the big one about 30 minutes into the day,” Jenkins said. “I didn’t catch the other until about 1 p.m. and lost one about 2 p.m. I caught my fish on a black and blue chatterbait and a gold Rat-L-Trap.”
In fourth for the co-anglers, Charles Hill of Sneads, Fla., brought in a three-fish division limit weighing 9.28 pounds with one 3.80-pound kicker. Earl Brown of Gray, Ga., rounded out the top five co-anglers with two bass weighing 8.75 pounds.
For more information, call ABA at (888) 203-6222. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.
About American Bass Anglers: The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series provides weekend anglers a professionally operated competitive tour with a path the world championship of bass fishing the Bassmaster Classic. American Bass Anglers commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and the American Fishing Tour, The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series or The American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
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