Ross Barnett Produces Big Numbers
ATHENS, Ala. – Ray King of Brandon, MS won the Bass Pro Shops Open Series Mississippi divisional opener held February 16th on Ross Barnett Reservoir. Running out of Tommy’s Trading Post, Ray caught five-bass weighing 26.55-pounds. For the Boater Division victory, King took home a check for $5500 for his win and $810 for his big bass of 7.47-lbs.
“I was down south fishing the big lake offshore between 5-6 feet today. Lots of boats went up the river. Truth be told I really struggled today. I didn’t have my 2nd fish until 1:00. I only had 5 bites all day and never culled. They were all keepers, but I never culled. My biggest fish (7.47-lbs) was caught at 1:30. And the rest were about 30 minutes in between. At noon I thought this wasn’t going to be my day but man I was wrong,” Ray said.
In second for the boaters, Larry Rochelle of Canton, MS landed a five-bass limit going 23.82-pounds.
“I started early and caught them all day. There were some good fish in the area I was in and I just had to stay with it and push through them to get the good ones. I culled 6 or 7 times and caught all my fish on a chatterbait and a spinnerbait,” Larry said.
Jerry Gilliam of Ethelsville, AL took third for the boaters with five bass going 19.15-pounds, anchored by a 6.49-lb fish.
“I went fishing! LOL. Well it was a struggle for me today too, until about 12:00. A blind hog found an acorn for me. I just kept rooting around and scraped up what I brought you. The big fish was the last one of the day for me. She weighed 6.49-lbs and kicked out a 14 incher. Everything I caught was on a trap,” Jerry said.
Finishing fourth, Rustin Beaudette of Bogalusa, LA landed a five-bass limit for 18.47-pounds. Bradley Sartain of Baton Rouge, LA rounded out the top five boaters with five bass at 16.39-pounds.
In the Co-Angler Division, Elijah Allen III of Greenville, MS won with three bass going 10.60-pounds. He pocketed a check for $1000 for his win.
“We ran up the river and threw a spinnerbait all day. I didn’t cull at all today. I had a limit by 9:30 with my first 3 fish and only caught 4. It was still cold but having a limit that early helped me warm up some. The 4th fish was right at 14 inches so it didn’t help me at all. We kept after it casting to as much structure as we could but that was it. This was my first time fishing with ABA and I will be back for the next one. I promise,” Allen said.
Taking second for the co-anglers, Daniel Goodman of Meridian, MS brought in a three-bass division limit weighing 7.71-pounds.
“I caught 4 or 5 keepers today. All of them came on a trap. I froze the first part of the day and warmed up as I started catching fish. I culled a couple times up to my limit. Not really much else to tell you,” Goodman said.
Kendall Amos of Greenville, MS placed third among the co-anglers with three bass going 6.95-pounds.
“I threw a chartreuse and white chatterbait. Also, a redbug ridge-tail worm. I caught 4 fish today. One was only 12 inches so I had to throw it back. My first one came around 7:30, the next 2 were close to 11:00, and the one I didn’t keep was around 12:00. We kept fishing but didn’t get any after that,” Said Kendall.
In fourth place among the co-anglers, Lance Jackson of Starkville, MS brought in three bass for 6.73-pounds. Daniel Corkern of Florence MS finished in fifth place with two bass for 5.05-pounds.
Slated for March 16th, the next tournament will be back on Ross Barnett out of Tommy’s Trading Post. At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance the 2020 Ray Scott Championship to be held at Lake Hartwell in April 2020.
Top 25 Boaters
PL Angler Fish Penalty Big Bass Total Points Payout 1 Ray King 5 0.00 7.47 26.55 250 6310 2 Larry Rochelle 5 0.00 0.00 23.82 249 1150 3 Jerry W. Gilliam 5 0.00 6.49 19.15 248 850 4 Rustin J. Beaudette 5 0.00 5.62 18.47 247 550 5 Bradley Sartain 5 0.00 6.07 16.39 246 525 6 Joel E. Barber 5 0.00 0.00 16.26 245 500 7 Michael Savell 5 0.00 0.00 16.18 244 475 8 Rcik Pullen 3 0.00 5.86 14.89 243 450 9 Kevin Culpepper 5 0.00 0.00 13.76 242 400 10 Owen Dhonau 5 0.00 0.00 13.41 241 320 11 Hunter Miles 5 0.00 0.00 12.26 240 280 12 Justin M. Ketteringham 4 0.00 0.00 11.25 239 260 13 Anthony Thomas 4 0.00 5.10 10.50 238 250 14 Marty Torrence 5 0.00 0.00 9.99 237 240 15 Mike Allen 5 0.00 0.00 9.90 236 220 16 Danny C. Comer 3 0.00 0.00 9.19 235 200 17 Alfred Williams 3 0.00 0.00 9.09 234 0 18 Ed Williams 2 0.00 6.12 8.75 233 0 19 Patrick PQ D. Quave 2 0.00 0.00 8.74 232 0 20 Larry Savell 4 0.00 0.00 8.62 231 0 21 Mike Jones 3 0.00 0.00 8.23 230 0 22 John D. Anderson 3 0.00 0.00 7.59 229 0 23 Mark Peagler 2 0.00 5.16 7.55 228 0 24 Tripp Pittman 2 0.00 0.00 7.46 227 0 25 Dale J. Coleman 2 0.00 0.00 7.42 226 0 For more information on this tournament, call Chris Wayand, tournament manager, at 256-230-5627 or ABA at 256-232-0406. Online, see www.americanbassanglers.com
About the American Bass Anglers - American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler while offering an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and all their bass tournament trails visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
American Bass Anglers is sponsored by: Bass Pro Shops, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Tracker Boats, MotorGuide, Garmin, T-H Marine, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Engel Coolers, Four Roses Bourbon, Lucas Oil, Optima Batteries, Maui Jim, and Power-Pole. Mailing address: American Bass Anglers, Inc, PO Box 475, Athens, AL 35612 PH (256) 232-0406.
