Nilssen wins shortened Solo 150 at Lake Eufaula, Okla.
EUFAULA, Okla. – Originally scheduled for April 22-23, 2022, strong winds and unsafe boating conditions on the lake forced tournament officials to cancel the second day of the American Bass Anglers Top 150 Solo Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, Southwest Division tournament on Lake Eufaula, Okla.
“The Top 150 Solo trail has been canceled for Day 2 of the event due to extremely high winds and dangerous conditions for the anglers,” stated Southwest Division Tournament Manager Chris Wayand.”
Lake Eufaula, the largest lake in Oklahoma, covers about 102,200 acres. Open and relatively shallow, the massive impoundment can get incredibly rough and dangerous at times. The anglers did fish one day of the planned 2-day tournament. The anglers ran out of Launching at South Point Cove near the town of Eufaula, Okla.
In what turned out to be windy a 1-day shootout on April 22, 2022, Tom Nilssen from New Braunfels, Texas, emerged as the victor. He landed a 5-bass daily tournament limit weighing 18.89 pounds for a 3.78-pound average. He increased his average with a 4.84-pound kicker. He went home with a check for $9,000 in his pocket.
“I fished the Porum area,” Nilssen commented. “I found fish up there in practice when throwing a crankbait. Just 10 minutes into the tournament, I had already lost a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder on a crankbait. I put the crankbait down and picked up a jig and stayed with a football jig for the rest of the day. I caught 15 keepers. Every once in a while, I was blessed with a big one.”
Taking second among the 50 competitors, Harmon G. Davis from Marlow, Okla. also brought in a daily limit. His five-bass dropped the scales down to 18.28 pounds. He pocketed $4,000 for the effort.
Harmon discovered an early shad spawn and tried to capitalize on it. However, the wind made that difficult. Instead, he started throwing a ChatterBait and caught some good fish. He had a limit by noon. Later in the afternoon, he fished for bedding fish. He fished about 25 spots throughout the day and caught eight keepers.
Landing in the third spot, Kevin Lasyone of Dry Pong, La. caught five bass for 16.73 pounds. He picked up $3,000. Lasyone fished throughout the lake and had his limit by 9 a.m. He caught about 30 keepers total. He caught most of his fish on a creature bait in Houdini color.
Right behind in fourth place, Lee L. Sanders from Stillwater, Okla. brought in a limit of keepers going 16.68 pounds. Lee anchored the catch with a 5.55-pounder, the third-largest bass brought to the scales. He collected $2,000.
Sanders ran to the south end of the lake and found a creek full of fish. He stayed there all day. He caught his fish by flipping a Strike King Rage Tail Craw around rocks and timber. He kept going back and forth in that half-mile-long creek and caught 12 bass to cull up to his weight.
Cory A. Hyden of Silsbee, Texas, took fifth place and $1,000 with five bass at 16.56 pounds. Right behind in sixth place, Phillip Lunceford from Stigler, Okla. brought in five bass for 16.54 pounds. He earned $900.
Jason W. Ledet from Alexandria, La. finished seventh with a 5-bass limit going 16.21 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 6.22-pound largemouth to take the tournament lunker title. He won $825 for seventh place and an extra $1,000 for the lunker.
In eighth place, Robert B. Brooks of Ardmore, Okla. brought in five keepers for 15.72 pounds, followed by Justin Phillips from Checotah, Okla. with a 5-bass limit at 15.59 pounds. Bruce M. Anderson of Sherman, Texas, finished in 10th place with five bass and 15.47 pounds.
The ABA Top 150 Solo Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, features two regional divisions – Southeast and Southwest. Each division will hold three tournaments for the season. Both divisions offer big cash payouts and chances for anglers to advance to higher levels of competition.
The Southwest Division wraps up its season on June 17-18 at Lake Sam Rayburn near Zavalla, Texas. To register for this event CLICK HERE.
American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Garmin Electronics, Power Pole, Lucas Oil, RT Outdoors, Sportsman Card, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression.
For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406
This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.
