The Southeast Texas B.A.S.S. Nation held its 2022 first & second events at Sam Rayburn January 22nd & 23rd, where Cassels-Boykin Boat Ramp & Pavilion was the host facility. A meeting was held Friday evening where Assistant Director Matt Russell went over new expectations for 2022, which includes more financial transparency, new and deeper payouts, as well as a modified weigh bag procedure.
Day 1 – After a major cold front on Thursday, Saturday morning freezing temperatures played havoc on some anglers’ equipment. Frozen steering & throttle cables, and cold starting outboards made launch difficult. Nonetheless, the 118 angler field were ready to go by 7:00 AM after the National Anthem.
At the end of the day, only 10 anglers weighed in weighed in limits with 40% of the field with no keepers. However, while the top angler Chris Glass only had 3 keepers to weigh, he managed a 16.81 pound bag anchored by an 8.37 lunker and tournament Big Bass! Chris used Lowrance SI to locate laydowns in 15-25 foot of water near creeks channels, drains, & flats near creek channel bends by using Drop shot & Ned rig. The fish were caught with Lew’s Crush spinning reel and Old 18 Hollow Point series 7’1″ spinning rod. Line was 10lb Diawa 8X braid and a fluorocarbon leader, Gene Larew plastics. 2nd Place went to Jason Gunter with a 5-fish limit for 14.89, followed by Wesley Baxley with 4-fish for 13.52, anchored by 2nd Big Bass of 7.28 pounds.
Day 2 – Sunday morning was slightly colder as the previous day, but with very light to no wind. Fortunately the anglers were able to defrost as the limits (14) and bag weights improved over Saturday. Ed Caskey earned First Place with his limit of 16.35 anchored by a nice 5.64, which was 2nd Big Bass. Ed stated day 1: cold conditions, went to a no name bank near Cassels Boykin and caught a 3lb bass quickly. The spot seemed promising. Then caught a limit, all on a Bill Lewis Rat-L trap crawfish color. He decided to leave after getting 5 fish in the boat, hoping the spot would still have potential for day 2. Day 2: Similar conditions on day 2. Went back to the same area and things were slow early in the morning. I stayed persistent and things started to turn on about mid morning. The bite did not last long, but it was just long enough for me to get another limit on the same type of lure. Wesley Baxley had another good day with a limit of 15.67, followed by Tim Jahn with 5 for 14.61. Using a “small lipless crankbait”, Chris Brewsaugh landed a 6.14 earning Big Bass for the tournament.
Thank you to the Nacogdoches Bass Club, Houston Bass Bandits, Vidor Bass Anglers, and Beaumont Bass Anglers for assisting with set-up & weigh-in duties.
February 19th will be our 3rd event. It will be at Toledo Bend out of San Miguel Park
Special thanks to Swagger Tungsten for being a sponsor this year. Be sure and see your club president for a special discount code for purchase.
Ed Dillow
SE Region Director