Texas B.A.S.S. Nation

Bassmasters’ Creed: I promise to create among my fellow anglers, and the public in general, an awareness of my Chapter’s and Society’s contributions to angling, conservation and outdoor recreation. I will encourage and instruct the youth of my community in the art of bass fishing. I pledge myself to full adherence to all conservation codes and to detect and report any polluter of our nation’s waters.

Y’Barbo Wins on the Sabine River

Posted on Written by

Sabine River 2/24/24

The 2024 Southeast Region Individual Trail made their second stop of the young 2024 season, at the Sabine River in Orange, TX on Saturday, February 24, with 47 anglers competing. This was a Texas waters only event, however, the tournament boundaries are monstrous.

The drought of 2023 had brought an influx of salinity into both the Sabine and Neches waterways, however, the recent rains in January had brought large amounts of freshwater into both waterways, scattering the fish.

According to dock talk the pre fishing had been downright tough, with anglers reporting very few fish being caught and even less of the 12” variety.

At the conclusion of the weigh-in Vidor Bass Anglers Association member Dillon Y’Barbo had topped the field with five bass weighing in at 6.75. Dillon stated that he targeted main channel Cypress trees, flipping 2 different Strike King products. One was a ¼ ounce Strike King Tungsten Casting jig, tipped with a Strike King Menace Grub. His second set up was a Strike King Rage Scounbug with a ¼ ounce weight. Dillon utilized Reneau Tackle Rods The One 04, paired with Lews Reels. Dillon reports that he caught at least 20 fish throughout the day and culled 4 times to achieve his winning weight.

Bryan Trahan with the Vidor Bass Anglers Association finished second with a five bass limit that weighed 6.52. Bryan reports that he and his boater partner hit a combination of 2 cuts off the main Sabine River channel, they started South of the take-off, to take advantage of the outgoing tide. He picked up one fish on a wacky rig at the first stop and noticed that the fish was off the bank. They then moved further North of the ramp to stay with the moving water, at their second stop he switched to a Neko rig and started targeting a depth of 4’, Bryan states the bite was continuous for about 4 hours, he estimates he caught close to 30 fish and probably 2 limits, he culled 3-4 times throughout the day, with his last cull coming about 30 minutes before weigh in. Bryan would like to thank fellow Vidor Bass Angler Dustin Berry for keeping him around the fish all day.

Vidor Bass Anglers Association member Jordan Downs finished third overall with a five bass limit tipping the scales at 6.35, Jordan says he utilized a ¼ ounce Red & Black spinner bait around trees and laydowns and if they missed the spinnerbait, he followed up with a 4” Black trick worm on a drop shot.

Stephen Skyvara with the Onalaska Bass Club had the Big Bass of the event with 2.40 pounder and Mason McQuerry with The Bass Club had the second Big Bass with a 2.11 pounder.

Thank you to the members of the assisting clubs and a special thank you to The Bass Club member Bill Huskins and Vidor Bass Anglers Association member Garrett Smith for the termite damage repair on Friday evening, as well as of the Southeast Region Directors for their assistance in conducting a smooth tournament.

The Southeast Region next individual event is on Toledo Bend out of Lost Frontier, on March 23, 2024.

Written by: Robert Royal Southeast Region Secretary

February Results on Choke

Posted on Written by

On 18 February round 2 of the Texas Bass Nation South Region individual trail saw 19 anglers compete at Choke Canyon Reservoir. Post front conditions kept the winds light and temperatures in the 50’s under bluebird skies.

When the scales closed it was Ryan Watkins standing on top of the podium. Fishing a drop shot he found four fish totaling 13.31 pounds, including an 8.01 pound girly that was good for the tournament big bass! Second place went to David Day that got on a pattern with a Texas rigged grub, bringing in a 5 fish limit for 9.53 pounds. Third place was Thomas Ferro with 7.78 pounds. See full results and year-to-date standings.

The next tournament on the South Region individual trail will be at LBJ on 24 March at Mcnair park. Get signed up and you can still earn an opportunity to qualify for the Region Championship in September. It’s shaping up to be a great season, get in now!

Ryan Watkins, first place and big bass.

David Day and Ryan Watkins

Southeast Region Opener: Sam Rayburn 1/27/24

Posted on Written by

The 2024 Southeast Region Individual Trail kicked off Saturday January 27, 2024, out of Cassels Boykin Park with 75 anglers competing. Due to the low water levels and projected high winds throughout the day, this was designated a trailering tournament.

Rain throughout the week had led to dirtier water and a slight rise in the lake level.

At the conclusion of the weigh-in Vidor Bass Anglers Association member Justin Royal had topped the field with five bass weighing in at 19.03, Justin’s winning weight was anchored by a 5.19 lb. Rayburn sow. Justin reported that he had his winning weight by 7:30 AM that morning, while he caught several more keepers throughout the day, he was not able to improve on his original 5 fish weight. Justin stated that he targeted grass with a 6th Sense Swank 77X in the Gold Reactor color paired with a Reneau Tackle “The One” 02 7’6” rod. Justin would like to thank the following sponsors Reneau Tackle, 6th Sense Fishing, Waterland Glasses, Jordan’s Marne & Pro Fuel, Hayabusa USA, Power Pole Total Boat Control, Yamaha Outboards and Sam Rayburn Performance Rigging.

Chris Glass with The Bass Club finished second with a five bass limit that weighed 16.25 pounds anchored by the second largest bass of the tournament weighing in at 5.89 lbs. Chris said that he found some fish Friday that were up shallow, both North, and South of the 147 bridge. He waivered on which spot to start on first Saturday morning but felt fairly confident about both areas and the quality of fish that were there. He made a last-minute decision to start North Saturday morning and then he headed South of the 147 bridge to finish out the day. He focused on areas that were 4.5 foot deep and shallower with grass using his Hummingbird Mega 360 mounted on Precision Sonar Mount. He utilized Pride Rods Chitter Chatter II and a Mag Rocket working a chatter bait and a light Carolina rig with a 3/16oz Titan Tungsten weight through the grass to catch his five fish. Chris would like to thank the following sponsors PRIDE Rods, Daiwa Reels, Titan Tungsten Weights, Sunline fluorocarbon, Hummingbird, Precision Sonar Mounts, Lowrance and Hummingbird mapping.

Seven Coves Bass Club member Robert Thierry finished third overall with a five bass limit tipping the scales at 15.71 pounds. Robert stated that he targeted a grass ride in 3 to 8 feet of water with soft plastics, said he caught at least two limits throughout the day and lost a few.

A special thank you goes out to the regional clubs that provided members to serve as tournament volunteers, as well as the Southeast Region Directors for their assistance in conducting a smooth tournament.

The next Southeast Region individual event is on February 24, 2024, on the Sabine River out of the City of Orange Ramp.

Written by: Robert Royal Southeast Region Secretary

Justin Royal with 3 of the 5 that anchored his 19.03 pound limit.

SE Region Director Matt Russell and Justin Royal with the 1st Place Plaque.

hris Glass shows off 2 of his 5 that anchored his second-place stringer of 16.25 pounds.

Club Division News

Team Division News

Kayak Division News

Stop #2 Canyon Lake – Kayak Division

By

Event #2 is in the books! Huge congrats to Rolando Nandin for securing the win and big bass! Jacob Moeller got 2nd, Ote Shaw got 3rd, and Jesus Reyes got 4th! The south wind made things pretty hairy at the end of the day. We had and angler flip his kayak and was not able to recover […]