On Sunday, March 22, 2026, the North Central Region, Club Division, held its third qualifying tournament of the year on Lake Limestone. A significant warming trend on the days leading up to the tournament along with reports of water temperatures in the mid to upper 60’s had the anglers’ hopes up in anticipation of a great day on the water. However, it didn’t take long for those hopes to “blow away” as the field was met with 18 mph SSW sustained winds gusting to 28-30 mph as they took off at safe light and those conditions would continue through weigh in. As if that was not enough, the lake was almost three feet low making it a lot tougher than it needed to be. Between “stupid crazy” wind gusts and a lake level that seemed to be bottoming out, lake Limestone turned into a tactical nightmare for most of the field. While many struggled to just find a bite, a few anglers cracked the code on a day where the conditions did everything they could to stop them.
When the wind is “stupid crazy” and the lake is “stupid low,” most people are just happy to get back to the ramp in one piece, let alone with a limit. In a tournament where “blanking” was a common result—with a third of the boaters failing to bring a fish to the scales—boater Charlie Barnes, Big Sandy Creek Bass Club, was the only angler to find a true rhythm, bringing in a massive 15.73lb five-fish limit and took home $576.00 for his effort. To give that some perspective, Barnes’ bag was more than double the weight of the second-place boater, Eric Tapia, Centex Basshunters, who managed three fish for 6.19 lbs. In conditions this volatile, Barnes clearly found a pattern that held up against the heavy chop and receding water lines.
On the non boater side, Jordan Fudge, The Colony Bass Club, was the only non boater to bring in a three fish limit weighing 6.92 lbs, however, that limit did not earn him the win and he would have to settle for second place. Despite Jordan’s limit, first place on the non boater side belonged to Alonza Brown, The Colony Bass Club, who brought two fish to the scales with a total weight of 8.83 lbs, which included the big bass of the tournament, a 5.09 lb. beauty. Landing a five-pounder in howling winds from the back of the boat is a testament to staying focused when the bite is scarce. For his efforts, Alonza took home a check for $360 and an additional $130 for big bass.
Up next for the North Central Region will be Granbury and Eagle Mountain on May 2nd and 3rd. Who knows, maybe there will be straight line winds or even a tornado! All Texas Bass Nation members, regardless of region, are eligible and encouraged to sign up and fish with us. I have said it before, if you “know” you could do better, come put your chatterbait where you mouth is and show us how its done!
See ya on the water!
Sincerely,
Stephen Farrar
Texas BASS Nation
North Central Region Director
Club Division
(682) 465-6165
