The Southeast Region Individual Trail made their second stop of the of the young 2023 season at Sam Rayburn on Saturday February 25, 2023, out of Cassels Boykin Park. Anglers were greeted with cloudy skies, no wind and above normal temperatures for February.

According to reports on Friday, pre fishing had been pretty good, with good numbers of fish being caught, with the warm days and nights, anglers assumed the fishing would only get better.

When the scales closed Saturday evening Collin Bode with The Bass Club had topped the field of 110 Southeast Region anglers with 5 fish weighing in at 20.72 which included the big bass of the tournament an 8.66 lb. Sam Rayburn sow. Collin stated that he knew with the warmer nights and days that the fish would be coming, with this in mind he targeted the first drains coming in from the main lake, as well as bald spots that had grass around them. He noted that the grass set up different this year, due to the lake coming up 6 foot fast this winter, but that that it made a hard inside grass line and that’s where his fish were positioned. Collin rotated through the following set ups throughout the day. A jerkbait paired with a 6’-10” medium action Falcon Expert “Topwater” rod. A bladed jig with a Zako trailer on a 7’ 3” heavy action Falcon Expert “Amistad” rod, he stated this set up has a good tip to let the fish get the bait and enough backbone to rip the bait out of the grass. He also caught a few fish on Yamamoto weightless Senko, his two biggest bass came on the bladed jig. Collin would like to thank everyone that plays a role in making the regional tournaments happen, providing another individual tournament trail here in East Texas.

Chris Glass with The Bass Club finished second with a five bass limit that weighed 18.24 lbs. anchored by the second largest bass of the tournament weighing in at 7.89 lbs. Chris stated that he had found some fish late Friday that were up shallow. He started on that the pattern Saturday morning, and after fishing for about an hour he quickly realized his pattern had changed. Rather than panic and make a run, he took a look around and noticed the abundance of buck brush, so he beat the bushes with a trick worm and culled through the shorts for a total of three keepers. He then decided to move out deeper on a flat with grass next to a creek channel swing, where he started throwing a light Carolina rig, shortly thereafter he hooked up with his 4th fish which turned out to be his 7.89 kicker. This fish gave him confidence in his decision and he committed to that pattern and area for the day, he continued to cull through his earlier fish and added a 4 and half pounder to his bag. Chris utilized the following gear; Old 18 Ascent Rods, Daiwa Reels, Titan Tungsten Weights, Berkley Fluorocarbon, Humminbird Mega 360 on Precision Sonar Mounts, Lowrance and Humminbird mapping.

Reigning Southeast Region Angler of the Year Wesley Baxley finished third overall with a five bass limit tipping the scales at 17.41. Wesley started out the day flipping bushes with a Rage Bug and then moved offshore and made a few culls there.

A special thank you goes out to the assisting clubs the Beaumont Bass Anglers and the Nacogdoches Bass Club, as well as the Southeast Region Directors for their assistance in conducting a smooth tournament.

The Southeast Region next individual event is on Lake Conroe on March 11, 2023, out of April Plaza, the second stop on Southeast Region Texas Bassmaster Open Team Trail event will take place on Sunday March 12, 2023, on Lake Conroe out of April Plaza.

Written by: Robert Royal Southeast Region Secretary