Final Day - Lake Amistad Elite Series

There was a certain buzz around the lake on Sunday morning. There were 12 guys hitting the lake with a Legitimate chance of breaking Rojas' 108lb record. There was a little wind which will help the reaction bite and calm enough not to interfere with the sight fisherman. Not too mention Day 3 had just produced the biggest bag of the tournament this far. We also are inching closer to a full moon, which usually moves more fish onto the beds.

I got into some early fish on Secrtet Weapon Spinnerbaits and Lucky Craft Pointer 100's, biggest was 4-12 and my partner got a 5-11 on a Power Jerk Shad . We hit a mid day lull and then finally found a cove with some fish on beds. We each caught a couple ranging from 2-4lbs. Then we saw her!!! She was about 7ft deep on a bed in the middle of small cove, with a male that was about 3.5lbs. My partner accidentally caught the male, which probably made catching the female more difficult than needed. It took use about 45 minutes to get her to bite. She finally fell for a White 8" Lake Fork Top Dog Lizard . She measured 25" length & 17" girth and tipped the scales at 8lbs 3oz.

It was extra exciting, because I caught her just 5 minutes before we had to load the boat and head in for the final day weigh-in. It simulated a tournament situation. We made to the weigh area just in time for the national anthem. The Top 12 were all lined up in their boats. They made announcement that all 12 anglers had their limits and no dead fish, which amplified the buzz. One by one they crossed the stage taking turns in the hot seat. Then Ish broke things open with 23-08 bag anchored by the Purolator Big Bass for the day - 9-00, see picture of big bass on stage.



You can also see Ish Monroe hoisting his trophy on the Jumbo Screen. Ish gave Props to Reaction Innovations and his Vixen Topwater . They also showed KVD throw his spinning rod in the lake after losing a giant that came unbuttoned sight fishing. It was very exciting to watch it all happen, much better than what you see on Saturday mornings. I highly recommend attending a BASS weigh-in if you get the chance. This is my 2nd, the first was KVD's E-50 victory on Lake Wissota. Notice that the top 3 anlgers were all from California, this lake fishes supposedly fishes similar to Clear Lake out in California. I have more pictures that were taken at the weigh-in and other bass that my fishing party caught that I will post in another post(s). See Tournament Stats Below:

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Ishama Monroe Hughson, Calif. 20 104-08 310 $103,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-11 Day 2: 5 21-04 Day 3: 5 34-01 Day 4: 5 23-08
2. Fred Roumbanis Auburn, Calif. 20 101-13 295 $31,000.00
Day 1: 5 24-04 Day 2: 5 28-13 Day 3: 5 20-11 Day 4: 5 28-01
3. Mike Reynolds Modesto, Calif. 20 99-04 290 $25,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 5 26-00 Day 3: 5 28-00 Day 4: 5 24-14
4. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 20 98-05 285 $18,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-09 Day 2: 5 28-15 Day 3: 5 22-01 Day 4: 5 21-12
5. Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 20 97-03 280 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 27-14 Day 2: 5 22-00 Day 3: 5 25-06 Day 4: 5 21-15
6. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 20 97-00 276 $15,500.00
Day 1: 5 27-03 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 27-06 Day 4: 5 19-14
7. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 20 95-06 272 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-13 Day 2: 5 29-10 Day 3: 5 23-02 Day 4: 5 18-13
8. Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 20 94-03 268 $16,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-15 Day 2: 5 26-03 Day 3: 5 19-13 Day 4: 5 22-04
9. Ken Cook Lawton, Okla. 20 93-07 269 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 31-10 Day 2: 5 17-01 Day 3: 5 22-15 Day 4: 5 21-13
10. Matt Reed Madisonville, Texas 20 91-03 260 $13,500.00
Day 1: 5 31-08 Day 2: 5 20-14 Day 3: 5 24-06 Day 4: 5 14-07
11. Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. 20 87-13 262 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 25-04 Day 2: 5 29-14 Day 3: 5 19-00 Day 4: 5 13-11
12. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu, Ariz. 20 82-06 254 $12,300.00
Day 1: 5 27-05 Day 2: 5 25-15 Day 3: 5 18-02 Day 4: 5 11-00
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Purolator Big Bass
Day
1 Pete Ponds Madison, Miss. 10-05 $1,000.00
2 Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 10-05 $1,000.00
3 Ishama Monroe Hughson, Calif. 9-05 $1,000.00
4 Ishama Monroe Hughson, Calif. 9-00 $1,000.00

Purolator Big Bass of Tournament
Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 10-05 $500.00
Pete Ponds Madison, Miss. 10-05 $500.00

Busch Heavyweight
Day
1 Ken Cook Lawton, Okla. 31-10 $1,000.00
2 Jimmy Mize Ben Lomond, Ark. 31-14 $1,000.00
3 Ishama Monroe Hughson, Calif. 34-01 $1,000.00
4 Fred Roumbanis Auburn, Calif. 28-01 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 102 521 1932-00
2 101 517 1938-14
3 49 249 948-07
4 12 60 242-00
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264 1347 5061-05

Tight Lines,
HellaBass
www.richlindgren.com
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