Green and Jarrell take top spot at Ft Polk Spring Team Open
By Donald Gervais (dongerv@yahoo.com)

Bernie Jarrell (left) and Patrick Green Jr. show part the 23 pound 7-ounce catch that earned them the win at the 18th Annual Ft. Polk Bassmasters Spring Open Team tournament held March 29 at Toledo Bend Reservoir. Green shows his 11-pound bass that anchored the catch and earned big bass of the day honors.

Army Recreation Center- Patrick Green Jr. could not have picked a better time to catch the biggest bass of his life on March 29. The Leesville angler caught an 11 pound Toledo Bend Lunker bass that anchored a five-fish limit of him and partner Bernie Jarrell weighing 23 pounds and 7-ounces to take top honors at the 18th Annual Ft Polk Bassmasters Spring Team Open Tournament.

106 teams took to the waters for the trailered tournament held by the members of the Fort Polk Community Bassmasters under mild spring weather conditions. Anglers fished under a mostly cloud covered skies as temperatures ranged from 65 at the 6:30 a.m. fishing time to 80 degrees at the 3 p.m. weigh in. Some anglers reported heavy morning rains mid lake and north. Winds were mostly calm or mild from the east, blowing 5-10 mph. Almost half the field chose to launch from the Recreation Site.

Layne LaCaze (left) and Ty Cobbs show the catch that earned them second place at the 18th Annual Ft. Polk Bassmasters Spring Open Team tournament held March 29 on Toledo Bed Reservoir. Read story to see how they caught their 18 pound and 8 ounce limit.

One of those who chose to trailer was the winners. Jarrell, a retiree from Leesville, launched his Bass Cat boat, powered by a Yamaha outboard mid lake on the Louisiana side to target fish in depths of 8-15 feet around grass and humps. Carolina rigged Flukes in watermelon and watermelon/red color were attached on 18-inch leaders and weighted with a 1/4ounce sinker. The big bass bit at 1:30 p.m. Following the weigh in the bass was brought to Toledo Town Tackle and entered into the Toledo Bend Linker Bass Program. It was the best bass ever for Green, a civilian employed on Ft. Polk.

The winners reported catching some 25 keepers through the day, no time better than the other, with their choice of tackle that included Castaway and All Star rods and Abu Garcia reels. They earned $915 for the top spot and $624 for big bass of the tournament.

Tim Fitzgerald turns free the 8 pound 10-ounce bass he caught at the 18th Annual Fort Polk Bassmasters Spring Open Team tournament held March 29 on Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Second place finishers Ty Cobbs and Layne LaCaze did not have a kicker bass in their 5-fish limit that weighed 18.5 pounds. Their largest fish weighed 4 pounds and 13 ounces and was accompanied by four solid keepers. The fishing partners of a couple years trailered and concentrated their angling efforts north of Pendleton Bridge, on the Texas side of the lake.

"We never fished deeper than two feet of water," said Cobbs of Belmont, La. who piloted his Procraft boat, powered by a Mercury outboard. "We spent 45 minutes under the bridge waiting for the rain to ease up early in the morning."

He and LaCaze of Marthaville, La. used watermelon Ribbits and flukes in the shallows to entice some 30 keeper fish to bite throughout the day. Business end tackle included Kisler and Pinnacle rods and Quantum reels spooled with 15-pound test Big Game line, in green color and 14-pound Test Suffix line in gray color. The duo earned $457 and trophies in their best ever finish as a team.

Tim Fitzgerald holds up his lunker bass that weighed 8 pounds and 10 ounces as partner Tim Garcia show part of the catch that earned them 3rd place at the 18th Annual Ft. Polk Bassmasters Spring Open Team tournament held March 29 on Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Although the "Tim" team of Tim Fitzgerald and Tim Garcia didn't have a 5-fish limit they managed to take third place with a 4-fish catch of 16 pounds and 15 ounces. The high finish was due to the personal best big bass catch of Fitzgerald, a sow weighing 8 pounds and 10 ounces, which was second big fish of the day.

Garcia, a soldier at Fort Polk and a member of the Ft. Polk Bassmasters fishing club, ran his Triton boat, powered by a Mercury motor across the lake to the Six Mile area where they fished in 8 feet of water around grass with a Carolina-rigged Fluke, in watermelon/red-color. A ½-ounce weight was used to get the bait down. A Deep-N crankbait accounted for one of their four keepers.

Castaway rods teamed with Abu Garcia reels and Castaway rods paired with Shimano reels were used. Fitzgerald opted for 10 pound Stren line while Garcia chose 20 pound test Spiderwire. They earned $395 for third place and $416 for 2nd big bass of the day.

Shannon and Russell Wingate claimed the 4th place honors and the check for $332 with their catch that weighed 16 pounds and six ounces. Jeremy Berge and Ricky Maixe earned the fifth place check of $291 with their catch weighing 14 pounds and 13 ounces. Dustin Robinson and Bryan Brandon rounded out the top six with their catch of 13 pounds and 14 ounces to take home $270. The top 15 teams received checks at the finale.

"It was a great turnout considering a couple of other tournaments that were scheduled against ours," said Craig Hall, president of the Ft. Polk Bassmasters. "Our sponsors are phenomenal. You couldn't ask for better people that support the club locally and across the state."

Part of the day's activities for the club members was to give away $3,000 in cash and $7,000 in prizes at the raffle. Tickets are sold and money raised goes to support youth activities at Ft. Polk, including fishing days. Included in the raffle were eight Castaway rods, provided by Castaway rods and Jerry Summers of AAA Alteration in Leesville. Alex Woodell, club secretary acted as MC for the raffle and kept the crowd involved.

Other major sponsors who donated included: Don's Home Furnishings, Southwest Beverages, Brown's Furniture, AE Com.

A fall team open tournament will be held 27 Sept. 2008