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Meche and Bergeron capture 14th Annual LOBI Championship
700 registered teams set an all time record for the tournament, besting the previous mark by six teams. LOBI also set a new mark in their yearly donation to St. Jude Children's Hospital, reaching the $100,000 mark since last year's tournament.
The big Bend swelled in size the week of the tournament. Rains, as heavy as 16 inches in a 24-hour period in parts of the lake, caused a 30 inch rise in a 48 hour period, with an additional 1-2.5 inches falling on the anglers on Friday. Air temp at the 0630 start of the trailer-allowed tournament was 63 degrees. It would fall to 61 with the passage of the cold front and eventually climb to 70 degrees by weigh-in time at 3 p.m. Despite the adverse conditions anglers managed to bring in six 5-fish limits on the opening day weighing over 20 pounds, which included two bass over 11 pounds.
Luckily no people were injured in the storm though there was severe property and some road torn up in the Zwolle area. One team reported their boat caught in a vortex and spun as they attempted to get to safety. "Rods were flying in the air and they managed to grab them," said 14-year LOBI president Billy Ebarb. "A tackle box was sucked up and lost. Fortunately we had no reports of injuries and all boats were accounted for."
pounds thanks to two solid fish, a 9.18 sow and an additional kicker bass weighing 7.99 pounds. Brothers Christopher and Michael Ortega sat in third place with 22.94 pounds, with an 8.24 anchor fish. Josh Peek and Josh Slaughter claimed 4th with 21.72 pounds, aided by a 9.25 bass. Shannon Thibodeaux and Tommy Lovell had a solid limit with their biggest bass weighing 6.86 pounds to hold 5th place with 21.66 pounds. The 11.3 pound bass caught by Vennie Landreneau anchored the 21.2 pound total that he and partner Bubba Fisette brought in to take 6th place for the opening round.
"We were miserable fishing in the rain," said the lucky boat winner Morris Hawkins of Franklin, La. of him and Mike Trahan, his partner. "I told Mike it would be all worth it when we win the boat tonight." It was the first time the two had partnered in a fishing tournament and first tournament ever for Hawkins, who is engaged and had been looking to buy a boat to replace a 20-year old rig he has been using. It was not the first time for Trahan to attend a LOBI. His father Mark was one of the founders of the tournament and his brother, Chris is one of the tournament directors. The new boat has been named "Karma."
Final Day One of the few breaks of the tournament for the fishermen came on Saturday as the predicted North winds of 15-20 mph only blew at 5-10 mph. Eleven gates at the Toledo Bend dam remained opened at two foot each and both generators continued 24/7 operation. The steady rains were replaced by an occasional mist. A cloud cover remained until weigh in began, with air temperature in the mid 50's as the fishing day began and climbing to 70 degrees by the weigh-in time. Despite the more comfortable fishing conditions, the tough day for catching soon became apparent as anglers with light bags began to make their way to the scales. Only two teams would hit the 20-pound mark for the day.
Peek and Slaughter, 4th on day 1 had a tough time as well brining in 5.26 pounds for the day to slide them to 24th place overall. Tibodeaux and Lovell, 5th on Day 1, also struggled. They added 8.06 pounds for a total of 29.72 pounds and fell to 12th. Sixth place team on day 1, Fisette and Landreneau, had but 9.44 pounds for the day to slip them one spot in the overall standings. Biggest stringer of the day went to the 21.3 pound catch of David Beach and Randy Pitre. They climbed from 62nd place to 5th overall with 34.15 pounds. Consistency in catches was the key to the overall third and fourth place finishers. Kory Martinez and David Ruttley, in 7th place on day 1 with 19.74 pounds, managed a five fish limit on day 2 weighing 17.13 pounds to claim third place in the final standings. The team of William Jr. and Sr. Lipps showed consistency in their catches bringing in 18.32 pounds on day 1 (9th place), followed by 17.68 pounds on day two to end up in 4th place overall. Wayne Badeaux and David Viviano were the most excited team of the day as they brought their day catch to the scales. They stood in 349th place on day 1 with 4.8 pounds and skyrocketed to 35th place in the standings thanks to their 20.62 pound catch, anchored by Viviano's 10.2-pound lunker bass, the largest fish of the day. The bass was entered in the Toledo Bend Lunker Program. Checks went to the top 150 teams. The cutoff weight to earn money was 19.17 pounds. The five top bass of each day also received checks. Weight for the top big bass of the day fell somewhat from the previous day.
LOBI continued their tradition of support for the bass restocking efforts and other initiatives of the Toledo Bend Lake Association. They donated $2,000 at the grand finale to the association. It was difficult to give away the grand door prize on Saturday night. The name of the first angler drawn was called. Numerous calls for him to make his presence known failed and he was considered "History!" A second name was called with the same result, "He's history!" The third time was a charm. The Legend bass boat package was claimed when Jude Bodin of Erath, La. "I'm speechless," said Bodin, who was partnered with Russell Louvier and who has placed 53rd in the final standings for the event. "I'm keeping it, it's not for sale." "It's been a great tournament," said Ebarb "A new record number of teams, a new high for yearly donations to St. Jude's, and a new LOBI big bass record." Ebarb is the last remaining founder of the tournament and the only president ever of the LOBI. The Lafayette angler, retired from Apache Corporation this past year, claims he also tried to retire from the LOBI board but people wouldn't let him. He plans on returning next year. "I can't overstate the importance of the sponsors, directors and the anglers who continue to make the LOBI possible," said Ebarb. "Their generosity and hard work make it possible for us to donate to the worthy cause of St. Jude's Hospital." LOBI tournament broke new ground this year with live tournament weigh-in results broadcast on their homepage, http://www.lobibass.com/. This was due to the help of AutoComm of Lafayette, La, who provided a satellite hookup as well as communication and intercom gear for the tournament. Next year they will initiate a paperless weigh-in format, completely computerized. Jerry Lasseigne, owner of Catch & Release Boat Services, was on hand to handle the 2,864 fish brought to the scales that weighed over 6,500 pounds. Tournament organizers also hope to initiate measures to improve the mortality rate of fish caught. Presently anglers are awarded a 0.1 pound bonus for each live fish, unlike most tournaments that penalize anglers with dead fish by subtracting an amount for each dead fish. Fraternity brothers of Kappa Alpha of Northwestern State University carried the fish from the scales to the release boats. Trustless of the Sabine Parish Detention Center provided logistic support for the event. Troopers of the Louisiana State Police provided traffic control. Major sponsors of the event included: Gulf Oil Logistics, Legend Boats, TIMCO Services, Carboline, Wolverine Industries, L&L Oils and Island Operating Company. For complete tournament results, information about LOBI, sponsors, board of directors and other works by the organization visit their website at: http://www.lobibass.com/ Winners Ways Champions Meche and Bergeron flipped the way to the top spot. A 3/8 ounce black and blue jig, tipped with a black and blue Zoon craw trailer was the most productive bait for the 7 year-partners fishing their 5th LOBI. Meche captained his Skeeter boat, powered by a Yamaha outboard north of the Blue Lake area to target fish in the flooded buck brush in depths of 3-4 feet. They had the best catching after the storm passed on day one, after 11 a.m. The big fish of the tournament bit at 11:30. "It was over in ten seconds," said Meche of the largest catch of his life. "I felt the bite and set the hook. The fish ran out of the brush, turned and came back. Jeremy netted her on the second pass." The duo caught some 20 keepers on day 1 in the area they had found fish during pre fishing on Thursday. On day 2 they caught a limit by 7:30 am and culled all but one of those throughout the day. White spinner baits accounted for a few fish. Rods and reels of choice included Olivier Custom Rods (OCR), made by Don and Ray Olivier in Lafayette and Shimano reels spooled with 60-pound test Spiderwire and 20-pound test Berkley Big Game line in clear color. The duo did not use any attractant on the baits. "We didn't miss many fish that bit," said Bergeron. "When they bit the bite you could easily tell. We caught 20 keepers on Saturday too. The OCR flipping stick really helped me handle the big bass." Flipping jigs paid off for the runner up team of brothers Ortego, who were 7th in last year's LOBI. They used a 3/8 ounce Cyclone black and blur jig, teamed with a blue flake Yum trailer up in buck brush just north of the 1215 area of the lake. Older brother Christopher "Cotton" captained his Express boat, powered by a Mariner motor. The 15-year fishing team used Kisler rods and Shimano reels, spooled with Power Pro 8/30 braided line. Christopher's big bass catch on day 1 was 8.04 pounds, 6th largest of the day. It bit at 10:30 a.m. They caught 6 keepers on the opening day and 7 in the final round. Captain Cotton acknowledged Bayou Marine Center in Ville Platte for keeping his boat in the best shape and on the water. He added that he will entertain any and all offers of sponsorship when he turns to the professional fishing ranks, yet undetermined. Senko and Fluke baits, in watermelon/red color, fished in 2-8 feet of water north of Pendleton Bridge were the key to third place finishers, Martinez and Ruttley. The plastic baits were rigged Texas style, with 3/8 ounce sinkers and produced for the team all day, both days. Gear of choice included All Star rods and Shimano reels spooled with 12-pound test Stem, lo-visibility line. They fished from a Skeeter/Yamaha boat to catch 5 keepers on day 1 and 8 on the last day. Flukes paid off for the fourth place team as well but fished differently. "We would cast the Flukes on dry land and pull them into the water," said William Lipps. "The fish we targeted were very shallow." The Lipps brothers fished mid lake areas and used the bait weightless. Landreneau had to settle for second big bass of day 1 with his 11.3 pound lunker bass but did not appear disappointed. He and his partner of 28 years, Bubba Fisette, took home 7th place targeting fish in 8 foot depths in Housen Bay using Carolinarigged lizards in watermelon/red color. They used a ½ ounce weight and 24 inch leaders. They fished from a Champion boat, powered by a Mercury outboard. Tackle included Shimano rods and reels spooled with 15-pound test Berkeley Big Game line in green color. Disappointment was not on the agenda for Viviano, who caught the big bass of day 2 weighing 10.2 pounds. It was the first tournament he and partner Badeaux fished together. The duo had used plastic each morning and switched to spinner baits after noon fishing north of the Blue Lake area. Viviano's lunker bass hit the 1/4-ounce white and chartreuse spinner bait in 4-6 feet of water at 2 p.m. A Castaway rod and Shimano reel, spooled with 15-pound test Berkley Big Game line in clear color was used to get the sow near the boat where his partner netted it.
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