KEITH CAKA WINS DAWSON MARINE BIG BASS TOURNAMENT HOSTED BY BASS CHAMPS
By Patty Lenderman
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| Keith Caka brought this 9.32 lb'r in to win $500 in the 10:00-10:30 weigh in. To his amazement, it was the biggest bass of the tournament! |
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Big Bass tournaments are a lot of fun to fish. There's no pressure to get a big stringer of fish, just looking for one. Nearly 400 anglers headed out on Sam Rayburn March 29 to find that one big bass that would get them in part of the money to be won in hourly checks, and hopeful to get that really big one that would win the Grand Prize - a Skeeter ZX200 powered by a Yamaha VMax motor. There was nearly $40,000 at stake in cash and prizes!
As the day broke in the early hours, conditions were perfect. There was a thick haze, the lake was flat with still winds. Temperatures started out in the mid 60's. Anglers searching for bedding fish would be able to see them with the calm water, and they could fish anywhere on the lake not having to worry about bad weather. The stage was set at the Umphrey Family Pavilion and ready to weigh in some big bass!
The format to win money in this tournament was through the top 10 bass of each hour, the first hour 8:00-8:30. Lonnie White of San Augustine, TX fired up the scales with the first fish of the day weighing 4.74 lbs. He warmed several of the hot seats as more anglers weighed in and bumped him down to finish 9th place that hour.
| Top weights 8:00-8:30 |
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| 1st |
$500 |
8.92 lbs |
Todd Soape |
Orange, TX |
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| 2nd |
$400 |
7.62 lbs |
Mike Stegall |
Pt. Neches, TX |
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| 3rd |
$300 |
7.32 lbs |
Jim Sluss |
Newton, TX |
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| 4th |
$200 |
7.06 lbs |
Myron Beachy |
Baytown, TX |
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| 5th |
$175 |
6.58 lbs |
Alvin Jones |
Downsville, LA |
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| 6th |
$150 |
6.14 lbs |
Rusty Harvey |
Nederland, TX |
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| 7th |
$125 |
5.94 lbs |
Donnie Pickard |
Bridge City, TX |
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| 8th |
$120 |
4.86 lbs |
Kris Wilson |
Montgomery, TX |
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| 9th |
$110 |
4.74 lbs |
Lonnie White Jr |
San Augustine, TX |
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| 10th |
$100 |
3.70 lbs |
Cody Davis |
Lumberton, TX |
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| Todd Soape weighed in several different hours to collect prize money. His biggest bass weighed 8.92 lbs, the 2nd largest of the tournament! |
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| Belinda Dawson of Dawson Marine presented the Grand Prize Skeeter / Yamaha valued at $37,000 to Keith Caka, overall winner of the tournament. Chad Potts, President of Bass Champs congratulates the winner. |
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After the weights were made official, they were back out on the water. Mike Lout with KJAS radio out of Jasper, TX stayed on site to keep the anglers and listeners informed all day as to what weight was on top and what was on bottom. Wayne Stevens joined in to co-host the show and later Steve Stewart came on site to keep all the listeners updated.. Dawson Marine had several Skeeter Boat models on display including the grand prize boat. The Bass Champs crew kept the weigh-in running smooth throughout the day.
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| Gary Boyette brought this nice 8.28 pound bass in. It was the 3rd overall largest bass of the day. |
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Very few anglers weighed in during the 9-9:30 hour. Only six anglers brought their fish to the scales, leaving four chairs and $455 unclaimed!
As the 10:00 hour approached, moments of sunshine began peeking through the dense clouds. A slight breeze picked up, and anticipation rose in the crowd of spectators as to what we would see weighed in next.
There were no seats unclaimed this hour, and a new big bass of the day was established by Keith Caka of Brookeland, TX
| Top fish 10:00-10:30 |
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| 1st |
$500 |
9.32 lbs |
Keith Caka |
Brookeland, TX |
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| 2nd |
$400 |
7.24 lbs |
Jason Hanks |
Jasper, TX |
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| 3rd |
$300 |
7.12 lbs |
David Curtis |
Trinity, TX |
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| 4th |
$200 |
6.18 lbs |
Paul Eason |
Brookeland, TX |
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| 5th |
$175 |
5.34 lbs |
Tim Mitchell |
Lumberton, TX |
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| 6th |
$150 |
5.22 lbs |
Jeremy Johnson |
Lufkin, TX |
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| 7th |
$125 |
4.82 lbs |
Jerry Taylor |
Marble Falls, TX |
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| 8th |
$120 |
4.70 lbs |
Wayne McDaniel |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
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| 9th |
$110 |
3.76 lbs |
Shawn Butler |
Orange, TX |
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| 10th |
$100 |
3.20 lbs |
Todd Soape |
Orange, TX |
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More and more anglers bringing their fish to the scales this hour, including the first woman and youth angler of the day to weigh in.
| 4th |
$200 |
5.72 lbs |
Floyd Manous |
Dayton, TX |
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| 5th |
$175 |
4.48 lbs |
Mark Davis |
Silsbee, TX |
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| 6th |
$150 |
4.24 lbs |
Lynn Shivers |
Etoile, TX |
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| 7th |
$125 |
4.18 lbs |
Carla Moorehead |
Jasper, TX |
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| 8th |
$115 |
4.04 lbs |
David Shaw |
Huntington, TX |
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| 8th (tie) $115 |
4.04 lbs |
Larry Nichols |
Brookeland, TX |
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| 10th |
$100 |
3.90 lbs |
Dillon Renfro (13 yrs) |
Zavalla, TX |
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With only three more hours of weigh in to go, anticipation is still high to see the double digit bass that Sam Rayburn has been famed for. With just a few hours left in play, more fish were brought in keeping the final standings in shuffle to the end.
| Top fish 12:00-12:30 |
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| 1st |
$500 |
7.86 lbs |
Dennis Oates |
Pollock, TX |
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| 2nd |
$400 |
6.78 lbs |
Chris Ryder |
Vidor, TX |
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| 3rd |
$300 |
5.94 lbs |
Jeff Manous |
Greenwood, Ark |
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| 4th |
$200 |
5.86 lbs |
Tim Hopson |
Nacogdoches, TX |
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| 5th |
$175 |
5.58 lbs |
Bo Stanford |
Corrigan, TX |
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| 6th |
$150 |
5.52 lbs |
Carl Boatman |
Jasper, TX |
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| 7th |
$125 |
4.88 lbs |
Jody Holt |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
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| 8th |
$120 |
4.14 lbs |
Russ Sanders |
Ft. Worth, TX |
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| 9th |
$110 |
3.92 lbs |
Trey Hall III |
Wortham, TX |
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| 10th |
$100 |
3.80 lbs |
Andrea Studensky |
Buna, TX |
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The fight got tight this hour with two ties in the standings! Top weights 1:00-1:30
| 1st |
$500 |
7.12 lbs |
Ryan Hightower |
Lufkin, TX |
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| 2nd |
$400 |
6.82 lbs |
Mike Dorcz |
Humble, TX |
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| 3rd |
$300 |
6.26 lbs |
Matt James |
Groveton, TX |
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| 4th |
$187.50 |
6.20 lbs |
Carl White |
Lumberton, TX |
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| 4th |
(tie) $187.50 |
6.20 lbs |
Rusty Harvey |
Nederland, TX |
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| 6th |
$150 |
5.80 lbs |
Jeremy Freeman |
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| 7th |
$125 |
5.78 lbs |
Matt Williams |
Nacogdoches, TX |
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| 8th |
$115 |
5.10 lbs |
Jody Holt |
Sam Rayburn, TX |
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| 8th |
(tie) $115 |
5.10 lbs |
Chris Ryder |
Vidor, TX |
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| 10th |
$100 |
4.70 lbs |
Doyle Lasyone |
Ball, LA |
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And the last hour
Top weights 2:00-2:30
| 1st |
$500 |
7.42 lbs |
Don Rossell |
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| 2nd |
$400 |
6.78 lbs |
Scott Jordan |
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| 3rd |
$300 |
6.64 lbs |
John Gothia |
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| 4th |
$200 |
6.04 lbs |
Curt Smith |
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| 5th |
$175 |
5.54 lbs |
CJ Nichols |
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| 6th |
$150 |
5.36 lbs |
Myron Beachy |
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| 7th |
$125 |
5.24 lbs |
Kevin Welker |
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| 8th |
$120 |
5.22 lbs |
Brian Martin |
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| 9th |
$110 |
5.10 lbs |
Dennis Edgar |
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| 10th |
$ 50 |
5.06 lbs |
Julian Clepper |
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| 10th (tie) |
$ 50 |
5.06 lbs |
Carl Boatman |
At 2:30 the scales officially closed. Keith Caka was called to the stage as the overall winner of the tournament with his 9.32 lb bass! "I really didn't expect to win!" Keith said. "I just knew someone would come in with a 10 pounder today. This is great!" He reported catching his winning bass on a 5' grassy flat that had a 10' drain on a Senko. Belinda Dawson of Dawson Marine congratulated the winner giving him his trophy and presenting him with his Skeeter ZX200 powered by a Yamaha V-Max motor. His bass just reached a new value of $4,000 per pound!
"I'd like to thank everyone for coming out and participating with us" Belinda said to the crowd. "We really enjoy doing this and hope everyone had a great time."
Bass Champs is coming back in two weeks for more fish catching, money winning action April 12 on Sam Rayburn with their East Texas Team circuit. For more information on any Bass Champs event, click to www.basschamps.com or call 817-439-3274
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