Jack Carrol & Roy Carroway win Media Bass on Sam Rayburn
By Lynn Atkinson ~ srayburn@rayburncountry.com

May 10th found Media Bass at Jackson Hill Marina for their 3rd tournament of the year. There were two lovely ladies at the entrance of the marina helping everyone get checked in and parked. Gordon Stauffer and his crew were busy inside the marina as well as outside getting the livewells checked and the boats launched. The early bird anglers could order the supreme breakfast while the later groups found hot coffee and a quick breakfast to go. The weather had been pretty good most of the week with some wind changes and high temperatures rising. The water temperatures had been pretty steady, around 72 degrees, with the water falling slowly in the past few weeks. Would this kick off a top water bite or would the anglers find the fish still on a post spawn condition? There were 78 teams that showed up, to try their luck in finding fish on "Big Sam".

The top 15 places were paid out money today, with the total pay out of $10,178.00 dollars. Would anyone bring in a sack over 20 lbs like before or would everyone struggle to just catch five fish for the weigh in? As is the custom, the National Anthem was played and a prayer was said. When safe light appeared, the first flight was released to head to their spots in hope of a quick five fish limit, and then work up from there. Would a kicker fish turn the tables and move you to the top? Many times that kicker fish is the one that everyone needs; not just to hook her but to play her to the boat and get her in. Sounds easy, but as everyone knows that is not the case. Big fish have a way of testing the equipment and the skills of the angler and of course the net person. As always it is a team effort. As the first boats started coming in, the anglers grabbed their weigh in bags and came back with their fish. It was tough out there, the first few weights where hanging around 12 pounds. Then a 14 lb bag came in and held the lead for sometime. It was to be knocked back by a heavier bag. When everyone had been weighed in and the weights were totaled up this is how it turned out.

Jack Carrol & Roy Carroway win 1st place

Jack Carrol and Roy Carroway came in first weighing five fish at 21 lbs that brought in a check for $2,550.00. They had the Big Bass at 7.13 lbs and picked up another check for $525.00. This team fished in the mid lake area after discovering a small problem after launching their boat. They had prefished Friday and their game plan was to run down south to fish, but somehow their fuel tanks did not have the fuel for it. Making a new game plan they hit their spots up here to see if they could put together a winning catch. Having a little luck and a lot of skill they did just that! Their big bass came in around 10:30 a.m. and by the end of the day they had culled five times from just a couple of spots. They did not lose any fish which helps them a lot. Way to go guys!

Eric Hunt & Rick Hollingsworth with their 17.49 lbs and winning 2nd

Eric Hunt and Rick Hollingsworth came in with five fish at 17.49 lbs to snag a check for $1,300.00. These guys received second place, and their big bass (weighing 6.36 lbs) netted them another check for $225.00. They fished hard and did not do a lot of moving around. They culled two times off one spot and fished mainly with Carolina Rigs all day. Rick did say, "That Eric does a good job netting fish." Everyone has to do their part to make a team.

Mark Couch & Jimmy Emmons with their 17.21 lbs and placing 3rd

Mark Couch and Jimmy Emmons came in with five fish at 17.21 lbs that netted them a check for $850.00. They fished the mid lake area and just plugged it out, culling around 10 times thru the day and missing a few fish. This team is hardcore and put in a lot of hours on the water to gain their knowledge of these bass. Fishing the grass with plastics was the most we could get out of them.

4 t h	$ 7 5 0 . 0 0	17.03 lbs	Phil Addison and Tony Murray
5th	$650.00		Patrick Gammell and Daniel Hickman
6 t h	$550.00	15.83 lbs	Stan Burgay and Lance Hughes
7 t h	$450.00	15.65 lbs	Jeromy Francis and Larry Bolton
8 t h	$ 4 0 0.00	15.52 lbs	Jesus Vasquez and Lee Saenz
9 t h	$ 3 5 0.00	14.84 lbs	Tommy Hill and Mike Griffin
1 0 t h	$320.00	14.43 lbs	Michael Lowery and Lance Lowery
1 1 t h	$300.00	14.19 lbs	Willie Fabre and Brandon Crouch
1 2 t h	$260.00	14.01 lbs	Darryl Duff and Mike Poldrack
1 3 t h	$248.00	13.82 lbs	Charles Ford and Ronald Risenhover
1 4 t h	$ 2 3 0.00	13.81 lbs	Roger Griffin and Roger Gay
15th	$220.00	13.60 lbs	Charlie Hertel and Chris Sparks

Big thanks to Gordon Stauffer and his crew for all their hard work at the weigh in site. Everything looked good with six tanks and a release tank set up to put the fish back in the lake. The guys at the release tank did a great job handling the fish and getting them back in the lake.

Also, big thanks go to Terry and Connie Sympson and the crew at Jackson Hill Park and Marina for having lodging and good food on hand for the anglers. If you haven't been to Jackson Hill lately you need to come by and say hi to the folks. It's a friendly place to stay the night.