MAY 2011 • LAKECASTER • 44

Tight weights for Top Finishes at the

BL Team tournament on Sam Rayburn
By Patty Lenderman / Lakecaster

Mere ounces, sometimes less separated many of the top weights April 10, 2011 at the Bud Light Trail Team
tournament. The band of warriors that braved Sam Rayburn were quite weary after battling 30+ mph winds
all day. Very few tried to hide from the howling wind and waves, but squared off with it to meet the challenge.
Trailering was allowed to more safely reach their destinations on the water. Brian Branum & Ken Smith won
1st place by a margin of two ounces.
Mother Nature seems to have her timing a little off. The temperatures have been wonderful, spring-like in
the 80’s. However, it is April and as most of us remember it, March is known for its wind. April is known for
its rain. May is known for its flowers – right? We seem to be getting all of March’s wind and none of April’s
showers. And the wind was brutal.
Fishing back to back tournaments, and having done well the prior day, Keith & Brian stated that they had
done exactly the same thing for this tournament. “We went back to the same area we fished before, and the
fish were still there. They went after post spawn fish in the backs of coves using Santone Swim jigs with Gam-
bler Flappy trailers in shallow water. Another angler fishing near them described the action he witnessed as
quite a show. “They just kept catching fish! Probably one out of three casts they would reel one in.” Their
limit weighed 20.98 lbs, winning 1st place. They would like to thank Fun N Sun Boating Center, the Tackle
Monkey, Santone Lures, Gambler Baits, Skeeter, Yamaha “and a special thanks to R-1 Bass. Ray (owner of
R-1 Bass) fixed our spare trolling motor keeping us going on the water.”
Chris McCall and Clayton Boulware, “Team Tackle Monkey”, won 2nd place with their 20.84 lb stringer.
“Man, was it WINDY!” Chris began. “We went to the same spot we won another tournament in a few weeks
ago. It is a pocket with a tricky little creek channel bend in it that has been stacked with fish.” Their day
 Tournament winners Brian Branum and Ken Smith had a great kicker in their
started out well, catching one over 3 lbs and another over 5. “We were using V&M green pumpkin worms bag weighing 7.61 lbs that anchord their 1st place finish with 20.98 lbs
with a Gene Larew Biffle Bug hard head. When the bite slowed down, we moved to another spot and finished
our limit.” They switched to a swim jig for a while, and caught fish but couldn’t cull any with them. “After
1:00 we went back to our first spot and caught our two best fish of the day to wrap it up.” The team would King, Dusty Rhodes Marine and Bass Pro Shops.
like to acknowledge the Tackle Monkey, and each of their sponsors: (McCall) Ranger, Evinrude, Abu Garcia, 3rd place was won by Daniel Chambers and Todd Littleton with a total weight of 20.23 lbs. These guys
Berkley, Gambler, Santone, and Tour Star Rods. (Boulware) Nitro, Mercury, Stanley, V&M, H & H rods, Strike have been best friends since college and are business partners in Precision Builders of Shreveport. “We

 Clayton Boulware & Chris McCall only missed

1st place by 2 ounces, ultimately winning 2nd
place with 20.84 lbs

 Daniel Chambers & Todd Littleton caught the third

biggest stringer of the day weighing 20.23 lbs.