George Weaver and Brian Kile put together a nice five fish limit of 20.08 lbs to top the field at February’s Patriots Challenge bass fishing tournament. The team added a 5.88 lb kicker to put them over the top. Dean Perkins and David Huckabee placed second with 18.10 lbs. Their best fish came using 1 0z football head jigs in 8-12 ft of water. Others had luck with everything from Carolina rigged plastics, lipless cranks in red, crawfish and chrome to spinner baits, however it seemed that the bigger fish are still just outside of the spawning flats waiting for the water to warm up another few degrees. Kevin Madeley and Anthony Sharp managed to hold onto third place with respectable 17.53 lbs. they also took big bass honors with a 7.19 lb. big girl.
The main lake had temperatures of around 56 degrees with the coves warming up to 60 degrees in some spots. Plastics in green pumpkin or green something are working well. A great way to fish is to throw a Carolina rigged craw worm or lizard to the edge of the grass and work it slowly back to around 14 ft of water. When the sun comes out the water will warm quickly and there are a lot of buck bass stacking up in most creeks. One team reported seeing a good number of beds all ready to welcome a new generation of largemouth bass. Things really seem to look like this will be the best spring fishing in many years. The lake is less than three feet low and with this week’s predicted rain we should see water continuing to rise giving fish access to areas they haven’t seen for awhile. Grass is back all over the lake and with an abundance of healthy young fish Rayburn seems poised to please a lot of bass anglers this year.
All net proceeds from the Patriots Challenge are donated to fund lodging, food and fishing trips for active duty military members at Jackson Hill, hunting and fishing trips for Wounded Warriors at Jackson Hill and other destinations around the Country. The Wounded Warrior Association of East Texas is a 501 (c) (3) public charity. Patriots Challenge is also a financial and volunteer sponsor for the Honor and Remember Texas campaign to recognize a new National symbol for the Men and Women who have given their lives to protect and defend the freedoms that all Americans enjoy. If you or your organization would like to help support this event and help honor our Nations Military, contact Terry Sympson at Jackson Hill 936-872-9266 [email protected].
The Patriots Challenge Tournament is a program of Jackson Hill Park and Marina and a growing Outdoor Freedom Network of Sponsors, Partners, Volunteers and Organizations that work together to provide greater understanding, appreciation and access to the Natural Resources of Deep East Texas and Sam Rayburn Lake. Their purpose is to do economic good for our local communities and to do social good by raising funds and offering outdoor recreational opportunities for worthy charitable causes and people in need.