Phillips, Jenkins win bragging rights at Quad State event
By PATTY LENDERMAN Lakecaster Managing Editor

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman EACH CLUB SENT their angler of the year to compete amongst just that group of recognized anglers for the title of Quad State Bass Club Angler of the Year. Charles Starks won that recognition for 2007.

Bass clubs are comprised of a group of anglers who like to get together for a friendly round of competition to see who's the better angler.

When groups of clubs get together to see who has the best club of anglers, they team up together as a unit. April 14-15 the Quad State Bass Club held their s e m i - a n n u a l Championship on Sam Rayburn. Clubs from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri came to see which club was the best of the best.

Fifty-two teams fished for two days on rough, wind blown water.

The first day was chilly and damp with overcast skies followed by blue bird skies on the final day.

Top three big bass places were paid each day, and five overall places were paid on the final day.

The winning club will have possession of the rotating trophy to display for six months until the next championship event.

Outdoors photo/Ed Snyder LEVY SCOTT caught the biggest bass of the tournament on day one weighing 8.28 lbs.

Day 1 leaders:

14.82 lbs. - Levy Scott and Johnny Sparrow Osprey Bass Anglers

13.65 lbs. - Chris Phillips and Tim Jenkins Metro Area Bass Club

13.42 lbs. - Charles Starks and Clara Marshall Sol Pro Bassmasters

13.16 lbs. - Will Chambliss and Hugh Belton Dallas Bass Hookers

10.57 lbs. - Myron Watts and Tyrone Phillips Metro Area Bass Club

Day 1 Big Bass:

8.28 lbs. - Levy Scott and Johnny Sparrow Osprey Bass Anglers

4.90 lbs. - Jim Bayton and Ellis Jones Sol Pro Bassmasters

4.84 lbs. - Will Chamblis and Hugh Belton Dallas Bass Hookers

While several teams were scrambling to try a different place or pattern to get a better creel on the final day, Mother Nature kept the choices narrow with high winds and big waves.

Chris Phillips and Tim Jenkins of the Metro Area Bass Club brought in nearly 11 pounds on day two for a 24.64 lb. two-day total, taking first place overall.

"My partner was able to pre-fish for us," Chris began. "He found a spinnerbait pattern, and we went and bought all the War Eagle chartreuse & red spinnerbaits she had in double willow, silver/gold pattern. The key was to stay on wind blown banks. We could see shad flicking near the grass line, so we paralleled the bank with our spinnerbaits. It was only about a foot deep, and we were running our baits so close to the grass line that literally one blade was in the water and the other was on the grass."

This is a first win for this team, but over the past six years has often been in top standings.

Charles Starks and Clara Marshall of Sol Pro Bassmasters also moved up a notch to finish second place with a two-day weight of 23.82 lbs.

"We had a quick limit in the boat the first day, targeting the front of the grass with jerk baits and finesse worms in 5'-7'," stated Starks.

"Today, we had a hard time getting it together. The water muddied up on us and the bite got tough. We started searching, and found a pattern flipping bushes with a jig and a tube bait. At 11:30 a.m. we put our fifth keeper in the boat and culled about one per hour after that."

Charles was also a contender for Quad State Angler of the Year, and earned the title for 2007.

Levy Scott and Johnny Sparrow of the Osprey Bass Anglers fell from top spot on the leaderboard on day one to a third place final finish.

"Johnny got the ball rolling, catching the first fish each day," Levy said. "The first day, we went to main lake areas throwing crank baits. We saw that wasn't working and switched to spinnerbaits. Our first fish came off of a windy point, about 3' with grass. After that we hit secondary points and coves, sticking to areas with grass, running a spinnerbait and also catching some on a watermelon brush hog. The second day we caught most of them on crank baits. We also caught two on Texas rigged brush hogs, staying back in the secondary points and coves. It was tougher today. We tried to stay somewhat protected, but we needed a little wind for the bite."

Levy also caught the biggest bass of the tournament on the first day weighing 8.28 lbs.

Final Standings:

First - 24.64 lbs. Metro Area Bass Club Chris Phillips and Tim Jenkins

Second - 23.82 lbs. Sol Pro Bassmasters Charles Starks and Clara Marshall

Third - 23.03 lbs. Osprey Bass Anglers Levy Scott and Johnny Sparrow

Fourth - 21.89 lbs. Fishin' Tradition Michael Mayo and Frank Mayo

Fifth - 20.87 lbs. Fishin' Tradition David and Charmayne Hadnot

Big Bass Day 2:

4.33 lbs. - Michael and Frank Mayo Fishin' Tradition

4.26 lbs. - Terry Honore' and Keith Kibby Jaguar Bass Busters

4.09 lbs. - Charles and Darrell Hicks Dallas Bass Hookers

The Quad State Bass Club Championship was formed in 1993. At that time, the participating states included Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas.

This year, Missouri was also officially included. The mission of the organization is to:

Organize bass fishermen into a common body for the purpose of sport fishing

Promote competitive bass fishing tournaments and sportsmanship

Sponsor and manage the Quad State Tournaments

Create opportunities designed to nurture and encourage youth to appreciate sportsmanship and outdoor activities

Stimulate awareness and appreciation for careful preservation and protection of our natural resources

The Quad State Bass Club organization welcomes new bass clubs as members.

The next event is scheduled for October at the Arkansas River near Little Rock.

For more information, click to www.quadstatebass. net or call 800-733- 9708 ext 14.