Many La. Bass Club repeats top six win
By DONALD GERVAIS Lakecaster Correspondent

Outdoors photo/Donald Gervais The Many Bass Club, champions of the 2007 LA Top Six pose with the trophy they successfully defended on May 5-6 on Toledo Bend Reservoir.The team brought in 66.5-pounds in their 24-fish catch to claim the win. The club will keep the trophy in the same place as they did in 2006, at the Toledo Tackle store. From left to right kneeling are: James Campbell, Wayne Moran, and Richard Pesson, back row, left to right, Jim Campbell, Frank Davis and Bobby Munlin.

The oldest continuous bass club tournament in the country, the Louisiana Top Six returned to the water of Toledo Bend Reservoir on May 5-6 for the 36th year and for the first time ever, the defending champions repeated their victory. The Many Bass Club brought two 12-fish limits to the scales that weighed 66.5 pounds, including the tournament big bass, a 7.66- pound heavy weight.

The home water jinx, often felt by anglers fishing in their home waters in a tournament, did not factor in the 2007 Top Six as the top four finishers were: Many Bass Club of Many; West Central Bass Club of Leesville in second, Sabine Bass Club of Many in third and in fourth place Rusty Hook Bass Club of Zwolle. The top four teams accounted for seven of the eight 12- fish limits brought to the scales.

"One three-foot wave would pass by us and the next one broke in the boat," said Richard Pesson of the champion team and angler with the big bass of the tournament "All day long both bilge pumps were working emptying water."

The six anglers, fishing in three boats, had to resort to throwing out anchors to stay on the productive water they had located in practice. Trolling motors proved useless in most of the waters of the white capped covered lake. The winners targeted fish in 12- 21 feet of water, working the outside edge of grass beds with Carolina-rigged Baby Brushhogs in amber/blackcolor in the Bison area of the lake. Most used weights to be able to feel the baits in the wind. The length of the leaders used were between 2-4 feet. It was the fifth victory for the club, they won the inaugural event in 1972 and is the most wins by any club.

The Many Bass Club led on the first day of the tournament with 34.66 pounds. West Central Bass Club, who had won the Super Six tournament the weekend before with 34+ pound weights each day, brought in 29.96 and held second place.

The Cajun Backlashers were close behind with 29.64 pounds in third. The Rusty Hook Bass Club held 4th with 24.04 pounds. In fifth spot were the anglers of the Forrest Hill Bass Club with 22.16 pounds followed by the sixth place Red River Bass Club with 21.58 pounds.

All the clubs took advantage of the trailer tournament and chose to come to the weigh in by road rather than contend with the 3-6 foot waves on the lake. Most teams sought protection from the wind to fish, few chose to fight the waves and fish. The top teams were confident that their fishing holes would again yield good catches. The defending champions' lead could easily disappear as the clubs set out for day two.

The champs' catch of Day two, weighing 31.84 pounds, established the mark for the teams to follow. The second place West Central team needed a bag weighing 36.7 pounds for the win.

"We don't have that much, maybe 30 pounds" said Tim Merriman, the West Central Bass Club's captain who had predicted the weight of their Day one catch within 0.2 pounds. He was again close to the weight as "29.96 pounds" was announced by the weigh master. They had missed the mark by seven pounds, the margin they had over the second place finishers the week before.

The runner-up team fished at mid-lake, on the Texas side, using mostly several soft plastic baits in watermelon color fished Carolina in depths of 10-20 feet as well. Fish were also caught on buzzbaits and 3/8 ounce jigs with Zoom plastic trailers. Wind was not a factor for their team

The largest catch of day two, weighing 35.3 pounds, including big bass of the day at 6.54 pounds, was brought in by the Sabine Bass Club-known by the champions as "the other Many club." Their Day one catch weighing 19.52 pounds had placed them in seventh place and their total placed them in third for the tournament with 54.82 pounds.

The local Zwolle Rusty Hook Bass Club added 26.22 pounds to their day one total to take fourth place with 49.76 pounds.

The Cajun Backlashers managed 18.62 pounds in their 10-fish Day two creel and fell to fifth place with 48.26 pounds. The Big Bayou anglers brought in 23.3 pounds of fish in their day two catch to improve from ninth on Day one to sixth overall with 41.18 pounds.