Audett, Thompson wrapped up Bass-NBucks Summer Series with Rayburn win
By PATTY LENDERMAN Lakecaster Managing Editor

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman BERT THOMPSON and Bob Audett, pictured above, enjoy their first Bass N Bucks win, weighing in a 19.56 pound limit. Pictured right, Dennis Fikes landed this 8.02 lb. beauty winning Big Bass honors. He and partner Dennis Fikes won fourth place overall weighing in three fish.

Bass N Bucks wrapped up the 2007 season with the last Summer Series event Aug. 11 at Umphrey Family Pavilion on Sam Rayburn. More than one hundred teams went on the hunt for a very elusive bite. Bob Audett and Bert Thompson took a decisive win by more than two pounds.

There was no doubt that summer has settled in, as the heat index tickled the triple digit mark. There was very little relief from the heat with nearly cloudless skies and barely a breeze. Sam Rayburn was not forthcoming with her bounties, evident by the relatively few limits brought to the scales. It is not uncommon to see many of these teams consistently bring in 20 pound or more sacks. It has not the case in this tournament.

Bob Audett and Bert Thompson won first place with 19.56 lbs., more than two pounds ahead of the next highest team.

"We didn't get in a real big hurry today, we just laid back, took our time and fished" Bert explained. Throwing Carolina rigged lizards in moderate depths of 12-15', they targeted areas with scattered hydrilla. "We caught a two pounder in our first spot, then wandered to some other areas but didn't do much. About noon we caught a couple more around five pounds. It took nearly all day to scratch out a limit, but we were able to cull a couple of times."

They estimated hitting about six different holes to wrap up their top weight. Bass N Bucks presented them a $5,000 check for first place. Bob recently purchased a new Champion Boat, and it is already paying off for him. He additionally received the $1,000 Champion Boat bonus.

Mark Price came in second place with 17.45 lbs. Martin Elshout, his partner was on vacation. "Everything went smooth for me today. I got a limit in the boat by around 10:20 a.m. with a watermelon blue wacky worm. After that, I picked up a Carolina rig and backed out to deeper water."

MARK PRICE fished alone in the Bass-NBucks event on Sam Rayburn and managed a 17.45 lb. limit to take second place.The event was the last of the 2007 Summer Series as more than 100 teams went on the hunt for an elusive place in the series. Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman

Martin fished scattered grass in 10'+ depths and found some bigger fish to cull with. He didn't run the lake much, only fishing a couple of spots. It had all the fish he needed to win $2,500.

Bill Fondren and Bill Rogers slid into third place with 16.99 lbs. Rogers explained, "We went north of the (Hwy 147) bridge and flipped Stanley jigs. We stayed on main lake points, fishing grass lines about 10' deep."

By 8 a.m. they had four fish in the well.

"It took until almost 10 a.m. to get the fifth keeper in the boat. The bite just died after that, and didn't pick up until after noon."

They switched to Reaction flukes and culled three times before weighing in.

"I thought we only had about 15 pounds!" Rogers said. Their weight landed a check for $2,000.

Dennis Fikes caught the big bass of the day weighing 8.02 lbs.

"We were fishing a deep hump, 18'-25' that dropped down to 38' with scattered brush.

She bit on a Carolina rigged Zoom Old Monster worm around 8 a.m. That was our second fish of the day; our first one weighed about six pounds.

He and his partner Larry Weppler only weighed in three fish, but managed to finish in 4th place overall with 16.24 lbs.

They were awarded $1,500 for their fourth place finish, plus an additional $1,000 for the biggest bass of the tournament.

Top Teams:

1st - $5,000 19.56 lbs. Bob Audett and Bert Thompson

2nd - $2,500 17.45 lbs. Martin Elshout and Mark Price

3rd - $2,000 16.99 lbs Bill Fondren and Bill Rogers

4th - $1,50016.24 lbs. Larry Weppler and Dennis Fikes

5th- $1,400 15.94 lbs. Ricky Potts and Bill Hudspeth

6th - $1,200 14.79 lbs. Joel James and Tommy Loving

7th - $1,10014.67 lbs. Charles Bebber and Keith Caka

8th - $1,100 14.64 lbs. Russ Carter and Scott Bailey

9th - $1,00014.60 lbs. Jason Dean and Jared Dean

10th - $1,000 14.27 lbs. Landon Ware

.......and last in the money.....

15th - $500 13.14 lbs Kris Wilson and Russell Cecil

Big Bass - $1,000 8.02 lbs. Dennis Fikes and Larry Weppler

Champion Bonus - $1,000 Bob Audett

Congratulations to the Summer Series Anglers of the Year Kris Wilson and Russell Cecil. Along with earning this prestigious title, their entry fees into the 2008 Summer Series are waived.

The Bass N Bucks Championship will be a two-day event, Sept. 15-16. The Championship qualifiers will be divided into three separate brackets, each with a first place prize of a fully rigged Champion Boat/Mercury Motor/MinnKota Troll Motor and Lowrance electronics. For full listing of all qualifiers, please click to www.bassnbucks.com.

All qualifiers will also be listed in The Lakecaster in September.

"We'd like to thank everyone who fished with us this year. It's been a great season, and we're looking forward to the Championship. It seems that each year we see more and more fathers and sons or daughters and couples joining us.

Encourage your friends and family to come and fish, our 2008 season is going to be even better!" - Dave Concienne

In classic Bass N Bucks tradition, the 2008 schedule will kick off in December 2007.

For more information, call 409-727-8941 or click to www.bassnbucks.com