Anglers pulled out all stops at B-N-B championship
By PATTY LENDERMAN Lakecaster Managing Editor

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman ANGLERS OF THE YEAR for the 1st Series 2007 were Brian Sewell and Matt Byrd.

It was the weekend all 2007 Bass N Bucks teams had been waiting for. Sept. 15 and 16 was the grand finale, the championship weekend, where top prizes and bragging rights were sought and won wrapping up the season.

All total more than $180,000 in cash and prizes were given away to the top teams. The winning team in each of the three brackets would win a brand new, fully rigged Champion Boat powered by Mercury and equipped with Lowrance and MinnKota equipment.

Anglers of the Year were announced and awarded their commemorative plaques. Brian Sewell and Matt Byrd earned the title from the First Series, and Kris Wilson and Russell Cecil won Anglers of the year from the 2nd Series as well as from the Conroe Trail. These teams' entry fees are waived for the 2008 season in the series they won their title in.

Bob Brown and Kim Smith from American Rodsmith were on hand, bringing lots of new rods for championship prizes. They presented Dave and Tricia Concienne with a few new rods.

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman KRIS WILSON AND RUSSELL CECIL earned dual Anglers of the Year titles. One for the Bass N Bucks 2nd Series, the other for the Conroe Trail.

The fishing conditions were great all weekend, with partly cloudy skies, occasional wind, and not too hot temperatures. The teams were released in order from one thru 167 on day one, then in reverse order on day two.

Recap Day 1: The scales officially opened at 2:30 p.m., and John Gunnels and Dicky Newberry were among the first to weigh in. They established the lead in Bracket 1 with 24.19 lbs. That gave them nearly a sixpound lead over Mike Michalec and Phil Addison who was in the 2nd place position with 18.18 lbs. Behind them was John Salamone and Ricky Guy with 17.93.

Bracket 2 stacked a little tighter. Bill Cook and Ron Festavan took the lead with 19.55 lbs., followed by Jake Wedel and Bobby Menasco with 19.15 lbs. Boyd and Reggie Sanders secured third place position with 16.85 lbs.

Mark and Gay Norton lead the pack in Bracket 3 with 21.68 lbs., trailed by John Lynch and Todd Driscoll with 19.20. Michael and Lance Lowery came in with 18.39 lbs. for third place.

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman CLIMBING UP FROM second place on day one to take the win on day 2, Jake Wedell holds the biggest bass in their creel at 7.90 lbs. that nudged them into their 1st place win.

Sunday, Day 2 was the final push for pounds and the teams gave it their all. Weighing in reverse order, teams from Bracket 3 came in first. Mark and Gay Norton brought in a bigger sack than the day before, adding 24.46 lbs. to their weight for a 46.14 lb. total, taking the win by more than 10 pounds.

They won a Champion 183 Elite, powered by a Mercury 150 Optimax, equipped with MinnKota trolling motor and Lowrance electronics.

"We went to three different spots the first day before we found them," Mark explained. "We were flipping a 10" Gene Larew redbug worm down a grass line in about 10'. We just went straight to that spot the second day, and never cranked the big motor the rest of the day."

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman MARK AND GAY NORTON stayed on top of the pack both days to secure the win in Bracket 3. They were among the few who brought in sacks over 20 pounds, and accomplished it two days in a row!

They also won overall Big Bass in Bracket 3 with the 7.63 lb'r. that Gay put in the boat.

"Mark had just caught a fish that tore up his worm," Gay said. "He asked me to get him another one, and while I was reaching for one in the bottom of the boat, the big one bit!"

They won an additional $200 for their big bass, but that's not all - they were also the highest finishing Champion Boat owner team, and won another bonus from Champion Boats of $2,000.

Bracket 3 top 5:

First - 46.14 lbs. Champion/Mercury and bonus Mark and Gay Norton

Second - 35.41 lbs. $2,000 + MinnKota Troll Motor Tommy Howard and Paul Eason

3rd - 33.71 lbs. $1,500 + Lowrance X135 J . Westmoreland and C. Westmoreland

4th - 32.95 lbs. $1,500 + Tiremax Michael Lowery and Lance Lowery

5th - 32.86 lbs. $1,000 + American Rodsmiths Scott Thornton and Jack Carroll

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman MIKE MICHALEC holds the 9.90 lb Big Bass for Bracket 1, while his partner Phil Addison and tournament director Dave Concienne helps with a few more of their incredible 31.90 lb second day sack that vaulted them to take the win.

As the Bracket 2 anglers began to weigh in, there were a lot of shuffling in the standings. Jake Wedel and Bobby Menasco climbed to the top, winning with a two day total of 37.34 lbs.

"It's been a great weekend," said Bobby. "We caught a few fish, the weather was nice, and the facilities are wonderful." So how did they do it?

"On Saturday, we caught our fish on wacky worms all day over the grass in 8'- 10'. They bit all day for us. Sunday was a little different. We went to the same spot, a grass line that stretched about 150 yards. Our fish were in water about 7'-8' deep, but we used spinnerbaits and wacky worms on Sunday. Our big bass (7.90 lbs) came off of an 11" redbug worm."

They had a limit in the boat early both days, taking the pressure off to try for bigger fish the rest of the day. They won the Champion 188CX powered by a Mercury 200 Optimax with Lowrance electronics and MinnKota Troll motor, plus an additional $200 for overall big bass in Bracket 2.

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman THE PRESIDENT of American Rodsmiths, Robert Scherer, presented brand new rods & reels to all of the kids at the Bass N Bucks Championship.

Bracket 2 top 5:

1st - 37.34 lbs. Champion/Mercury Jake Wedel and Bobby Menasco

2nd - 37.09 lbs. $2,000 + MinnKota Troll Motor Pete and Lynn Shivers

3rd - 29.27 lbs. $1,500 + Lowrance 520C Randy Millender and Kenneth Nichols

4th - 28.89 lbs. $1,500 + Tiremax Russ Carter and Scott Bailey

5th - 28.83 lbs. $1,000 + Lowrance X96 Michael Freck and Roney McMillen

As anglers from Bracket 1 began trickling to the scales, there was a lot of anticipation as to what these anglers could bring in. All of the teams in the top standings were 'regulars' in the winners circle, and it could be anyone's game.

Mike Michalec and Phil Addison fished hard, with Gunnels and Newberry in their sites. They had to make up the six pound margin from Day one, plus add a strong weight to that to hope to overtake the lead.

They brought their limit in with two different weigh bags. First they put their big bass on the scales, and it totaled 9.90 lbs. Putting the other four bass with it, their day 2 limit weighed 31.80 lbs, for a two-day total of 49.98!

"We went to the same places both days, and stuck with our pattern," the team explained. "We'd put a limit together early with Lake Fork Tackle frogs, then as it warmed up and the wind quit, we moved to deeper water. Our better bass came off of Rapalla DT- 16's both days. We found our fish on the outside edges of deep creeks with big stumps. The key for us was to watch when the wind quit, let the shad set up in the deep drains, then go after them as the bigger bass started to feed."

As other teams weighed in, they stayed in the lead with more than a 15-pound margin. It was a long wait until Dicky Newberry and John Gunnels made their way to the scales.

They would need 26 pounds to take the win, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they could do it. Finally, they brought their sack to the scales and their fish had played out! John and Dicky brought in 6.60 lbs., securing the win for Addison and Michalec. They were presented with a Champion 200 Elite, powered by a Mercury 225 Optimax, fully loaded with MinnKota Troll motor and Lowrance electronics.

Bracket 1 top 5:

1st - 49.98 lbs. Champion/Mercury Phil Addison and Mike Michalec

2nd - 34.52 lbs. $2,000 + MinnKota Troll Mtr Jason Wells and Vic Cooper

3rd - 34.35 lbs. $1,300 + Lowrance520C Stephen Johnston and Danny Iles

4th - 34.34 lbs. $1,000 + Power Tech Props Lanny Diemert and Clarence Braddock

5th - 34.32 lbs. $800 + LowranceX135A l a n Moore and Clint Teutsch

Robert Scherer, President of American Rodsmiths asked all the kids present to come up and receive a brand new rod and reel from American Rodsmiths.

"We'd like to thank the support of all you anglers for coming out and fishing with us this year," stated Dave Concienne.

Mark your calendars for the Tournament of Champions for Champion boat owners on Oct. 20 on Sam Rayburn! For more information, go to www.ChampionBoats.com.