Stricklin noses ahead of pack to win Bassmaster Weekend Series
By PATTY LENDERMAN Lakecaster Managing Editor

JAMES STRICKLIN,pictured left, (Boater division) gets a little help from his five-yearold son Kade to hold up part of his winning stringer. Pictured above, setting a new alltime record in the Co-Angler division,Kelly Hutchison takes first place with his threefish limit weighing 17.64 lbs. He also caught the biggest bass in the tournament, winning Big Bass honors in his division with this 8.22 pounder.

The Bassmaster Weekend Series held its second 2008 tournament on Sam Rayburn Feb. 9 at the Umphrey Family Pavilion. In the days leading up to this event, the wind howled nearly every day, making for high rollers and rough water. Pre-fishing was difficult at best, not knowing where to concentrate efforts - looking for protected areas, or grit your teeth and battle the main lake zones. To the relief of the participants, the wind calmed, the lake laid down, and the fish were biting.

There were a few more anglers in this event than in the first, including participants from as far away as New York and Mexico, as well as others from Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and all over Texas and Louisiana. We watched as the boaters and co-anglers brought their creel to the scales, many with nice chunks for kickers. Dallas Miller came in a little early establishing the big bass and overall lead in the boater division, weighing in 17.95 lbs. with a 7.45 lb. kicker. Several nice sacks followed, but his weight was not beat until Dicky Newberry brought in his 18.40 lb. limit.

Outdoors photo/Patty Lenderman

Glen Freeman weighed in after that, topping Newberry's weight with 21.74 lbs. Nearly all of the anglers had weighed in at that point. James Stricklin, coming in with the last flight, had heard what Dicky had weighed in and knew he had that beat. As he stood in line for his turn to weigh, Freeman took over the lead and James had figured he had about 19 pounds. Putting his catch on the scales, his guess was way off - the total was 22.57 lbs. to win the tournament in the boater division!

Excited, surprised, and shaken 1st place angler James Stricklin began to recall his day.

"My morning started off real slow. I headed to the first spot I had picked out, and didn't catch anything there."

Locking down his gear, he made a long run to another area.

"My second spot was a lot better. Around 11 a.m., I finally had three in the boat. By noon I had a small limit, about 10 pounds. The fish were eating that trap up!"

Throwing his rattle trap in and around shallow grass, he had patterned the fish.

"You had to really be burning it."

He said that the fish were so aggressive, some of them tried to yank the rod out of his hands.

"Color didn't really matter. You could throw any trap at them, and they were going after it. I've been on these fish since the first of December. I don't mess with them unless I'm fishing a tournament."

By 1:30 p.m., he had culled all of his original limit, and by 2:30p.m. culled all of those again. Culling by ounces, he won the boater division by 3/4 of a pound.

James won an additional $1,000 from Mercury for a total winning of $6,000.

Glen Freeman won 2nd place with his 21.74 lb. limit.

"I only fished one spot all day" Glen began.

He was throwing a Yum Texas rigged black & blue lizard.

"The morning bite was good, but it slowed down as the day went on."

He concentrated his efforts at drop-offs ranging from 10 to 15 feet. After catching his initial limit, he was able to cull four times to his final weight.

Dicky Newberry caught 3rd place this round, after winning the first event.

"I didn't catch anything in my first spot" Dicky stated.

Trying another area, he landed a five pounder in his second spot. Moving again, in his third area he finished out a limit.

"The fish seemed to be suspended, and it was difficult to get them to bite. I caught most of my fish in deep stumps (12-14') with black & blue jigs. I use a 7' 2" American Rodsmith Kickerstick rod, and it really performs for me."

Dallas Miller won 4th place overall with 17.95 lbs., Big Bass with his 7.45 lb. kicker, and the $1,000 contingency money from Triton Boats.

Top 5 boaters:

1st - 22.57 lbs. James Stricklin Jr Jasper

2nd - 21.74 lbs. Glen Freeman Converse, LA

3rd - 18.40 lbs. Dicky Newberry Houston

4th - 17.95 lbs. Dallas Miller Shreveport, LA

5th - 17.28 lbs. Tommy Loving Cypress

Big Bass - 7.45 lbs. Dallas Miller

If the co-anglers were allowed five fish limits instead of three, a few of them would have given those in the boater division a run for their money. Two three-fish limits over 17 pounds were brought in! The first one was brought in by Randy Hicks at 17.01 lbs. He ultimately took 2nd place, being beat by Kelly Hutchinson with a total weight of 17.64 lbs., a new all-time co-angler record for the Bassmaster Weekend Series.

"I had a great day!" said Hutchison. "I fished with a great boater, Bryan McDonough."

He was using a Carolina rig, working it fairly quickly on 8'-15' humps with grass.

"The best bite was between 10:00 & 12:30. It got real slow after that. I think I would have had around 25 pounds with my best five!"

Kelly also won Big Bass in his division with an 8.22 lb. kicker! His biggest cull of the day weighed 4 pounds.

Randy Hicks won 2nd place in the co-angler division with more than 17 pounds, stating that he also had a good day.

"It started out slow. I tied on a light Carolina rig, trying a watermelon fluke and a green pumpkin trick worm. We were fishing near drains in 6'-10'. Had to fish slow, and really feed it to them. Keith Lanthrop was my boater partner, and he was great."

Randy landed a nice bass to add to his creel weighing 7.28 lbs.

"I didn't lose any fish today, and estimate that I would have had 21 pounds with my best five!"

Casey Sobczak won 3rd place in the co-angler division with 14.30 lbs. He nearly won big bass honors with his 8.14 lb'r.

"I didn't have a keeper in the boat until 10 a.m."

Throwing a Texas rigged Gorilla Wave Worm with a 1/4 oz weight, he patterned the fish in 6' depths.

"I caught my biggest bass on a shallow crank bait" he added. "The day went real smooth. The fish bit best between noon & 2 p.m., and I was able to cull two times."

Top 5 Co-anglers:

1st - 17.64 lbs. Kelly Hutchinson Buffalo

2nd - 17.01 lbs. Randy Hicks Lumberton

3rd - 14.30 lbs. Casey Sobczak Nacogdoches

4th - 11.07 lbs. George Martin Little Valley, NY

5th - 10.57 lbs. John Littleton Humble

The next Bassmaster Weekend Series tournament will be May 31 on Sam Rayburn.

The weigh in site has been moved to Sam Rayburn Marina (formerly Twin Dikes Marina). For more information, contact Tournament Director Porter Trimble at (256) 230-5628 or click to www.abaproam.com