Big Baits Produce for Wilson

Richardson wins co-angler prize on Rayburn

BROOKELAND, Texas – Paul Wilson of Converse, Louisiana, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament of 2015 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For his victory, Wilson earned $5,472.

Wilson said he caught his fish along main-lake points in 14 to 20 feet of water. He used a Tennessee Shad-colored Norman Lures DD22 crankbait as well as a Carolina-rigged California 420-colored Zoom Ol' Monster Worm.

“I would use the DD22 to see if the fish were hungry and if they were I’d drag the Monster Worm,” said Wilson.

Wilson said he caught approximately 60 fish during the tournament.

“My second fish of the day was my biggest – a 7-pounder. I had a limit within 15 minutes,” said Wilson. “From there I went around to eight different spots. Three of them produced my winning fish, but we kept moving back and forth between the others to make sure we didn’t miss anything.

“With the water being higher than usual, there was a lot of underwater structure that normally wouldn’t be there,” continued Wilson. “The fish seemed to be attracted to the different obstacles – especially the more gradual slopes. And if the slopes had a lot of brush, I knew some big fish would be there. I was fortunate enough to find that out early on.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Paul Wilson, Converse, La., five bass, 21-5, $4,472 + $1,000 Mercury Bonus

2^nd:         Kris Wilson, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 21-2, $2,236

3^rd:          John Maddox, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 21-1, $1,492

4^th:          Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 20-1, $1,043

5^th:          Bryan Trahan, Orange, Texas, five bass, 16-15, $894

6^th:          Nick Lebrun, Shreveport, La., five bass, 16-7, $782

6^th:          Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 16-7, $782

8^th:          W.T. Wright, Spring, Texas, five bass, 16-3, $671

9^th:          Derrick Shoffitt, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 16-2, $596

10^th:        Justin Morton, Etoile, Texas, five bass, 15-7, $522

Complete results can be found here.

Wright caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $650.

Richardson wins co-angler title

Percy Richardson of Lufkin, Texas, weighed in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win $2,157 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Percy Richardson, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 15-12, $2,157

2^nd:         Jeffrey Grubbs, Goodrich, Texas, five bass, 14-14, $1,079

3^rd:          Benjamin Shaw, Haughton, La., five bass, 14-13, $717

4^th:          Allen Dupree, Haughton, La., five bass, 14-9, $503

5^th:          Josh Torres, Etoile, Texas, five bass, 14-7, $431

6^th:          Charles Dranguet, Natchitoches, La., five bass, 13-12, $396

7^th:          Joseph Brozak, Orange, Texas, five bass, 13-6, $360

8^th:          Brandon Grove, Greenwood, La., five bass, 11-8, $324

9^th:          Jerry Coutee, Montgomery, La., five bass, 11-2, $288

10^th:        Bill Gift, Lindale, Texas, five bass, 11-1, $239

Grubbs caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $305.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.