11/17/18 Bull Shoals

Combine a radical shift in temperatures from frigid conditions to highs in the 60’s, a passing storm front followed by bluebird skies and no wind, and a two hour fog delay and one would expect challenging conditions for the inaugural event of 2019’s Joe Bass Team Trail Bull Shoals Division  However, the skill of the anglers in the Bull Shoals Division rang through loud and clear as 29 teams weighed in a five fish limit, with more than 16 pounds needed to stake claim to the top three positions.   33 teams launched from beautiful Buck Creek Marina in search of daily bragging rights and qualifying points for the Joe Bass Team Trails Championship at Truman Lake next October. 

Coming out on top of the kickoff event was Eric and Dustin Blevins.  Eric shared their Sport Boats USA Key to Success was working jigs and crankbaits shallow.  The duo fished the mid-section of the lake to amass their winning weight.  Eric stated they weren’t on a super strong bite as they didn’t catch a large number of fish.  However, they were able to sort through 10 keepers to drop 19.75 pounds on the scales to win the event.

Josh and Donald Wray teamed up to take second place.  They also fished shallow, slinging crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs to catch their fish.  Anchoring their 16.66 pound bag was the Ozark Chevrolet Big Bass, a solid 5.46 largemouth.  Josh noted they struggled for bites, getting only 7 keepers to the boat on a tough day.

Rounding out the top three was the ever-strong team of Gene Crisenberry and Keith Hannaford.  They also found the numbers tough to come by, as Gene said they were fortunate to catch their 16.41 pounds while culling through 6 keepers.  Gene said their limit fish didn’t come until 2:15 in the afternoon.  Their approach differed as they leaned on the A-Rig worked on steep banks in 35’ of water.

 The Sport Boats USA Skeeter Bonus went to Matt Layman and Randy Colter who also took a check for 6^th place with a limit weighing 14.00 pounds.  They fished jigs from their 2002 Skeeter bass boat.

The next event in the Bull Shoals Division is December 1 at 7:00 am, Buck Creek Marina.

Photos

Results

Place	Team Members	Fish	B/F	TotWgt	Pts	Payout
1	Dustin Blevins – Eric Blevins	5	4.91	19.75	110	$1,770.00
2	Josh Wray – *Donald Wray	5	5.46	16.66	109	$1,260.00
3	Gene Crisenbery – Keith Hannaford	5	5.03	16.41	108	$760.00
4	Landon Snelson – *Rick Snelson	5	4.28	14.81	107	$350.00
5	Aaron Hodge – James Bailey	5	3.27	14.7	106	$200.00
6	Matt Layman – Randy Colter	5		14	105	$410.00	Top Skeeter
7	*Robert Burtrum – Kem Wallace	5	3.24	13.64	104
8	Roger Harp – Kevin Hyde	5	3.65	13.52	103
9	Arthur Fortin – Donald Bovat	5	3.52	13.23	102
10	Jason Davidson – Darren Tilley	5	3.16	12.89	101
11	Jim Phillips – Cody Combs	5	3.28	12.5	100
12	Drew Tabor – Brock Tabor	5	3.09	12.47	99
13	Casey Brotherton – Mike White	5		12.42	98
14	Roger Morris – Gregg Sapp	5	2.95	12.37	97
15	Kelly Jones – Roger Satterfield	5	3.17	12.16	96
16	Ryan Patterson – *Jordan Holder	5		12.09	95
17	Darrin King – Mark Mahaffe	5	3.83	12	94
18	Larry Hurtt – Chris Adams	5		11.78	93
19	Drew Sagely – Taylor Surly	5	3.09	11.53	92
20	Tom Mason – *fished aalone	5	2.87	11.48	91
21	Mark Thompson – Jim Smith	5	2.9	11.46	90
22	Bruce Klatt – Ron Beard	5	2.39	11.13	89
23	Richie Huebner – Brandon Lowry	5		11.06	88
24	Bill Virden – Bill Stokes	4	3.33	11	87
25	Gary Daniel – Jay Oliver	5		10.81	86
26	Ed Young – Joey Penzo	5		10.66	85
27	Jeff Bradford – Bob Capps	5		10.46	84
28	Jim Martin – Ted Borchers	5		10.01	83
29	*Brock Rogers – David Rogers	5		9.06	82
30	George Liddle – Jason Parsons	5		7.54	81
31	Buck Comstock – Greg Blair			0	10
	Heston Fish – Adam Johnson			0	10
	Don Parkin – Rodney Shockey			0	10

*alternate