Stoked with anticipation, 164 teams gathered at beautiful Bucksaw Resort and Marina to celebrate the 2019 season, put their name in the drawing for a new Skeeter bass boat, and compete for the crown for the 2019 Joe Bass Team Trails Invitational Tournament. Events started off with demo rides courtesy of Tim Reed and the Skeeter Demo Team. Bucksaw provided an awesome meal followed by give-aways from Joe Bass sponsors. Before drilling into the tournament results, a thousand thanks go out to Rick and Tonya Gilley of Bucksaw Resort for the tremendous tournament accommodations. In addition to the Friday night meal, the crew at the marina restaurant provided a great buffet for breakfast and a stellar dinner on Saturday night. Keeping the anglers topped off with coffee and snacks during Sunday mornings fog delay was no easy task, but one their crew tackled with smiles! Plan early for next year’s event which will also be hosted by Bucksaw Resort and Marina.
Now to the fishing! Lapping the majority of the field with a runaway win was the team of Scott and Brandon Hill. Their ten fish total pushed the scales to a staggering 40.10 pounds. What makes their bag even more impressive is the lack of a truly big fish, as their best weighed 4.69 pounds. Do the math, that’s a stout set of limits from top to bottom! Scott shared their Sport Boats USA Key to Success was fishing spinnerbaits and chatterbaits on flat banks in the lower Osage arm. Of particular importance was patience, as Scott noted they would lower the Power Poles to make multiple casts to targets such as a log or piece of standing timber before they could draw a strike.
Brad Jelinek and Brock Reinkemeyer nabbed second place with a super strong 35.49 pound ten fish limit. The common thread to the winner’s approach was their selection of spinnerbaits as their primary weapon, although there was a mention of a crappie bait thrown into the discussion as a diversion! In place of patience, they literally wore the trolling motor out each day as they covered water. They didn’t concentrate on any particular type of bank, as keepers game from both steep and flat banks.
Rounding out the top three was the day one leaders, Luke Routh and Tyler Weaver. Pounding the day 1 scales with a 23.98 limit, Luke and Tyler followed up with a second limit on the fog-shortened final day to amass a total of 34.64 pounds. Chatterbaits were their choice of lures as they concentrated on steeper banks. Catching a lot of fish helps, as Luke and Tyler noted they culled through around three dozen keepers during the event to garner their final weight.
The Day 1 Ozark Chevrolet Big Bass was caught by the team of Blake Burford and Tim Collins. Although they struggled a bit on quantity, Blake and Tim more than made up for that with quality as their 6.21 lunker was the biggest bass weighed during the event. Their toad hit a Chompers jig worked next to a cedar tree in 10 feet of water.
The Day 2 Ozark Chevrolet Big Bass was wrangled by the long-time Truman team of Mark Riegel and JR Shinn. Adding to their fourth-place overall finish, their kicker bit a jig pitched behind a log. After considerable debate, it was concluded the depth to be somewhere in the general vicinity of 5’6” and 5’9”!
The Sport Boats USA Highest Finishing Skeeter award went to Roger and Chase Fitzpatrick. Roger explained their two-day total of 29.35 pounds of Truman bass found their way to the Skeeter boat after hitting Omega spinnerbaits fished from Berry Bend back to the Mile Bridge section of the Osage Arm.
The big winner of the tournament was Mr. Jeff Moore, as he went home with a striking charcoal/yellow Skeeter Bass Boat, compliments of Sport Boats USA and Skeeter Performance Fishing Boats. Jeff and his partner Rick Bowman struggled a bit with the ever-changing weather and water conditions but made the weekend worth their while when Jeff’s name was drawn as the winner of the boat! Special thanks again to Skeeter Boats for their unmatched support of Joe Bass Team Trails!
Congratulations to the Joe Bass Team Trail teams attending the BASS Team Championship held on Lake Hartwell, Anderson, South Carolina – December 11-14, 2019
With the 2019 season in the books, the 2020 competition starts in earnest in a few weeks with Rusty’s Bull Shoals Division kicking off November 9th from Buck Creek Marina. Timmy’s Lake of the Ozark season will commence November 24th from Alhonna Resort.
Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Payout | |
| 1 | Scott Hill – Brandon Hill | 10 | 4.7 | 40.1 | $8,770.00 | |
| 2 | Brad Jelinek – Brock Reinkemeyer | 10 | 4.7 | 35.49 | $4,760.00 | |
| 3 | Luke Routh – Tyler Weaver | 10 | 5.6 | 34.64 | $4,270.00 | |
| 4 | Mark Riegel – JR Shinn | 10 | 6 | 33.92 | $3,260.00 | Day 2 BB |
| 5 | Bryce Rieder – Mike Edrington | 10 | 5.3 | 30.44 | $1,500.00 | |
| 6 | John Bennett – Darrell Reach | 10 | 3.8 | 29.92 | $800.00 | |
| 7 | Roger Fitzpatrick – Chase Fitzpatrick | 9 | 5.7 | 29.35 | $1,700.00 | Top Skeeter |
| 8 | Kavan Maybee – Josh Wray | 10 | 4.2 | 29.03 | $600.00 | |
| 9 | Kevin Duer – Dustin Young | 10 | 5.1 | 28.05 | $500.00 | |
| 10 | Ron Belew – Derek Dace | 9 | 5.1 | 27.67 | $500.00 | |
| 11 | Timmy Newberry – Rusty Darnell | 9 | 4.4 | 26.88 | $450.00 | |
| 12 | Marty Watson – Doug Long | 9 | 4.3 | 26.65 | $400.00 | |
| 13 | Danny Waite – Bryan Leonard | 10 | 5.3 | 26.53 | $400.00 | |
| 14 | Keith Hendrix – Greg Zumwalt | 10 | 3.1 | 26.39 | $400.00 | |
| 15 | Scott Hankinson – Brandon Rowland | 8 | 5.5 | 25.89 | $350.00 | |
| 16 | Jeff Bradford – Bryan Vote | 8 | 5.2 | 25.51 | $300.00 | |
| 17 | Brett Fickle – Joseph Hull | 9 | 5.2 | 25.36 | $250.00 | |
| 18 | John Krewson – Tony Powers | 9 | 2.9 | 24.24 | $250.00 | |
| 19 | Steve Weber – Sam Phillips | 8 | 3.8 | 23.13 | $250.00 | |
| 20 | Kevin Jackson – Bryan Jackson | 10 | 3.1 | 22.85 | $250.00 | |
| 21 | Mark Patterson – Brandon Patterson | 8 | 4.5 | 22.21 | $200.00 | |
| 22 | Tom Statler – Dillon Statler | 10 | 2.9 | 21.29 | $200.00 | |
| 23 | Rich Campbell – Ashley Medley | 6 | 3.9 | 20.87 | $200.00 | |
| 24 | Mark Thompson – Jim Smith | 10 | 2.9 | 20.83 | $200.00 | |
| 25 | Kenneth Peters – Chris Johnson | 8 | 3.5 | 20.16 | $200.00 | |
| 26 | Sophia Spencer-Asbell – Ronald Deckard JR | 7 | 3.5 | 20.11 | ||
| 27 | Stephen Smith – Garen Hunt | 8 | 2.7 | 19.35 | ||
| 28 | Bob Jany – Dennis Schilb | 8 | 3.7 | 19.26 | ||
| 29 | Bryan Baker – Darren Baker | 8 | 3 | 18.75 | ||
| 30 | Brad Dooley – Terry Jones | 7 | 4.8 | 18.33 | ||
| 31 | John Campbell – Chuck Roberts | 7 | 4 | 17.97 | ||
| 32 | Kelly Jones – Roger Satterfield | 9 | 3.4 | 17.83 | $1,000.00 | Save A Receipt |
| 33 | Jim Dopp – Harlin Husky | 8 | 17.65 | |||
| 34 | Chet Douthit – Bill Hendrick | 7 | 4.6 | 17.55 | ||
| 35 | Robert Hime – Paul Huse | 6 | 5 | 17.49 | ||
| 36 | Matt Gunter – Bobby Williams | 5 | 4.7 | 17.49 | ||
| 37 | Scott Tassi – Glenn Harrison | 6 | 3.3 | 17.37 | ||
| 38 | Jeremy Fly – Marc Czachowski | 6 | 3.5 | 17.21 | ||
| 39 | Isaac Lowden – Justin Inman | 5 | 4.6 | 16.99 | ||
| 40 | Joel Whitworth – Keven White | 6 | 5.1 | 16.92 | ||
| 41 | Scott Danek – Scott Danek Jr | 7 | 16.89 | |||
| 42 | Scott Sparkman – Joe Lane | 8 | 2.9 | 16.58 | ||
| 43 | Wayne Garrison – Robbie Plowman | 6 | 3.2 | 16.3 | ||
| 44 | John Williams – James Brown | 7 | 15.93 | |||
| 45 | Josh Shirley – Don Sanders | 6 | 3.3 | 15.32 | ||
| 46 | Jack Young – Bill McAvoy | 7 | 2.5 | 15.31 | ||
| 47 | Casey Brotherton – Mike White | 6 | 14.89 | |||
| 48 | Ricky Clemen – Phil McKinney | 6 | 3.3 | 14.86 | ||
| 49 | Tim Fisher – Aaron Fisher | 7 | 14.14 | |||
| 50 | Greg Askew – Terry Case | 5 | 3.4 | 13.85 | ||
| 51 | Keith Hurd – Jeff Nelson | 5 | 3.4 | 13.72 | ||
| 52 | Dan Cox – Tim Kastning | 5 | 3.1 | 13.71 | ||
| 53 | David McCormick – Gary Shartzer | 5 | 3.7 | 13.61 | ||
| 54 | Dave Epema – Danny Bowman | 5 | 13.22 | |||
| 55 | Randy Oliphant – Scott Oliphant | 5 | 3.1 | 13.21 | ||
| 56 | Lyle Armstrong – Mitchell Armstrong | 5 | 3.3 | 13.04 | ||
| 57 | Shawn Crabtree – Reece Crabtree | 5 | 12.53 | |||
| 58 | Randy Gain – Chuck Mueller | 5 | 3.2 | 12.35 | ||
| 59 | Gary Arterberry – Gus Adkinson | 5 | 12.26 | |||
| 60 | Kevin Johnston – Roger Waters | 5 | 2.6 | 12.25 | ||
| 61 | Mike Rogers – Donnie Crist | 5 | 2.5 | 12.06 | ||
| 62 | Todd Choate – Kent Whitaker | 5 | 11.77 | |||
| 63 | Matt Garrett – Kaleb Rook | 6 | 1.8 | 11.55 | ||
| 64 | Jerry Roark – Jamie Edge | 5 | 11.52 | |||
| 65 | Rocky Carden – Shawn McHaffie | 5 | 11.34 | |||
| 66 | James Macleod – Danny Johnston | 6 | 2.5 | 11.33 | ||
| 67 | Dominic Perotti – Jim Sexton | 4 | 3.5 | 11.17 | ||
| 68 | Sean Bowling – Brandon Brown | 4 | 4.6 | 11.07 | ||
| 69 | James Long – Jimmy Lester | 5 | 2.9 | 10.88 | ||
| 70 | Mark Moody – Tammy Moody | 5 | 3 | 10.86 | ||
| 71 | Drew Sagely – Taylor Surly | 4 | 3.1 | 10.56 | ||
| 72 | Ed Young – Joey Penzo | 5 | 10.4 | |||
| 73 | Jason Huskey – Bryan Hulsey | 4 | 3.4 | 10.38 | ||
| 74 | Corey Besgrove – Eddie Brown | 5 | 2.4 | 10.38 | ||
| 75 | Stephan Luckett – Ty Reeves | 5 | 2.7 | 10.18 | ||
| 76 | Dan Weber – Robert Leininger | 3 | 4 | 9.62 | ||
| 77 | Paul Hager – Phil Allen | 4 | 9.61 | |||
| 78 | Tom McGovern – Chris McGovern | 4 | 9.46 | |||
| 79 | Gary Cox – Don Cox | 3 | 4.3 | 9.31 | ||
| 80 | Blake Burford – Tim Collins | 2 | 6.2 | 8.35 | $500.00 | Day 1 BB |
| 81 | Chris Bridges – Steve Prince | 3 | 4.5 | 8.16 | ||
| 82 | Danny Burns – Ival Hannah | 3 | 7.95 | |||
| 83 | JR Borror – Ross Lalli | 2 | 5.1 | 7.84 | ||
| 84 | Kenny Bogner – Justin Bogner | 3 | 7.8 | |||
| 85 | Wayne Werle – Jim Lomax | 3 | 7.7 | |||
| 86 | Lennie Becker – Elmer Becker II | 4 | 7.38 | |||
| 87 | Dave Strutman – Denny Lambert | 3 | 7.33 | |||
| 88 | Ralph Laster – Steve Helms | 3 | 7.19 | |||
| 89 | Charley Thomas – Chris Thomas | 3 | 7.09 | |||
| 90 | Sam Morton – Dennis Edwards | 3 | 6.83 | |||
| 91 | Jason Weast – Scott Miles | 4 | 6.77 | |||
| 92 | Troy Hendrick – Chad Hendrick | 3 | 6.64 | |||
| 93 | Rick Bowman – Jeff Moore | 2 | 4.4 | 6.63 | Skeeter boat | |
| 94 | Chris Callahan – Justin Wasmer | 2 | 4.3 | 6.51 | ||
| 95 | Ozzie Wallace – Brian Vanderzeil | 3 | 6.38 | |||
| 96 | Todd Hessling – Tom Darnell | 2 | 6.28 | |||
| 97 | Eric Zuk – Ben Zuk | 3 | 3.3 | 6.2 | ||
| 98 | Mason Nall – Rick Carpenter | 2 | 5.7 | |||
| 99 | Jared Knuth – David Knuth | 2 | 3.8 | 5.2 | ||
| 100 | Wayne Fowler – Darryl Knacksted | 2 | 5.2 | $500.00 | Demo Ride | |
| 101 | Dan Hirstein – Chris Hirstein | 1 | 5.2 | 5.17 | ||
| 102 | Tom Herndon – Jason VanBeers | 2 | 5.13 | |||
| 103 | Seth Glynn – Kelly (KJ) Hughes | 2 | 5.08 | |||
| 104 | Gerald McDaniel – Jeff Pascoe | 1 | 5 | 5.04 | ||
| 105 | Matt Ceasar – Ed Larson | 1 | 4.9 | 4.85 | ||
| 106 | Kipp Easley – Johnn Williams | 2 | 2.9 | 4.85 | ||
| 107 | Ron Hills – Ray Holt | 1 | 4.8 | 4.77 | ||
| 108 | Denis Repa – Peter Repa | 2 | 4.73 | |||
| 109 | Don Heiser – Jim Sells | 2 | 4.64 | |||
| 110 | Larry Hurtt – Chris Adams | 2 | 4.5 | |||
| 111 | Kevin Love – Parker Love | 2 | 3.7 | |||
| 112 | Robin Hessling | 1 | 3.7 | 3.65 | ||
| 113 | Michael Frye – Michael Landwehr | 1 | 3 | 2.99 | ||
| 114 | John Aleshire – Travis Aleshire | 1 | 2.9 | 2.85 | ||
| 115 | Matt Layman – Randy Colter | 1 | 2.7 | 2.69 | ||
| 116 | George Spicer – Jeff Bledsoe | 1 | 2.6 | 2.55 | ||
| 117 | Mike Thomas – Jeff Lane | 1 | 2.5 | 2.54 | ||
| 118 | Tony Habiger – Keith LaBarge | 1 | 2.5 | 2.53 | ||
| 119 | Rodney Bowersox – Randy Davis | 1 | 2.5 | 2.52 | ||
| 120 | Gary Daniel – Jay Oliver | 1 | 2.5 | 2.47 | ||
| 121 | Jay Carden – Dustin Lowe | 1 | 2.3 | 2.32 | ||
| 122 | Glen McCrary – Sondra McCrary | 1 | 2.3 | 2.27 | ||
| 122 | Ron Peek – Pat Deaton | 1 | 2.3 | 2.27 | ||
| 124 | William Luethje | 1 | 2.1 | 2.14 | ||
| 125 | Junior Fiedler – Chris Fiedler | 1 | 2.1 | 2.13 | ||
| 126 | Pat Leonard | 1 | 2 | 2.02 | ||
| 127 | Troy Nogosek – Jeremy Fiedler | 1 | 1.9 | 1.86 | ||
| 128 | Danny Shinneman – Mike Cooley | 1 | 1.7 | 1.73 | ||
| 129 | John Cates | 1 | 1.5 | 1.49 | ||
| 130 | Stacy Howell – Robert Traquair | 1 | 1.3 | 1.31 | ||
| 131 | Terry Thomas – Sam Smith | 1 | 1.2 | 1.22 | ||
| 132 | Jerry Addington – Jasper Addington | 0 | ||||
| Jeff Bear – Quenton Bear | 0 | |||||
| Michael Bray – Nathan Klepper | 0 | |||||
| Jim Brown – Gary Dingledine | 0 | |||||
| Chuck Clutts Jr. – Ryne Borchelt | 0 | |||||
| Barb Cooper – Marc Cooper | 0 | |||||
| Jordan Dibben – Jason Conner | 0 | |||||
| Ben Elkins – Bud Day | 0 | |||||
| Russ Hughes – Ronald Parker | 0 | |||||
| Brad Jones – Blaine Bair | 0 | |||||
| Randy Krull – Greg West | 0 | |||||
| Terry Letterman – Doug Smart | 0 | |||||
| LG Linville – Barry Mackey | 0 | |||||
| Keith Livingston – Steve Livingston | 0 | |||||
| John Martin – Jeff Jones | 0 | |||||
| Jerry McCutchen – Kevin Smith | 0 | |||||
| James McCutchen – Lowell Wascher | 0 | |||||
| Roger Morris – Gregg Sapp | 0 | |||||
| Edward Nelson – Tony Zaharsky | 0 | |||||
| Nathan Oliver – Jamie Eynard | 0 | |||||
| Wes Reger – Kirby Ricketts | 0 | |||||
| Donnie Reynolds – Mark Reynolds | 0 | |||||
| Greg Miller | 0 | |||||
| Karl Schmidt | 0 | |||||
| Greg Seiner – Gene Mayfield | 0 | |||||
| Mark Simmons – Terry Lawhon | 0 | |||||
| Steve Teske – Jon Wall | 0 | |||||
| Larry Wright – Doug Wallace | 0 |