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The U.S.A. Bassin: Renegade Marine / Prowler Lures Rough River Regional was held on September 27, 2009. There were a total of 98 teams that came out to the qualifier. All were hoping to be one of the top 40 teams to be eligible to fish the U.S.A. Bassin Classic that will be held on KY/Barkley Lakes in May 2010. This years Classic will have an estimated payout of over $100,000 in cash and prizes!
On the morning of the tournament the weather was a cool 55F with overcast skies and light winds. The clouds moved out around 10:30 am with light to moderate winds. The water conditions were clear to stained with temps around 78-79F.
The fishing ended up being very tough for most all the teams. Only one team was able to bring in a limit. Most anglers struggled to catch a keeper or were unable to manage a keeper bite.
The team of Brandon Moberly/Lucas Devere was the Rough River Regional Champions with a limit of (5) bass totaling 11.61lbs and received $4,000 for their efforts.
The team caught their fish half way down a main lake creek, using *****berland Pro 3/8oz Jigs tipped with Zoom chunks in green pumpkin. Their first three keepers came with-in the first hour of the event and the rest were caught during the mid-morning up until noon.
“We probably had one of the worst practices we have ever had. We didn’t expect to win this tournament. Luck was on our side! We found the quality fish during the event. I think the reason we did so well was we saw a big fish on one of the areas we were fishing. The fish (around 8lbs) followed my partner’s small KY bass and tried to get the jig from the bass and nearly ate the small bass. It was an awesome site to see! I tried to get the big fish to take my jig, but it never bit. I think the main reason we won the event was because we saw that big fish. So, we fished the area for a good three hours trying to catch that big fish. But, instead we ended up catching our biggest fish there including a slot fish to limit out. I give all the credit to that big fish we saw. If we hadn’t saw that fish we wouldn’t have sat on that spot and may have never won the event. If all else fails, throw a Jig. A Jig is our bait of choice; we have a lot of confidence in it.
“We like U.S.A. Bassin a lot! There are usually great turnouts, good payouts, very well run, and nice anglers to fish with. I don’t think one could ask for much more in a tournament trail! We are really looking forward to the Classic! I should be a very good tournament.”
-Brandon Moberly
Second Place: went to team Nathan Moore/Tim Lane with a (4) fish total of 8.88lbs which earned them $2,000 cash for their efforts.
The team was fishing the Peter Caves area fishing cover banks that had lay downs, bushes and docks. They were using topwater lures, Rattle Back Black/Chart. Jigs with paca chunks, and shad raps. Their fish were caught in the morning, mid-morning, and in the afternoon.
“We had two good days of practice before the rain came in and changed the water color. It was a tough tournament day and we had to grind out all of our keepers. The front that came through I feel hurt the fishing. One of our fish we caught was the same fish we caught during practice. There is no doubt in my mind it was the same fish. We nicknamed him Charlie. The fish had a spot on the back of his head that was unmistakable. We fished the same pocket on tournament day as we did in practice, and caught Charlie. My partner flipped a jig into a bush and said get the net and I netted Charlie.
This was our first year fishing U.S.A. Bassin and it is well run! We like the format and it offers a lot of options with many divisions to choose from. We made it to the Regional thru the Open division. We fished a few different divisions and enjoyed fishing them, and thought all the directors did an excellent job. We will be fishing again this year. We are happy to make the Classic.” –Tim Lane
Third Place: went to team Dean Hesse/Scott Robbins with a (4) fish total of 8.08lbs which earned them $1,000 cash for their efforts.
The team fished channel banks near docks and laydowns on the main lake. They caught their fish mostly during the mid-morning and afternoon using Norman Crankbaits and Jigs tipped with Prowler Lures flippin’ craws.
“It was a tough bite in the morning, but fishing was better by mid-morning and after noon. I told my partner if we stay focused we would be alright.
We love fishing U.S.A. Bassin, it’s a great circuit and look forward to fishing it for years to come. There are a good bunch of guys to fish with and the director John Newton does a great job running the divisions. We look forward to fishing the Classic and hope to finish better than we did last year! We also look forward to start fishing the fall divisions that are starting soon!” -Dean Hesse
Fourth Place, Big Fish and Regional Points Champions go to team Don Stinson/Larry Piper. Stinson/Piper had two fish for a total of 8.00lbs. Their big fish weighed-in at 6.38lbs. The team took home $500 for 4th place, $600 for big fish, and $500 in BPS Tournament Rewards cash and prizes. The team was fishing out of a 2008 Pro craft 210 Super Pro with a 225hp Mercury Optimax motor that was purchased at Renegade Marine in Leitchfield, KY.
The team will now compete for National Points Championship bonus cash of $1,000 at the Classic.
Their fish were found on main lake drops/ledges and brush piles. The big fish was caught 14’ deep in a brush pile during the first 15 minutes of the event. They used Jigs, and baby huey worms to catch their keepers.
“We got the lucky bites we needed. We caught a lot of slot fish throughout the day. We tried fishing shallow for bigger fish, but that didn’t work. We decided to go back and try the main lake.
U.S.A. Bassin is a great circuit with great divisions to fish. The divisions and regional were run great. We defiantly will be fishing again this coming year and look forward to it. We look forward to fishing the Classic and competing for the National Points Championship! We are extremely happy with the BPS Tournament Rewards bonus that this program offers!” -Don Stinson
Fifth place: went to team Jeremy Benningfield / JR Gowen with (4) fish total of 7.93lbs and took home $400 for their efforts. They were also division champions and just missed winning the Regional Points Champion title by .08lbs to forth place.
The team was fishing about 15 mile past North Fork Bridge using 3/8oz spinnerbaits around laydowns to catch their fish. Their fish were caught all day long, but had turned off compared to the day before during practice.
“It was a good day of fishing! We wouldn’t change our fishing if we could do it over again!
The director John Newton does a good job running the tournaments and U.S.A. Bassin is a good trail to fish! We look forward to fishing the Classic!” -JR Gowen
I would to thank all the participants and partners/sponsors for being apart of this event. I want to give special thanks out the winners who took extra time out of their day to let me interview them. I would also like to thank the director John Newton and his crew for running this event.
