HACKNEY OUTGRINDS ELITE FIELD

Virtually everyone of the visiting Bassmaster pros that I spoke with at last week’s Bassmaster Elite event had nothing but good things to say about the hospitality of the community while rating the Sabine River as a difficult, but fair venue on which to compete. At the same time, not one of them cared about ever visiting Orange in June again!

The event was originally set for last spring, but was unexpectedly washed out virtually overnight and rescheduled.The fact that they were able to find an open date was good for Orange, but not so good for the fishermen.In a word…it was HOT!

Several of the pros that I spoke with were quick to point out that as the result of the low weights and tough conditions, the bass fishing on the Sabine may well garner an unfair assessment.While practicing back in the cooler months of the spring the water was cooler and higher and to a man they were shocked not only by the improved numbers, but by the size of the bass they were catching as well.

A number of the pros that were in and out of town pre-fishing felt that it may well take 70 pounds to win the event.At that time, however, a few of them were discounting the fact that they would not be able to fish Louisiana water.

That limitation and surface temperatures that climbed into the low nineties every day completely changed the game.Before you are too quick to assert that many local anglers would have blown their doors off, consider the fact that a large majority of those big bass being caught on a daily basis were being caught in the Louisiana marshes.

Case in point.The second afternoon of the event we cut through the Louisiana marsh on the way back from fishing Sabine Lake hoping to beat a rapidly approaching thunderstorm.When it looked as though it may miss us, we stopped just long enough to make a few casts in hopes of picking up a redfish.

We squeezed in only fifteen minutes at best, but still had time to boat seven or eight keeper bass with the largest a tad over the four pound mark.Had the pros been able to fish those same fish they would have posted incredible numbers!

Thus, a large percentage of the field was forced to fish water they never fished in their first two trips to Orange and many of the dead end canals got very crowded.Fishing in another angler’s troll motor prop wash is not their bag.

Greg Hackney won the tournament by posting a big weight on the first day and making enough adjustments to out fish competitors fishing the same water.He made hay with topwater lures, but cemented the wind by flipping and pitching the final day.

At the same time, Gerald Swindel homesteaded nearby square lake just south of I-10 and mined a little deeper water to earn second place money.While most of the competition was targeting shallow cypress knees and floating vegetation, he kept his lure on the slightly deeper breaks.

All in all, the entire field showed why they are the best bass fishermen in the world by overcoming these major obstacles for four consecutive days.Swindel put it best when he said, “These guys could catch fish in the middle of the Interstate!

On the first day of the Elite tournament, the newly formed SETX Fishing Series was also hosting its first bi-monthly tournament of the year.The conditions were anything but favorable, but those that fished the initial event still posted respectable weights.

Each team is allowed to weigh in one redfish and one trout.Undoubtedly, the trout will be the tie-breaker in most events. Brian Quebeduaux and Michael Fesco posted a winning weight of 9.79 pounds. Their 2.11 pound trout, while on the small side, was still large enough to help them edge out the 2^nd and 3rd place teams.

Jim Morrissey, the gentleman conscientious enough to post the results of every saltwater event in our area added that determining a side pot winner was definitely a sign of the times.“They decided to flip a coin as to whether it would be the trout or redfish, but no one had a coin to flip,” said Morrissey.“Plastic rules, but it isn’t very useful for a coin toss!”

The next tournament is set for 5:00 pm on June 28^th .For more information drop by Outcast Tackle or contact James Sparrow.

Virtually everyone of the visiting Bassmaster pros that I spoke with at last week’s Bassmaster Elite event had nothing but good things to say about the hospitality of the community while rating the Sabine River as a difficult, but fair venue on which to compete. At the same time, not one of them cared about ever visiting Orange in June again!

The event was originally set for last spring, but was unexpectedly washed out virtually overnight and rescheduled.The fact that they were able to find an open date was good for Orange, but not so good for the fishermen.In a word…it was HOT!

Several of the pros that I spoke with were quick to point out that as the result of the low weights and tough conditions, the bass fishing on the Sabine may well garner an unfair assessment.While practicing back in the cooler months of the spring the water was cooler and higher and to a man they were shocked not only by the improved numbers, but by the size of the bass they were catching as well.

A number of the pros that were in and out of town pre-fishing felt that it may well take 70 pounds to win the event.At that time, however, a few of them were discounting the fact that they would not be able to fish Louisiana water.

That limitation and surface temperatures that climbed into the low nineties every day completely changed the game.Before you are too quick to assert that many local anglers would have blown their doors off, consider the fact that a large majority of those big bass being caught on a daily basis were being caught in the Louisiana marshes.

Case in point.The second afternoon of the event we cut through the Louisiana marsh on the way back from fishing Sabine Lake hoping to beat a rapidly approaching thunderstorm.When it looked as though it may miss us, we stopped just long enough to make a few casts in hopes of picking up a redfish.

We squeezed in only fifteen minutes at best, but still had time to boat seven or eight keeper bass with the largest a tad over the four pound mark.Had the pros been able to fish those same fish they would have posted incredible numbers!

Thus, a large percentage of the field was forced to fish water they never fished in their first two trips to Orange and many of the dead end canals got very crowded.Fishing in another angler’s troll motor prop wash is not their bag.

Greg Hackney won the tournament by posting a big weight on the first day and making enough adjustments to out fish competitors fishing the same water.He made hay with topwater lures, but cemented the wind by flipping and pitching the final day.

At the same time, Gerald Swindel homesteaded nearby square lake just south of I-10 and mined a little deeper water to earn second place money.While most of the competition was targeting shallow cypress knees and floating vegetation, he kept his lure on the slightly deeper breaks.

All in all, the entire field showed why they are the best bass fishermen in the world by overcoming these major obstacles for four consecutive days.Swindel put it best when he said, “These guys could catch fish in the middle of the Interstate!

On the first day of the Elite tournament, the newly formed SETX Fishing Series was also hosting its first bi-monthly tournament of the year.The conditions were anything but favorable, but those that fished the initial event still posted respectable weights.

Each team is allowed to weigh in one redfish and one trout.Undoubtedly, the trout will be the tie-breaker in most events. Brian Quebeduaux and Michael Fesco posted a winning weight of 9.79 pounds. Their 2.11 pound trout, while on the small side, was still large enough to help them edge out the 2^nd and 3rd place teams.

Jim Morrissey, the gentleman conscientious enough to post the results of every saltwater event in our area added that determining a side pot winner was definitely a sign of the times.“They decided to flip a coin as to whether it would be the trout or redfish, but no one had a coin to flip,” said Morrissey.“Plastic rules, but it isn’t very useful for a coin toss!”

The next tournament is set for 5:00 pm on June 28^th .For more information drop by Outcast Tackle or contact James Sparrow.