Big Fish In Spite Of Heat

I don’t know that the weather can get much more unbearable as far as the

heat is concerned, but local anglers appear to be handling it quite well!

Even on the saltwater side and Lord know there isn’t much shade at the

jetties or middle of Sabine Lake, local anglers have fared well on the

tournament scene.Last weekend Eddie Roberts and Brian Quebedeaux teamed

up to finish fourth in the Showtime on Sabine tournament which is one of

the scheduled events on the popular Elite Redfish Series.

The local duo lost .75 pound for one expired fish and Roberts added that

they definitely had a couple of shots at winning the whole shooting

match.This circuit consists of several of the top redfish pros in the

country!

Prior to that event, the LSCO college bass team made a long hot trip to

Ft. Gibson Lake in Oklahoma and it proved to be worth the extra sweat

for Trent Buchholz and Grady Doucet. The pair teamed up to finish third

with 17.1 pounds and earn a spot in the National Championship later this

year.

Brett Fregia and Jack Tindel also finished twenty fourth and have

already earned their invitation to the big dance!

Undoubtedly, Branden Rannekleiv of Reeves, Louisiana logged the most

amazing catch of the summer thus far when he brought a 12.41-pound bass

to the annual Big Bass Splash event on Toledo Bend last weekend.The

tournament could have gone down to the wire as less than a pound

separated the next four places, but Reeve’s monster bass was nearly four

pounds heavier than the second place fish.

That may well be the heaviest bass ever caught in one of Sealy’s

tournaments and certainly for a Toledo Bend event.Even getting a swing

at a bass that size this time of the year is unheard of and more

especially while fishing in the heat of the day.

Ironically enough, Rannekleiv and his partner were unable to fish their

first choice as another angler was already on that spot when they

arrived.Rather than leave, they motored further down the same ridge and

settled on a small point in the same 18-feet of water.The massive fish

found Branden’s plastic worm and the rest is history.

Sealy, who has seen far more than his share of big bass over the years,

speculated that the fish could have very easily topped the fifteen pound

mark had it been caught in the early spring.The bass measured just a

hair under 30-inches in length with a 23-inch girth.

Over the years, the winning bass is usually caught early the first day

and the leader is unable to sleep for the next two nights.Not in this

case.I feel pretty certain that Rannekleiv slept quiet well Saturday

night dreaming about the new boat, truck and pile of cash he would

collect Sunday evening!

It is always somewhat gratifying to pass along a tip or information that

helps another angler experience one of “those”trips and that is what

happened last week.Alan Teal sent me a text and picture of two bass he

caught last Thursday on Toledo Bend.

“I would have never tried jigging a worm in crappie brush piles, but

there were boats running everywhere and I had nothing to lose,” said

Teal.“I started a night trip early and immediately ran across schooling

fish on a tree line.”

While fishing them he spotted the brush pile on his depthfinder.“As soon

as they went down I started jigging the brush and a six-pound bass hit

it on the second drop.”

That was the only bite he got so he left and returned to the same spot

later that night.“I caught another six pounder that may have been the

same bass,” said Teal, “but I also caught seven more bass in the three

to four pound class.”

He also added that he switched from a worm to a brush hog that night.“I

don’t know if the bait would have made a difference that afternoon,” he

said, “but I’ll call if it does.I am going looking for more brush piles

this afternoon!”

The field for the weekly Sabine River Shootouts has thinned out a little

the past couple of weeks as have the winning catches.Heat and fear of

coronavirus will have that effect, but the bite continues to be solid

enough.The only thing missing has been the four-pound plus fish, but you

still need three solid bass to earn a check.

Matt Beaux and Chase Koonze won last week’s tournament with 6.48 pounds.

Chase and Chance Stone took home big bass money with a 3.16