Crafton and Ochs collect $30K in the 2020 Roland Martin Marine Center Series Championship
Posted by admin on December 7, 2020
CLEWISTON, FL - When the weather up north gets frightful, Florida can be so delightful. Especially when you add in world-famous Lake Okeechobee, some of the best anglers in the region, and a big old sack of cash up for grabs. It’s the Roland Martin Marine Center Series 2020 Championship presented by HUK and big bass and big checks were on everyone’s wish list.
As the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the Roland Martin Marine Center Series has grown to this year’s record $30,000 winner’s payout. And when the final fish was weighed for the two-day event, the team of Roger Crafton and John Ochs found their names on the big check.
The water is up, the vegetation is all around and the front had passed. So with favorable conditions, the stage was set for a Lake Okeechobee shootout.
“We caught plenty of fish both days and culled out half-dozen four pound fish,” Crafton explained. “We were in a good area where the fish were coming in and staging underneath the mats and we punched them out.”
“Our game plan was to go into this area and methodically just go slow,” Ochs said. “And then it was just one after another. I was mainly flipping a Skunk Ape with 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz. weight. And Roger was throwing other variations of black and blue. No big secret. Just working it slow.”
Slow and steady worked to the tune of $30,000 with the winning weight of 53.53 lbs. for the two-day event.
Coming in second with two-day total of 46.21 lbs. was the team of Chris Schirling and Alex Nagdeman. Adding contingencies, the second place finish netted them $11,500.
“We had a rough day Saturday with a lot of fish jumping off and missing the bait. We also broke down and were stuck in the middle of the lake for over an hour and lost about three hours of fishing time,” Schirling said. “We fished a community hole in the mornings and then found a place to ourselves where we didn’t see a boat and they were there. The Bruiser Baits Swimmer in a custom color Steve at Bruisers Baits made just for me was how I caught them all.”
“Today was a pretty magical day,” Nagdeman said. “There was actually a lizard in the live well that jumped on his (Chris) shoulder that he didn’t even notice and he caught two 7 pounders in the first 15 minutes. The lizard jumped off and we never him again. But that lizard was good luck.”
Rounding out the top three was the team of Stephen Alberson and Victor Knight with a two-day total of 43.31 lbs. that earned them $3,500 for the 3rd place finish.
“We found bait in practice and that’s what we went out to target,” Alberson Said. “Once it warmed up, the bait got more active, the fish started stacking up and our spot reloaded for us both days.”
As the highest paying team tournament trail, the payouts continued deep into the field of the 135 qualifying teams for the Championship.
With a progressive Big Bass Pot presented by BoatCoversAnywhere, Jimmy Anderson collected $3,500 for his 8.82 bass. He also collect $500 as the first day big bass winner and Alex Plesher received $500 for his 2nd day big bass of 8.61. The second big bass awards presented by Gambler Baits for $100 went to Chris Jerdan for his day 1 bass of 8.44 while James Moretz won day 2 with his 7.88 bass.
Chris Schirling added $1,000 to his second place check as the highest finishing Ranger Cup angler. He also collected another $250 as the highest paying angler to cross the stage in HUK Gear and another $250 as the highest finishing Mercury angler. Gilbert Chevrolet awarded Jame Moretz $250 as the highest finishing Gilbert Chevrolet owner. The Mercury youth award went to Brice Prowant earning him $100. Team Crafton and Ochs added to their winning check with $150 from Bruiser Baits and Bass Addiction for the biggest tournament bag. Amber Bass was the the highest placing Female Angler and received $100 from Mary Ann Martin. And going small paid off big for Kris Thibodeau and the team of Larry Payne and Doug Smith with the smallest two-day limits earning them $500 each from AV Inspection.
With that said, the 2020 Roland Martin Marine Center Series has come to and end. Which means we’re starting to think about how we can make the 2021 Season even bigger and better. Make sure to join us and be a part of all the action all year long. In the meantime, have a safe and Happy Holidays and we wish you all the best in the New Year.
Day One Recap - 2020 Championship
Posted by admin on December 5, 2020
IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE - DAY2 Championship
Posted by admin on December 5, 2020
ON TO DAY 2
• Day 2 - 5:15am boat check at the end of dock at marina.
• Locks open @5:30am Sunday morning.
• Please stage on the outside of the locks as we will call out boat numbers from there.
• Lock remains open all day.
• Scales will be open at 3:00pm
BOAT NUMBERS SAME | BOAT FLIGHTS REVERSE
| Flights / December 5, 2020 | |
| 135 - 126 | 3:00 pm |
| 125 - 101 | 3:15 pm |
| 100 - 76 | 3:30 pm |
| 75 - 51 | 3:45 pm |
| 50 - 26 | 4:00 pm |
| 25 - 1 | 4:15 pm |
[ DAY ONE RESULTS ]
IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE - Dec 5 & 6 Championship
Posted by admin on December 4, 2020
IT'S CHAMPIONSHIP TIME
• Day 1 & 2 - 5:15am boat check at the end of dock at marina.
• You will be given a floating key buoy with your team’s exemption inside of it that you will need to return when you weigh-in.
• Locks open @5:30am Saturday morning.
• Please stage on the outside of the locks as we will call out boat numbers from there.
• Lock remains open all day.
• Scales will be open at 3:00pm
• When you come back to weigh in there will be 2 fish release boats and a bag line to pick up your bag. Both team members will be allowed to bring fish up to the scales.
BOAT FLIGHTS
| Flights / December 5, 2020 | |
| 1 - 25 | 3:00 pm |
| 26 - 50 | 3:15 pm |
| 51 - 75 | 3:30 pm |
| 76 - 100 | 3:45 pm |
| 101 - 125 | 4:00 pm |
| 126 + | 4:15 pm |
NOTE: Flight times inverted for Sunday
Keyso and Perry win Qualifier #4 of the Roland Martin Marine Center Series with a Buzzer Beater.
Posted by admin on October 10, 2020
CLEWISTON, FL - The final qualifier of the 2020 Roland Martin Marine Center Series presented by HUK required one more thing to win that Lake Okeechobee is famously known for — a big bass. Culling up with a seven pounder at the end of the day landed Mike Keyso and John Perry in 1st place and the big check for $6,000.
“We caught about 25 or 30 fish today and had about 20 pounds most of the day,” Keyso said. “Then I caught the seven pounder at the end of the day to give us 25 pounds.”
With the big cull pushing their total to 25.35 pounds, they took a nearly 4 pound lead to the winner circle. A familiar pattern put the team in a familiar position for Keyso.
“I was pitching isolated mats with a black and blue Reaction Beaver and a one ounce weight,” Keyso admitted. “That’s just what I do and I’m comfortable doing it. I started off casting because I caught 50 bass a day casting in practice. But I knew it wasn’t going to be enough to win since they were only two or three pounders. If I was going to win it was going to be with a mat rod in my hands.”
That proved to be the winning strategy, 3rd win for Keyso in the series and a $6,000 kicker to the bank account.
In second place with 21.17 pounds was the team of Curtis Lewis and Steve Fairtrace. Although they started with topwater baits, it was pitching that filled their livewell and earned them the second place check of $3,000. Rounding out the top three was the team of Kelly Autrey and Arnold Moore that cranked their way to 21.4 pounds and collected the 3rd-place check for $1,800.
The water is up on Lake Okeechobee and the teams admitted there was fish everywhere that you could catch on a variety of patterns. Over 60% of the teams brought 5 fish limits to the stage. But in the end, Keyso, the 3-time champ, knew just what to do to get 5 bigger bites than the rest.
As the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the payouts continued deep into the 136-team field. Curtis Lewis added $1,000 Ranger Cup bucks to his winnings. The US Sugar Big Bass award of $500 went to Ken Rymut for his 7.59 pound bass. The 2nd big bass earned the team of Neimi and Ellerbee $100 Gambler Bucks. Arnold Moore collected another $250 as the highest finishing angler to cross the stage in HUK gear. Keyso added $250 to his winnings with the Mercury contingency. Luke Slipy also collected $100 from Mercury as the highest finishing youth angler. The highest finishing female angler, Angie Holley, collected $100 from Mary Ann Martin. And going small paid off big for the team of Arnold and Meadors, collecting $300 from AV Inspection for the smallest limit award.
With all four qualifiers of the 2020 season in the books, it's CHAMPIONSHIP TIME! We’re gearing up to make this the best Championship Weekend yet. For our teams that qualified by fishing 3 of the 4 qualifiers, we’ll keep you posted with Championship details for the 2-day final event. So mark your calendars, make your reservations and we’ll see you in Clewiston for the 2020 Roland Martin Marine Center Series Championship on December 5th & 6th.
• View Final Results
• Visit Media Gallery
October 10, 2020 - Qualifier #4 Boat Numbers
Posted by admin on October 9, 2020
The following are the assigned boat numbers for Saturday, October 10, 2020 RMMC Series Qualifier.
Please refer to IMPORTANT NEWS LINK HERE for updates on check-in and weigh-in.
If you have any questions, CONTACT US.
| Flights / August 22 | |
| 1 - 34 | 3:00 pm |
| 35 - 68 | 3:20 pm |
| 69 - 102 | 3:40 pm |
| 103 + | 4:00 pm |
why not 5 goes on
