Bass and Anderson out run the competition for $6K.
CLEWISTON, FL – It was a sunny Florida morning when 111 boats launched Saturday morning out of Clewiston, FL. That was soon to change though with rain on tap for the afternoon. But for the 222 anglers in the field, that’s a mere speed bump on the way to the large check waiting back at the stage in Clewiston. As the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the rewards far out weigh a little rain on the big bass parade.
For Donny Bass and Dave Anderson, the morning called for a little boat ride to the other side of the lake. Since Lake Okeechobee is not your average pond, it was awhile before they wet a line. Starting their morning at the Northeast end near J & S, the long run paid off. Collecting most of their weight concentrating on a shad spawn pattern, they then headed back south in the afternoon and scored the 3rd biggest bass of the day with a 7.13 kicker. So following the shad spawn early and then switching to flipping sticks, they filled a winning well of 26.43 pounds of Lake Okeechobee largemouth.
“With around 25 pounds, we were thinking we had a good chance at top 5 considering the conditions, “said Anderson. “Then with the 7 pounder we started thinking this could be close.”
With a couple Roland Martin Marine Center Series wins under his belt, Bass added his name once again to the big check.
“It feels good,” said Bass. “I took a couple months off so with this win, yes, it’s definitely good to be back.”
Funny how a $6,000 payday has a way of doing that. And as the top Mercury Marine finisher, they added another $250 for a total payday of $6,250.
The second place team of Gary Milicevic and Travis Draple followed a layoff with a nice payday as well.
“I haven’t fished in over a month,” said Milicevic. “So I told Travis yesterday, why don’t we just go out and wing it.”
Winging it, they cast and flipped there way to $3,100 with 2nd Place finish along with the $500 RMMC Bonus Bucks for buying a new boat at Roland Martin Marine Center and $100 with the Gambler Lures 2nd Big Bass award.
In 3rd place was the 2018 Ark Rods Team of the Year, Brandon Medlock and Chuck Methany with 23.17. They decided to flip new areas and it paid off to the tune of $1,400.
The payouts continued with Greg Harp and Nick Mazzi taking home the U.S. Sugar Big Bass check for $500 with an 8.76 monster. Josh Free and Tyler South were the top HUK finishers collecting $700. And Melinda Markley, following the Markley & Markley win in April, collected another $100 for the Mary Ann Martin Top Female Finisher. And with a unique strategy of culling down (or so they say), Zane Zanders and Joe LaManna collected the AV Inspection smallest limit with five bass tipping the scales at 5.42 that netted them $300.
So it’s safe to say a little rain did little to dampen the spirits of some of the top sticks in Florida and the legendary bass of Lake Okeechobee decided it was a great day for a boat ride to Clewiston.
Next up, the final qualifier of the 2019 Roland Martin Marine Center Series on October 26, 2019. Remember, teams must fish 3 of the 4 qualifiers to qualify for the Championship in December when $25,000 is on the table. So register here and make sure you’re in. See you in October.