[ Home ]

Todd Schaff and Jason Strobel 23 lbs 8 ozs on the final day bolts them above the competition in the Grand Championship to win $10,000
Results
Photos

Jason and Todd came into the final day 7 lbs behind the day one leader. Wow !! What a difference a day makes. The team was in 4th place with 13lbs 13 ozs of fish and a 5 lb bonus that was earned by fishing all 8 qualifying events. With their 23lbs 8ozs performance today had them over 7 lbs ahead of the second place. Dan and Danny Shanz was in 2nd place after day one with 15 lbs of fish. Day two they came in with another soil limit of 15 lbs 1 oz to hold on to the second place and earn $1,775.  Day one leaders with 20 lbs 2 ozs of fish plus the 5 lb bonus gave them a total of 25.02 total. The second day the returned with a limit that weighed 9 lbs 6 ozs to drop them back to third for the tournament.

Sammy Payton and Kevin Rowland with 20lbs 2 oz have the lead on the first day for the Grand Championship
November 3, 2001 With a limit of five bass Payton and Rowland have a 5lb 2oz  lead on the second place tie with the team of John Ausberry and Richard Robertson, and the team of Dan and Danny Shanz. They had 15lbs even.  Day two will be a shoot out for the top prize of $10,000 on the Potomac River. Aushberry and Robertson had the big fish of the day with a 6lb 4oz bass that was worth $770. We are paying back 15 places and the 15 place was 11 lbs even. There were 38 limits brought to the scales everyone is catching fish.
Day One Results

Don Dobbs and Tommy Chinn get their second win of the year on The Potomac

October 14, 2001 in the last qualifying Dobbs and Chinn get another win in the same season.

Complete Results      Photos
Year to Date Standings

 

Dale Simmons and Lucky Simmons win on the Chick
Complete Results      Photos
Year to Date Standings

September 16, 2001 was the seventh tournament stop on the tournament schedule and it took us to the Chickahominy River. With the events unfolding throughout the nation, and especially on the East Coast, whether or not to have the tournament was a tough decision to make. The anglers came out in support of the great nation that we all love in their Red, White and Blue. Some had shirts, hats, jackets and of course they had the flags flying strong. The A.M. discussion was not on fishing, but about what we had all witnessed five days prior as we with the lose of so many Americans by such an unconceivable act of hatred that so many can not comprehend. I would be among the ones that have great pain in the images that we have been seeing of such hate.

It was a chilly start to the morning with the air temps in the mid 40’s and the wind blowing a steady 5 to 10 mph. We started the morning off with our pre-tournament instructions we had a moment of silent prayer for the victims and for the nation as we prepared to rid the world of such hate bestowed on the USA. As I raised my bowed head and the cool breeze hit me in the face, the same wind that had all the American Flags blowing in the breeze, as to be noticed, it was a great sense of pride to know that we live in the greatest nation in the world and we still can enjoy another sunrise on Gods great earth.

The fishing conditions were tough as the water was very high in the tidal river due to a strong northeastern wind as well as an astronomical pull on the tides. At the 6:30 blast off, it was close to low tide and the water was at the usual level of high tide. The 180 competitors knew it was going to be hard to find five keeper sized fish. Some were going to try something-different sense they had not had any luck in pre-fishing for the event. The wind stayed steady all day gusting to 20 mph at times and the air warmed to the mid 70’s with the sun shining. The water had lost some 10 degrees in less than a week due to the cooler weather pattern. As the boats returned, it was confirmed that it was going to be a tough weigh-in. Out of the 90 teams only fourteen 5 fish limits were recorded and only 164 total fish caught. The average weight of the fish was 1lb 11oz. This means that five of the tournament average sized fish would have given you a top ten check.

The team of Dale Simmons of Woodbridge, VA and Lucky Simmons of Manassas, VA came to the scales with not average fish. They had one fish that weighed 5 lb 7 oz and another that weighed 4 lb 15 oz. The 5 lb 7 oz’er was leading at the time for big fish of the tournament. The team used their POP’S MARINE prepared BASSCAT with MERCURY POWER to run up the Chick. They had a 4 lb 15 oz fish in the first five minutes along with another fish. They started on top water using buzz baits over top lilly pads. Dale said they lost some monsters that were just exploding on the baits and just pulling off. They chunked spinner baits on them, too. Lucky lost a big fish on the blade as well. They fished some wood structure with worms and picked up more fish. Having their limit by 9:00, they moved out in deeper water. This was a pattern that had been given to them by Don Dobbs along with a special worm that proved to be the difference. Lucky was using one of his favorite worms unsuccessfully and was not getting the bites until switching to Don’s bait. At 11:00 they were fishing wood in 12 foot of water when they set the hook on the 5 lb 7 oz’er. The fish wrapped down in the cover. They played the fish 30 or more times with the rod in the water trying to unwrap the fish. They worked it free and landed the fish with out any frays on the line. They were using TRILENE BIG GAME 20lb test. They did not catch another fish after that one but it was enough to out-pace the field by almost 5 lbs. They would like to thank Bobby Payne from PAYNE’S FINACIAL SERVICES for supporting the team for many years. They would like to thank Championship Teams for the tournament as well. Thanks "’Cuz!"

There was a tie for second place with Jeter Brock and Paul Brock along with Lenny Mastin and Jimmy Mills. They brought in 9 lbs 14 oz and earned $850 for their effort. Lenny and Jimmy, both from Fredericksburg, VA, made a 50-mile run up the James River in a spot shown to Jimmy by another competitor, Carl Johnson several years prior. They had quick success on power worms and spinner baits. In the first 45 minutes they boated three fish. Lenny caught the 4th fish around 10:00 on the same bank. They made a move in site of the I-95 bridge. Jimmy caught the 5th keeper of the day that measured 12", but said, "That was a disgrace to have that little fish and the fifth one." He threw it back. It was going on 3 long agonizing hours and nearing the time to return for weigh-in when he was saved. Lenny boated a solid keeper at Jordan Point. Jimmy admitted he was sweating. Paul Brock of Mechanicsville, VA and Jeter Brock of Henrico, VA was the other half of the tie. They decided to run up the River and lock-through and fish the Lake. It was slow for them. They only had one fish before 1:00 at the Lake. They picked up another just before deciding to leave the Lake and return to the River to catch the out going tide. They fished the upper end of the river and picked up the other three fish. They only caught the five fish and did not loose any fish.

The team of Bubba Wray of Hopewell, VA and Bruce Lee of ---------, VA are in the top five list again. The team had a 4th place finish in this event. This makes four in a row and five of the last six tournaments in the top five. They used their SANDERSON BOAT SALES, COBRA BOAT powered by a MERCURY OPTIMAX to make the long run up the James to the Appamattox. They stayed in the Appamattox all day on the same bank. They only had three bites and were able to touch all three and get them in the live well. They brought in the big fish of the tournament as well. It came on a spinner bait as did all their fish. The fish only bit for an hour during the mid day. With their consistant finishes, they took over the lead in the Team of the Year race with a 24 point lead.

The team of Carl Johnson of Highland Springs, VA and Lee Whaley of Mechanicsville, VA caught 7 keepers. The best five weighed 9 lbs 7 oz and earned them $425. They ran their POP’S MARINE prepared MERCURY powered BASSCAT up the Chick to their spot. They concentrated on drop offs away from the bank with WORMANATOR WORMS. They’re best fishing started at 1:00 with the falling tide. Carl was please to hear that Jimmy and Lenny, the second place team, had fished some water that he showed them.

The POP’S MARINE Team of the Year standings changed on the top for the second straight tournament. There was no change in the first five events with Todd Schaaf and Jason Strobel showing the way, but their struggle on the body of water that gave them their second win with a 28th place finish leaves them trailing by 25 points. As reported earlier, Bubba Wray and Bruce Lee took over with their fourth place finish, but the bigger story was that no one out of the top 8 in points finished any higher than 27th. Donn Dobbs and Tommy Chinn came into the event with the lead, but had a tough day with a 41st place finish that now finds themselves with 28 points to make up and only one tournament left. It’s going to be a shoot-out on the Potomac River October 14th!

The GAYLAN’S TRADING CO. Youth / Adult Team of the Year keeps last year’s Champions, Winston and Jeremy Stanley, firmly on top by 47 points. The second place team of Brandon and Mark Garraway made up 13 points in this tournament with a 19th place finish. The ground could be made up, but it’s going to be an uphill struggle!

The EAGLE CLAW His and Her Team of the Year picture is getting clearer. Jackson and Marty Hudson were in the lead coming into the event over Bobby and Debbie Whisenhunt by 78 points. Bobby and Debbie needed to cut into the lead, but were not able to. Jackson and Marty finished one spot ahead of the Whisenhunt’s, which extends the Hudson’s lead to 79 points with one to go.

We thank our angler’s and their families for their support of their country and their fellow American’s and we will hope that all of you will keep all our American’s here and the ones that are sure to be sent abroad in your thoughts and prayers. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Chris Carmell and Jr. Brent Win  on the Rappahannock River
Complete Results      Photos
Year to Date Standings

The fifth stop on the 2001 schedule had us back on the Rappahannock River. You would have thought the back-to-back tournaments would have helped the competitors to locate fish. Not! The weather was perfect for fishing with light winds and sunny skies warming up to the mid 80’s. The fishing has been very tough on the Rapp for some unknown reason. The bass must be getting used to seeing the same metallic looking things falling from the skies and bumping them on the head! The early word was that it was going to be tough to find the five fish tournament limit. Only 8 teams returned with a limit out of the 86 competing. There were only 113 fish weighed by the whole field. The predictions were that 12 lbs would win. During the weigh-in, Bruce Lee and Bubba Wray brought in 11 lb 8 oz and took the early lead until the newlyweds, Jackson and Marty Hudson, brought 11 lb 9 oz to take over the lead. For the entire first flight of weigh-in it looked as though the Hudson’s would have it and give the first overall win to one or our special teams since they compete in our Eagle Claw His and Her Team of the Year.

As the second flight returned, the 12 lb mark was broke by Chris Carmell of Stewart’s Draft, VA and JR. Brent of Richmond, VA. They checked in with the winning bag of 12 lb 7 oz. The team has fished 3 Championship Teams events and has won two of them. Boat problems in the preceding tournament didn’t allow them to fish hardly at all. Chris has been working toward the Grand Opening of Smokin’ Joe’s Barbecue in Fisherville, VA and has not been on the water since the last tournament. Both of them grew up fishing the Rapp and know it well, so the time lost pre-fishing did not seem to hurt them. TEAM SMOKIN' JOE’S used their BILL’S MARINE Ranger to run down river. "Way down," said Chris. He does not like fishing in crowds and he likes to run. When they returned they were almost out of gas! They were catching fish first thing, but the bite shut down as the tide was running out. They went a couple of hours without a bite, but as the water got lower the fish turned back on. They were using 6" worms on mud banks and jigs on shallow wood. The picked up a fish or two on a mojo rig as well. They caught 20 or so keepers thanks to Castaway Bait Shop in Chester, VA. The bigger bites came later in the day as the tide was at its lowest. They had a 5’lber get away and were feeling the pressure thinking they only had a top five bag. But the 12 lb 7 oz was enough for the top spot worth $1,900.

Jackson and wife Marty Hudson of Glenn Allen, VA brought home second place. The limit of bass weighing 11 lb 9 oz was worth $1,000. The team used their PLEASURE MARINE Champion powered by MERCURY OPTIMAX down river. They started in Towskey Creek and went further down to Lancaster Creek where they caught 10 keepers on wood and grass using red shad CULPRIT worms. The key, Jackson reported, was the equipment. The QUATUM rods and BROWNING reels helped, but the big difference was the 20 lb REMINGTON line. They were down where the salt gets in the creeks and causes barnacles everywhere. "The line held up real well." Most of their fish came between 10:30 and 1:30 on low tide. Marty was using a STRIKE KING spinner bait and caught two of their biggest fish. The couple enjoys the Championship Teams format. It gives them the opportunity to fish a competitive tournament trail as a couple. Jackson says it’s "Heaven" to bring your wife along and spend time outdoors and travel, eat and share time together!

Bruce Lee of Port Royal, VA and Bubba Wray of Hopewell, VA brought in five fish weighing 11 lb 8 oz for $750 and third place. They fished using their SANDERSON’S BOAT SALES, COBRA boat in Acupachua Creek with a crank bait and then ran up river. They fished from Port Royal to Four Winds keying on wood on channel drops. They used a 4" ring worm and caught fish about all day except for the couple of hours between the changing tides.

Dave Enders of Manassas, VA and Brian Peterson of Manassas, VA had fish that weighed 11 lb even for 4th place and $525. They fished down river with crank baits and did not catch their fifth fish until ½ hour before weigh-in. Dave said he did not catch a fish all day, but that’s what partners are for!

Warren Cooksey and Mike Willett both of Charles County, MD came in 5th with 3 fish that weighed 10 lb 6 oz for $425. They ran ½ way up river and caught a fish first thing that morning on a spinner bait in marsh grass. They fished their way further up the river and around noon they made a move and on the fourth cast caught the Big Fish of the tournament with 6 lb 7 oz worth $850.

Don Dobbs and Tommy Chinn have taken over the lead of the Pop’s Marine Team of the Year race by only 9 points! This is over the tie for second between the team of Bruce Lee and Bubba Wray and the team of Todd Schaaf and Jason Strobel. We are paying the top 10 finishers in the Pop’s Marine Team of the Year race and they are separated by only 78 points!

 

 

Don Dobbs and Tommy Chinn Win in the Rain on the Rappahannock River
Complete Results      Photos
Year to Date Standings

July 29, 2001 was stop number five on the Championship Teams tournament schedule. It took us to June Parker Marina, in Tappahannock, VA. The increasingly popular Rappahannock River is getting some much deserved respect as one of Virginia’s finest bass fisheries. The tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay usually produces large numbers of Largemouth Bass as well as a few Smallmouth. Expectations weren’t very high going into the tournament. The weather forecast was for 100% of rain all day and heavy at times. For a change, the weatherman was right. At blast off, bright and early, the 92 teams were greeted for what was to come the rest of the day. It was raining with the air temps in the mid 50’s and only expected to rise to near 70 degrees for the last weekend in July - a very cool VA summer day.

As in any competive sport, no matter how tough it gets, someone will rise up and shine through the clouds. That was Don Dobbs of Dale City, VA and Tommy Chinn of Sterling, VA. They made a 50 mile run up river in their POP’S MARINE prepared MERCURY powered BASSCAT. They returned to the launch site early along with a lot of other competitors that had too much of the elements. Don asked me what I thought it would take to win. I told him 18 lbs before the front came in, but changed my mind with the reports off the water from the anglers that had left early. With the weather conditions I figured that 15 lbs would be a good number. He smiled and headed for the cover of the store waiting until time to weigh their catch. When the scales opened at 3:00, the bag that he and Tommy brought to the scales weighed 15 lbs even. Enough to out pace the closest competitor by 1 lb 7oz. They caught their fish in 6 to 10 feet of water using LUCKY CRAFT LURES’ crank baits on CASTAWAY RODS. They had their limit by 8:30. They caught their fish on both changing tides. The better fish came before the front really set in with the wind. Only smaller fish were caught after the wind picked up. They believe that the rain helped their pattern. A few fish also came on jigs, worms and TERMANATOR SPINNERBAITS. The top spot earned them $2,000 and the winners plaque.

The team of Earl Cooper of Bowling Green, VA. and Allan Chenault of Sparta, VA brought 13 lbs 7 oz to the scales. That was the mark for second place. They boated ten keeper fish, but lost two over 3 lbs on a buzz bait. They had caught eight fish before 9:00 and only two more the rest of the day. Their fish came on buzz baits and worms. They too believed the rain helped. They were rewarded $1,000 for their efforts.

Brian Lee of Bowling Green, VA and Jim Dibble of MD finished third with 13 lbs 2 oz. They fished down river in their Ranger powered by Mercury’s Optimax. They targeted

Shallow wood cover using Stanley spinner baits and tube baits. They only had five bites and boated all five. They caught all their fish by 10:30. They felt the rain didn’t hurt them saying they knew the fish would bite they just changed their technique they earned $750.

 

Ricky Bodsford of Chesterfield, VA. and Jesse Warren of Powhatan, VA brought in 13 lbs even for fourth place worth $550. Jesse Warren was substituting for Richard Heath, Ricky’s usual partner. They used their CHAMPION BOAT with MERCURY power lubed with WAKERUNNER OIL to run up river. They fished shallow wood in the backs of creeks. They mostly flipped the wood cover with their FENWICK RODS and ABU-GARCIA REELS for five bites. They landed all five of them. The sixth bite they had came on a buzz bait. Oops! The one that got away would have easily put them in second and maybe gave them the top spot. A wet and cold Ricky told me, "The weather was nasty and was the wettest I have ever been in my life." They found some comfort in the MCGEORGE TOYOTA tow vehicle to return them home.

Bubba Wray of Hopewell, VA and Bruce Lee of Fredericksburg, VA returned with a fifth place finish for two tournaments in a row. Their 11 lb 9 oz bag returned them $450. They keyed on shallow wood with spinner baits. They caught 10 bass, mostly in the a.m. All were about the same 14" size. They felt that the rain hurt their big fish pattern. They would like to thank SANDERSON’S MARINE.

The Big Fish of the tournament went to Bill and John Mackey.  The Brothers Mackey earned $ 910 for the 5 lb 11 oz Bass.  The big story of the day was rain steadily falling all day with the temps only in the low 70's. There were 18 places paid. It only took 7 lbs 2 ozs to make a check.

June Parker Marina, the location of the weigh-in, is in the most outer limits of the fresh water flow of the Rappahannock River, therefore, we don’t release the fish into the little jetty of the marina. I would like to thank the following anglers that volunteered to go back out in the rain to release the fish up river where the water is less salty: Jackson Hudson, Tom Hicks, and Wayne Lail. Wayne returned from a fish run with a boat in tow, thanks for that and thanks to all the Championship Teams competitors for making this a tournament trail of true sportsmen and sportswomen dedicated to promoting sportsmanship through the generations.

 

Our POP’S MARINE team of the year standings tightened up a bit at the top. Jason Strobel and Todd Schaaf had been building a lead until this event. They struggled a little with a 24th place finish. Don Dobbs and Tommy Chinn cut the lead by more than half to only trail by 19 points. Bruce Lee and Bubba Wray moved up 5 spots with their fifth place finish to move into 3rd place, trailing by 53 points. Last year’s Team of the Year Bobby Blankenship and Donald Satterfield are making their way to the top moving into 4th only 61 points behind. We are paying the top ten in points. With 3 tournaments remaining it’s going to be interesting!

Our EAGLE CLAW His and Her Team of the Year competition only had three teams braving the weather. The leaders of Jackson and Marty Hudson had a 13th place finish in the event. They stayed in the lead, but the team of Bobby and Debbie Whisenhunt had a 15th place finish and moved into 2nd place in the year-to-date standings. We want to mention the team of Mike and Pat Knapp. The defending champs had a tough day.

The GAYLAN’S TRADING CO. Team of the Year found 4 teams with the youngsters braving the elements. The team of Dana and Jess Briscoe had the best day with a 27th place finish followed by Mark and Brandon Garraway with a 51st place finish and helped cut into the lead held by the Stanley’s to only trail by 17 points. Anthony and Charles Davis didn’t make it all day. The 6-year-old Charles has asthma and the cold damp air wasn’t good for him. Mom didn’t want him to go, but in true male fashion, he chose to fish instead of worrying about his asthma. Hope you didn’t get sick Charles! Winston and Jeremy Stanley, the leaders in this category also had some bad luck. Jeremy is getting over Lime disease. He didn’t look very good, but he was out there for awhile. I like this category to see the younger generation come out and "Cowboy Up" and make a go of it. It says a lot for the character developing inside!

 

 

Jason Strobel and Todd Schaaf Get Their Second Win of the year on the Chickahominy River

Complete Results      Photos
Year to Date Standings

July 1, 2001 and with only the fourth stop on the 2001 schedule, we had a repeat winner. Todd Schaaf of Hume, VA and Jason Strobel of Clifton, VA do what has never been done in Championship Teams. This was the team’s second win out of four tournaments. They have lead our POP’S MARINE Team of the Year points race from the beginning of the season with their win at Lake Anna.

The Chickahominy River has had anglers wondering what they were doing wrong, as the bite has been tough for over a year. The Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries have been studying the reduced numbers of fish being caught. Some of the fish brought to the scales didn’t seem to be too healthy. They had sores and other had discoloration. However, the 113 teams competing returned to the scales with the largest fish catch totals of the year with 357 bass weighed. The weather conditions were a typical hot July day. The morning lows were a humid 70 and the high reached near 90. The breeze was steady at 5 to 15 mph. High clouds swept through the area and light sprinkles were reported, but the sun was shining most of the day. The weather temperature was in the mid 80’s and in some places over 90 degrees.

Speaking of hot, the team of Strobel and Schaaf were on fire! They received top honors with 19 lbs 9 oz for $2,175 and tied for Big Fish with 5 lbs 8 oz for $555. They started the day fishing in a hole Jason fished the day before, but set the boat on rocks because the tide was 2 feet lower! The team was amazed at the huge tide difference from yesterday. They hit different spots fishing some top water when the clouds came out and jigs, crank baits and worms the rest of the time. They culled about 5 fish. The team would like to thank Dave’s Tournament Tackle and Bagley’s Crank Baits and, of course, Team Mom!

Tommy Powroznik from Hopewell and Johnny Jones from Hopewell came in 2nd with 17 lbs 7 oz and tied for Big Fish with 5 lbs 8 oz for a total of $1, 730 for the day. They fished the James, but came back to the Chick between 10 and 10:30. They believe they should have stayed in the Chick. They fished shallow wood on an outgoing tide. They caught about 10 – 12 fish later in the day on crank baits, worms and spinner baits. The team did note that they were idling back real slow and the team of Wayne Lail and Terry Whisenhunt pulled up to make sure they were okay. Thanks guys!

Mike Martinez and John Mansini took 3rd place with 14 lbs 7 oz worth $875.

Mike Hicks from Mineral and Ronnie Bache from Fredericksburg went home with 4th place for the day with 13 lbs 3 oz paying $600. They fished the James all day. Small limit in the morning on outgoing tide and better fish in the afternoon. They fished shallow wood on the main river. They used Worminator baits and Bagley’s Crank Baits on All-Star Rods. They would like to thank Ranger and Team Bassarama!!

Randy Anders from Fort Belvoir and Don Smith from Woodbridge tied for 5th place with 12 lbs 5 oz for $387.50. They fished the James and culled 3 times. The water was less than 10’ deep. Buzz bait and worms seemed to prove to be the bait since they had all but 1 fish before 10 a.m.

Bubba Wray from Hopewell and Bruce Lee from Fredericksburg tied for 5th place with 12 lbs 5 oz for $387.50. They caught 16 – 18 keepers by staying in the James. They caught those fish all day. The team would like to thank Sanderson’s Boat Sales and Cobra boats and Mercury motors.

7th Tommy Little - Bo Fraser                 12 lbs 3 oz    $ 350
8th Lee Whaley - Carl Johnson             12 lbs 1 oz     $ 325
9th Ricky West - A.C. O'Dell                 11 lbs 9 oz     $ 300
10th Don Dobbs - Tommy Chinn             11 lbs 8 oz     $ 250
11th Richard Addy - Kelly Pratt             11 lbs 7 oz     $ 225
12th David Blair - Jim Madden              10 lbs 10 oz   $ 200
13th Joe Currence - Frank Large          10 lbs 6 oz     $ 175
14th Jeff Francis - Mark Mueller          9 lbs 10 oz   $ 165
15th Cavin Young - Jim Young                9 lbs 7 oz     $ 155
16th Jim Whittman - Paul Sloan              9 lbs 6 oz     $ 145
17th Wayne Morgan - Chip Morgan         9 lbs 4 oz     $ 135
18th Jerry Stinger - Robert Stinger       9 lbs 3 oz     $ 125
19th Carlton Brock - Paul Brock              9 lbs 2 oz     $ 115
20th Steve Esser - James Lawrence       9 lbs 1 oz       $ 110
21st Adam Lathan - Robert Lathan          8 lbs 14 oz     $ 110
22nd Kevin Kane - Sonny Kane               8 lbs 13 oz     $ 110
23rd Rich Newton - James Powell          8 lbs 12 oz     $ 55
Tie Keith Shrader - Scott Evans             8 lbs 12 oz     $ 55
EAGLE CLAW His & Her Team of the Year
Mike Knapp / Pat Knapp             6 lbs 0 oz
Walsh / Walsh                          2 lbs 2 oz
Hudson / Hudson                      2 lbs 5 oz
Whisenhunt / Whisenhunt          1 lb 10 oz
 
GALYAN'S TRADING CO. Youth/Adult Team of the Year Morgan / Morgan                     9 lbs 4 oz
Stanley / Stanley                     6 lbs 9 oz
Cline / Cline                             5 lbs 7 oz
Briscoe / Briscoe                     4 lbs 8 oz
Davis / Davis                             1 lb 11 oz
Garraway / Garraway               1 lb 7 oz

 

Otis Darnell and Roy Reed        Complete Results      Photos
Win on the Potomac River                 Year to Date Standings

The 2001 Tour’s third stop was on the Potomac River in Woodbridge, VA. The June 3rd tournament was the largest event since we started 2 years ago. We had 122 teams competing. The tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay usually produces large numbers of Largemouth Bass. The size of a legal Bass has been raised during the spawning season to 15" until the middle of June where it will be cut back to 12". The River had an outgoing tide to greet the 244 anglers, which is usually the most productive time to fish. The wind was blowing the water out of the river with its Easterly direction forcing a lower than usual tide. This hurt some of the competition that was fishing shallow cover. The water was stained do to the large amounts of rain in the past week. The bass were still in the spawning areas. Most of them were in a post-spawn pattern. Main river grass beds and the backs of creeks were being targeted. Unlike lake bass, the fish in the tidal Potomac don’t seem to move far from their spawning areas staying in the shallows until late fall before moving out into the deeper waters. This is what makes the Potomac such a popular fishing designation throughout the northeast all summer long. The fishing was good all day with lots of bass being caught. A 15" bass is still a pretty good fish and hard to find. Making five keepers proved to be tough for most of the field. There were only 20 teams returning to the scales with a 5 fish limit. Out of the 20, there were only 7 or 8 that culled any fish. The river was rough do to the wind blowing out and the tide trying to return in the opposite direction. It blew some of the teams off the water, as confirmed by Patrick Cline, returning to the ramp wet from head to toe. Patrick said, with his usual smile on his face, "we went all the way under the water and I never want to come back here again!" Patrick, only 9 years old, fishes with his Father and competes in our Galyan’s Trading Co. Team of the Year competition. With a sun filled sky, temps in the mid 70’s and not a rain drop in site, there were a lot of anglers returning wet from spearing waves over the bow from rough water conditions.

Everyone reported to have caught lots of fish 14" to 14 15/16". The anglers were frustrated to have to throw back a 2½ ‘lber. Everyone reported to have lots of fish as well. "They are pulling real hard," one angler said about losing fish all day. Seems like the fish are getting back healthy after the spawn. We had 240 fish weighed and returned 237 back alive. I would like to applaud the Championship Teams anglers for taking such good care of their catch.

The team of Otis Darnell of Linden, VA, and Roy Reed of Rixeyville, VA, had a plan to key on 3 or 4 isolated pockets in the main river. They had practiced in the areas and the spots weren’t getting much pressure from other anglers. The pocket had grass in them. They were throwing a crank bait into the grass where they could and along the outside edge. They started catching fish as soon as they got to the first stop. With a couple of keepers in the boat, they hooked up on a 4 ‘lber in the grass and it pulled off. They told each other, "that was going to cost them." Glad they did not give up then! They kept running to their spots despite the rough water. Roy said, "we ran our butts off and almost killed ourselves." The bad part was that their spots were not close together. Some were up north and some south of the ramp site at Leesylvania State Park. They caught several limits of keeper fish saying they had another limit that would have weighed 15 to 16 lbs and another one weighing 13 to 14 lbs. They both admitted, "their spots had some eyes laid upon them today." They also had the big fish of the tournament, a 5 lb 8 oz bass that was also caught on a crank bait. It was such a tough day getting the keeper sized fish to bite. I asked, "what made the difference in your presentation?" Otis said, "the trick was to rip the crank bait and then pause it. The fish would come and eat it just sitting there." This worked for their 5 fish limit that weighed 18 lb 11 oz. It was worth $2,225 and Big Fish was worth another $1,210.

The second place team of Robert Clark of Woodbridge, VA, and Richard Clark, also of Woodbridge, VA, had 5 bass that weighed 15 lb 10 oz. They used a boat supplied by their sponsor, R & R Ceramic Tile, to run up north. They fished grass with Zipper worms and jigs. They only culled 3 fish all day, but caught another 10 that were 14 ½". They fished one grass bed until 1:00 then when they tried to leave but had no juice to start the boat. They fished until 2:00 before getting a jump. Richard was getting nervous. After getting a jump, they got to another spot at 2:30 and caught a fish over 4 lb at 3:05 p.m. Then it was time to return for weigh in.

After three stops, we have five more leading up to our Grand Championship. We guarantee $10,000 to the winning team. You need only to fish five events to qualify for the Grand Championship. Our next event is July 3rd on the Chick / James River, going out of Powhatan Resorts. You can sign up the morning of the tournament at all of our events. We do not have a cut off on the number of boats. For any additional information you can call 703-878-1028 or visit our web site at www.championshipteams.net.

1st Otis Darnell / Roy Reed 5 Fish 18 lbs 11 oz $2,225
They fished main river grass beds north and south. They used a crank bait for all their fish.
2nd Robert Clark / Richard Clark 5 Fish 15 lbs 10 oz $1,225
They fished grass beds up north. Their fish came on Zipper worms and jigs. They would also like to thank Tegula Design.
3rd David Blair / Jim Madden 5 Fish 15 lbs 1 oz $950
They caught fish and lost more all day. They started up north in the grass. They had a limit off the grass using crank baits and carolina rigs. They ran down south nearing the end of the day and were able to cull one fish. They would like to thank PRO FISHING NETWORK.
4th Richard Addy / Kelly Pratt 5 Fish 13 lbs 8 oz $675
They used their POP’S MARINE prepared Bass Cat powered by Mercury to the main river grass beds. The only caught 5 keepers all day. They "got in the crowd with everyone else" and carolina rigged and Rat-L-Traps.
5th Robbie Patterson / Heath Johnson 4 Fish 13 lbs 7 oz $475
They fished down south in the grass. Fishing was slow. They caught their first keeper at 7:00 and had one fish per hour ‘til 10:30. They tried a move at noon, but weren’t able to find that fifth fish. Robbie is with Sanderson Propeller.

Year To Date Stats

Our POP’S MARINE Team of the Year has the team of Jason Strobel and Todd Schaaf on top. They have lead since the first tournament, which they won. They cashed a check in the one with a 17th place finish, but it was a tough go starting out this particular morning with a blown motor. They went to a back up boat and were on the water by 8:00. They would like to thank "Team Wife" again. Jason’s wife brought the boat to them. Otis Darnell and Roy Reed moved into second with the win, only trailing by 10 championship points. Only 42 points separate the top ten teams and 20th spot is just 34 points from 10th. This will be a close battle ‘til season’s end with the top 10 teams receiving a purse over $7,000 in cash and prizes.

The GALYAN’S TRADING CO. Youth / Adult Team of The Year has $1,000 up for the winning team. Mark and Brandon Garraway had the lead coming into this event, but last year’s defending champions of Winston and Jeremy Stanley had a 24th place finish while the Garraway’s finished back in 70th place. This made the points for the year-to-date standings tighten. There are only 10 points between them. There were five Youth / Adult teams competing with the new team of Dana and Jess Briscoe joining. There were also the teams of  Anthony and Charles Davis; Charles is our youngest competitor at 6 years old, and the wet team of Larry and Patrick Cline. All five teams are Father and Son teams and at Championship Teams we encourage everyone to fish. I applaud the Fathers in taking their Sons to a competive fishing tournament.

Bobby and Debbie Whisenhunt had the best finish in the Eagle Claw His and Hers Team of the Year with a 24th place finish. This cut into the lead held by Jackson and Marty Hudson who finished 39th. Last years Champs Mike and Pat Knapp had a bad day, but only trail by 48 points. The teams of Charles and Joann Walsh and Mike Nelms and Deena Sullivan had tough days as well without a fish.

Rick Ohlson And Ray Ballentine        Complete Results    Photos 
Win at Kerr, April 29 With 17 lb 2 oz                The second stop on the 2001 Championship Teams schedule took the trail to Kerr Reservoir. The size of the field doubled from last year’s tournament on Kerr. There were 115 teams going after the five bass limit and the top prize of $2,200. The weather was a perfect South Hill Chamber of Commerce day, special ordered by Frank Malone. We do appreciate all that South Hill, in good ‘ole Mecklenburg County, does to promote the sport of bass fishing and their support of our events. The water temps were in the mid 60’s and warming. The lake level was pretty steady at about a normal pool of 300’. In past weeks, the lake level had been up as high as 308’ and has been dropping, but the Corp. had it steady for the week prior, dropping it less than one foot. The air temps had stabilized as well, into a Virginia spring pattern. The air temperature at 6:00 a.m. was in the low 40’s, but warmed into the mid 70’s by the 3:00p.m. weigh-in. The wind blew a little during the middle of the day 10 to 15 mph, but gave way to a calm breeze by days end. The lake water was a little stained do to the heavy rains from weeks prior. The fish were in all states of spawning. There was no particular stage of the spawn anglers were keying on. Some bass have been up in the shallows for awhile and others have just moved up. Their were fish in a pre-spawn , spawn and post spawn pattern in the same areas of the lake. Anglers could catch fish in the same spot, that were doing three different things. It made for interesting fishing on a lake that is usually very predictable this time of year. The bite was pretty tough even with 35 of the 115 teams returning with a five fish limit. Earlier in the week anglers had reported catching some nice bass, but with the tournament pressure and the weekend anglers, the catch on Sunday was not what some had expected it to do. The competitors were using every possible bait to catch fish. There was fish being caught on top water with buzz baits and poppers. There were anglers flipping the bushes with jigs, worms, tubes and floating worms. There were others crank baiting and spinner baiting to catch fish and the ever popular Carolina Rig was also catching fish. What was working the best? The jury is still arguing that one. The scales prove which one was the best for the day. It was finesses and trick worms. Rick Ohlson of Raleigh, NC, and Ray Ballentine of Atlantic Beach, NC, came to the scales with 5 keepers that weighed 17 lbs 2 ozs and earned the team $2,200. Ray was visiting Rick and said, "He kinda got stuck in the boat." Rick wanted to fish some tournaments over the weekend and took Ray along. They fished on the lake on Saturday and won as well. They were using the finesses and trick worms on, "Everything in the water," said Rick. All their fish came from Nuttbush Creek in shallow water . They caught 7 keepers and 6 or 7 short fish. Earlier in the day, they lost a fish in a bush about 4 pounds and Rick said that they would return to that bush later. They went back at 2:00 and on the first cast they boated the lunker of the tournament, a 6 lb 1 oz bass worth another $1,150 for the team! Ray would like to thank Seament Offshore charters of Atlantic Beach. Congratulations to the team! Two tournaments and two wins, a good weekend to get stuck in the boat!

Runner-up honors went to Jack Fenson of Richmond, and Tom Hicks of Richmond. They had 15 lbs 13 ozs to earn the team $1,200. They used their Mercury powered Triton to run up and catch spawning fish. They were flipping light baits on All Star rods for 7 keepers and one came on a jerk bait. They caught fish all day off and on and had a 5lb 15 oz bass to anchor their creel. They said it was a tough bite and you just had to slow down to make ‘em bite. There was a tie for third place with Dick and Kevin Allen of Summerduck, VA, and Bruce Lee of Fredericksburg, VA, and Bubba Wray of Hopewell, VA. They had 14 lbs and 8 ozs. Each team received $750. The Allen’s, a father and son team only caught 5 keepers all day, but it was the right five. They fished down lake on shallow main lake points. They found that points with stumps on them seemed to be what they were keying on. They used crank baits and spinner baits to catch their fish. Their bag was anchored by a 5 ‘lber caught by Kevin and Dad. Dick lost a 4 ‘lber that would have broken the tie. Kevin, keep working with your Dad and maybe you can give some pointers on how to land the big ones. The other half of the tie was Bruce Lee and Bubba Wray. They fished down lake as well. They were using 1/2 oz spinner baits on rocky points. They were keying on the pre-spawners up on the shallow points. They caught 7 keepers between 9:30 and 2:00. Their big fish was 4 lbs 8 ozs. The team of Randy Quesenberry of Leesburg, VA and Daniel Wilt of Bluemount, VA had 13 lbs 13 ozs for the fifth place finish for $425. They were Rigging main lake points with lizards. In two days of pre-fishing, they had caught a lot of nice fish and no short fish, but in the tournament they only boated the five keepers and caught a lot of short fish. They thought that the wind helped a little bit in the middle of the day. They were fishing in the 10 to 12’ range.

The Pop’s Marine Team of the Year has Jason Strobel and Todd Schaaf still on top with their win at Lake Anna and a 20th place finish in this event. Trailing by only 2 points are Paul and Jeter Brock. This is sure to be a points race that will be a close one at the end to get into the top 10. Over $7,000 is up for grabs for the top 10 and $1,500 for the winners.

The Gaylan’s Trading Co. Youth/Adult Team of the Year competitors brought 4 teams to Kerr. All four weighed fish. The largest creel was caught by Mark and Brandon Garraway with 9 lbs 14 ozs. The 35th place finish has the team leading the category by 56 points over Winston and Jeremy Stanley, last year;s winners of the Youth/Adult Team of the Year.

The Eagle Claw His and Her Team of the Year had 5 teams competing. The highest placing team was the newlyweds of Jackson and Marty Hudson. They had 6 lbs 2 ozs that placed them in 55th for the tournament. The Hudson’s are in the lead for this category by only 2 points ahead of last year’s Champions, Charles and Joann Walsh. Close behind is Mike and Pat Knapp, only 4 points out of the lead.

Jason Strobel and Todd Schaaf            Complete Results   Photos
Cover the field at Lake Anna, March 25 with 22lb 6oz.  The 118 Teams left Anna Point Marina knowing that the five bass limit would come hard that day.  The weather in the past week had dumped 1 to 2" of rain in the area of the lake.  This made the upper lake muddy.  A strong cold front moving in the night before the tournament added to the frustration of the anglers.  With the water warming around 50 degrees, the usual pattern would be to catch the fish as they were heading to the shallows up lake to spawn. Main lake points were being keyed on as well, but with the mud up lake and the cold front moving the fish back off the mid-lake points, it was a slow day and the anglers needed to make the best of every bite.

The bites were few and far between, with 236 anglers chunkin' at the green monsters.  There were only 69 of the 'lil darlings brought to the scales.  There was only one team who weighed a five fish limit.  Only two teams caught 3 fish and the other 40 teams that weighed fish either had a one or two fish day. That left a whole bunch of serious tournament anglers going home scratching their heads.

The team of Jason Strobel of  Clifton, Va and Todd Schaaf of Hume, Va found the magic.  They caught six fish for the day and only five of them were keepers.  The five weighed 22lb 6ozs anchored by the big fish of the tournament, 7lb 12oz, worth $1,170 and the creel was worth another $2,220. The team did not seem to notice that it was a hard day on the lake.  They reported that "fishing was slow" but in the first 10 minutes they landed the lunker.  That is my kind of slow!  They fished up lake in "dirty water."  Using Dave's Tournament Tackle, they would crank the bait down and "let it sit, let it sit, let it sit, and twitch and let it sit...."  Jason used this technique to land a fish over 9lbs a couple of weeks prior to the tournament.  Jason said about Dave's Tournament Tackle, "he makes the baits that I use to catch fish."  They reported to have had their limit by 11:00.  Remember this team said it was "slow!"  Todd and Jason would like to thank "Team Mom" and their wives for encouraging and supporting their sport.  When you bring home $3,370, it's real easy to get support! Great job guys on a tough day on Lake Anna.

The second place team of Jason Houchins and Danny Houchins, both of Manassas, Va., were only able to find three bass that weighed 14lb 6oz and netted them $1,225.  The father and son team fished up lake on some areas close to deeper water.  All their fish came in different spots, two were on a jig and the third was on a spinner bait. They caught a fish at 8:00, 11:00, and 2:30.  These were the only bites they had all day.  All three of the bites paid off.  They would like to thank their sponsor H & H Improvements.  The third place team of Jim and Robert Taylor of Spotsylvania, Va. are also father and son.  They had three fish weighing 9lb 4oz for $925.  They are at home on Lake Anna and the day before they found two fish over 5lbs in some deep water. They fished for them over half of the day without a bite and decided to change their plan. They made the switch and went shallow, up lake and picked up three quick fish and a check. The fourth place of Ken Lafferty of Woodbridge Va and Mike Hagerich of  Woodbridge, Va., retired military, decided to take up tournament fishing with their free time. We would like to thank them for their years of service to our country and welcome them to Championship Teams Trail. With two fish weighing 8lb 2oz, we welcomed them with a check for $625.  They had their smaller fish coming in the a.m. on a pig and jig and at 1:30 the 5lb12oz fish came on a worm.

We would like to welcome all our new members, sorry we can not give you all a check like Mike and Ken.  With our field growing, as well as our payback, hopefully we can greet each of you in the upcoming events on the schedule in 2001.  We pay 1 in 5 places and with this event we paid back 24 places which took 4lb 8oz to get a check.

We had five His and Her teams competing, none of which weighed in a fish, so all four are tied for the $1,000 year end award with 98 points.

Hudson/Hudson               98pt
Knapp/Knapp                  98 pt
Sullivan/Nelms                  98pt
Walsh/Walsh                    98pt
Whisenhunt/Whisenhunt    98pt

 

Our Youth /Adult teams had four teams competing. The highest finishing team was last year's Champions Winston and Jeremy Stanley with 4lb 10oz that earned them a 20th place finish. Closely following is another father and son team of Mark and Brandon Garraway with 4lb 8oz and a 23rd place finish. Both teams received a check.

Stanley/Stanley                131 pt
Garraway/Garraway        128 pt
Cline/Cline                        98 pt
Davis/Davis                      98 pt