A few weeks ago, DeBary, Fla.’s Keith Carson teamed up with his buddy John Cox to win the Wolfson Children’s Hospital benefit tournament, on the St. John’s River out of Palatka. Without tournament exemptions, they weighed in a massive 30.16-pound, 5 bass limit. With momentum on his side, Carson was able to sit at the top of the leaderboard once more.
With 59 boats fishing the 4th stop of the American Bass Anglers-Weekend Bass Series event on the Harris Chain of Lakes, Carson boated a 15.72-pound, 5 bass limit. A 6.58-pound kicker anchored his bag. Carson practiced Thursday and Friday prior to the tournament without much success. “I don’t think I caught a limit with both days combined, so I just ran all new stuff (today).”
Carson started his day fishing a dock on Lake Eustis. Throwing a Lucky Craft 1.5 crankbait in sexy shad color, Carson lost a fish on his 3rd cast of the morning. He estimates that fish would have weighed 6 or 7 pounds. From there, he tried to focus on duplicating that pattern. Carson made a move to Lake Dora, where he caught a few keepers throwing the crankbait and a Rat-L-Trap around docks, including his 6.58-pound lunker. He was able to finish his limit by flipping a black and blue Sweet Beaver, paired with a ½-ounce weight, into hyacinths that had blown into some buggy-whips. With the win, Carson retained his lead in the Angler of the Year points race.
John Barrow of Leesburg, Fla. finished in the runner-up spot with a 14.86-pound, 5 bass limit.
Dave Patchell of Green Cove Springs, Fla. finished 3rd with a 13.40-pound, 5 bass limit.
Adam Burgess of Lake Butler, Fla. finished 4th with a 13.39-pound, 5 bass limit.
Russ Osborne of Orlando, Fla. rounded out the top 5 weighing in 3 bass for 13.06 pounds.
Nathan Thomas of Weirsdale, Fla. weighed in a 7.34-pound lunker to win Big Bass honors.
The final event of the ABA Weekend Bass Series is scheduled to take place August 16th and 17th out of Camp Mack on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. Anglers who finish in the top 40 spots in the Angler of the Year race will have the opportunity to compete in the Southeast Regional Championship on Lake Toho on October 17th and 18th. There, they will compete against the top 40 anglers from the Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama South, and East Tennessee divisions in search of trip to the 2014 Weekend Angler Bass Classic on Lake Wheeler, November 12th-15th.
For More information on the Florida division’s next event, visit the event page here.
