A chance to compete for $100,000 dollars was on the line for anglers competing in the SE Regional event for the Weekend Bass Series held out of Big Toho Marine on Lake Toho October 17th & 18th. Anglers finishing in the top 20% would earn a qualifying spot in the Ray Scott Championship being held on Wheeler Lake November 12th-15th in Decatur, AL.
90 anglers, representing the Alabama South, Georgia, South Carolina, East Tennessee, and Florida divisions competed on the Kissimmee Chain for a new boat/motor, cash, and a spot in the Championship.
Keith Carson of DeBary, FL sat in 5th place with a 17.72-lb., 5 bass limit after the scales were closed on day 1.
In 4th place was Darrell Cranor of Lakeland, FL. He had an 18.50-lb., 5 bass limit.
Aaron Gengler, also from Lakeland, FL weighed in an 18.71-lb limit to grab 3rd place on day 1.
Mount Dora, FL’s Dustin Smith found himself in 2nd place with a 19.59-lb., 5 bass limit.
Ron Yentz from Fort Lauderdale, FL grabbed the top spot on the leaderboard, set the bar with a 24.59-lb., 5 bass limit. An 8.79-lb. lunker anchored Yentz’s bag.
Yentz stumbled on day 2, as he only brought 6.65 lbs. to the scales. It was enough to secure a Top 5 finish, however, earning Yentz $2,260 for his 31.24-lb. 2-day total, including the Big Bass award thanks to his day 1 lunker.
Casey Gonzalez from Brandon, FL moved up from 12th to 4th place on the 2nd day, weighing a 16.74-lb. bag. A 7.04-lb. Kissimmee Chain bruiser anchored his limit, giving Gonzalez a 31.69-lb. total and a $1,586 check for the weekend.
Shawn Carpenter of Summerfield, FL jumped from 9th to 3rd place on day 2 to earn a $2266 check. His 15.56-lb. limit on the 2nd day gave Carpenter a 2 day total weighing 31.87 lbs.
Darrell Cranor slid up to the 2nd place spot, catching another 18.17-lb. limit. His total for both days weighed 36.67 lbs., earning Cranor a check for $3,400.
Keith Carson, who came into this event as the Angler of the Year for the Florida division, proved he was still the best in the state. His 20.79-lb. sack on the 2nd day gave Carson a 38.51-lb., 2 day total.
“I stayed on Toho both days, fishing isolated hyacinth mats,” stated Carson.
A big speed worm and a swim jig were his one-two punch on day 1. “They started schooling on bream, and would come out and crush it!”
After losing 2 big fish on the swim jig early on day 2, Carson switched gears to flipping mats. He would stay with that pattern the rest of the day to win a check for $6,798, and a new Triton 18XS powered by a 150 HP Mercury.
The Weekend Bass Series presented by the American Bass Anglers will kick off the first event of 2015 on January 10th for the Florida division on Lake Toho out of Lakefront Park. In 2015. Regional events have been done away with beginning in 2015. Here is the release from American Bass Anglers regarding the change.
Championship Qualifying: The Regional Championships concept will be eliminated and replaced with direct advancement to the Ray Scott Championship. 10 boaters and 10 co-anglers from each division will now qualify directly from their division in one of 2 ways.
1. The top 5 (Boaters and Co-anglers) by points after the Divisional two-day event, in each division, will advance directly to the Championship.
2. The top 5 (Boaters and Co-anglers) by place of finish from the Divisional Championship who have fished all 5 divisional events will also advance directly to the championship. If any angler does not accept or is already qualified for the slot(s) by points the next highest finishing and qualified angler will receive the Championship slot(s).
Anglers have told us that travel expenses alone for the Regional Championship is just too great and travel distance too far. In many cases, based on where a Regional was held would determine if an angler could even compete on the tour. Qualifying 10 boaters and 10 co-anglers at the divisional level for the Ray Scott Championship will remove this obstacle and make fishing more competitive closer to home. Remember, regardless of points standing, anglers who have fished all Divisional events have a chance to qualify for the Championship by doing well in the Divisional 2-day.
For more information, visit www.americanbassanglers.com
