Story by Tournament Director Matt Beck
Fifteen boats gathered Saturday, July 12 at the Dunnellon city boat ramp on the Withlacoochee River to compete for the sixth tournament of the Xtreme Bass Series, Lake Rousseau Division of the 2014 season. Overcast conditions dictated a casting bite for most of the field.
Danny Thompson and Mercury pro-staff member Robbie Crosnoe won their third event of the season in the Lake Rousseau division with a five-bass limit weighing 22.79 pounds. They also caught the tournament’s heaviest bass, 7.65 pounds.
Presently, Lake Rousseau is covered in lush, green hydrilla making many fish-catching applications viable. Some anglers chose to ply the channel edge while others decided to fish the shallow flats covered in grass. Due to heavy overcast and rainy conditions most of the bass caught were caught casting a variety of both soft and hard baits rather than flipping the heavy cover.
The 2nd place team of Trevor Fitzgerald and Jason Guynn
Due to strong thunder storms that doused Lake Rousseau many competitors headed for cover as lightning presented threatening conditions during in the early afternoon.
August will be a busy month for Lake Rousseau Division anglers with two tournaments scheduled. Aug. 9, and Aug. 30, 2014 will be the next two events on the calendar.
With three tournaments remaining Crosnoe and Thompson have accumulated a total of 498 points and lead the second-place team of Matthew Beck and Jimbo Denton by 11 points. Two teams are tied for third place with 477 points. Those teams are Allen Whitt and Robert Peralta and Harold Beasley and Robby Anderson. On the heels of those two teams tied for third place are Brian Varga and Chris Addair with 476 points.
Contact Matthew Beck, tournament director, for additional information at 352-422-0888
There are 3 qualifying events left for the Lake Rousseau division before the 2014 Xtreme Bass Championship. At this year’s championship, qualifying anglers will be fishing for a new Ranger Z119 powered by a 200HP Evinrude outboard. To qualify, anglers must fish 7 events in one division, or 8 events total of all divisions. The next event for the Rousseau division is scheduled for August 9th. More information on the event can be found here https://floridatournamentreport.com/event/xtreme-bass-lake-rousseau-7/
