A chance to compete for $50,000 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.
89 co-anglers, representing the Alabama South, Georgia, South Carolina, East Tennessee, and Florida divisions competed on the Kissimmee Chain for a new boat, cash, and a spot in the Championship.
Nik Kayler of Apopka, FL sat in 5th place on day 1 with a 9.81-lb., 3 bass limit.
Dylan Lowery of Phenix City, AL took the 4th place spot with a 10.12-lb., 3 bass limit.
Bryan Jones of Zephyrhills, FL brought 2 fish to the scales that weighed 10.22 lbs. A 6.43-lb. kicker anchored his bag, landing Jones in 3rd place.
DJ Pollard, Jr. from Roopville, GA caught a 10.32-lb. limit to claim 2nd place.
Mark Cannon of Salem, AL would claim the top spot with a 13.01-lb., 3 bass limit. A 5.99-lb. kicker anchored Cannon’s day 1 bag.
As a co-angler, it can be tough to duplicate weights in multi-day events. Fishing with 2 different people throughout an event can mean 2 vastly different styles of fishing. This typically means big changes in the leaderboard on the 2nd day.
Austin Schroder of Zephyrhills, FL moved up to 5th place from 11th on day 2, earning Schroder $680 thanks catching a 7.14-lb. limit on the 2nd day, giving him a 13.89-lb., 2 day total.
Nik Kayler moved up one spot from 5th to 4th place. He weighed in 4.57 lbs. for a 14.38-lb. 2 day total. Kayler earned $793 for the weekend.
DJ Pollard, Jr. slipped from 2nd place to 3rd after catching 5.35 lbs. on day 2. He earned $1133 for his 15.67-lb. 2 day total.
Day 1 leader Mark Cannon fell to 2nd place overall after catching 5.28 lbs. on the 2nd day. Cannon’s 18.29-lb. total earned him $1700.
Robert Kerstetter of St. Cloud, FL jumped from 10th place to the top of the leaderboard on the 2nd day, catching a tournament best 16.16-lb., 3 bass limit. A 7.50-lb. toad anchored that bag, and also won the Big Bass award amongst the co-angler division.
“The first day I was paired with Dustin Smith, and we flipped most of the day.” Stated Kerstetter. “I did catch two on a u-vibe worm, but my best fish that day came flipping a junebug wooly bully.”
On day 2, Kerstetter fished with Pete Saraf. “We fished on Kissimmee, in grass. I caught my two biggest fish on a swim bait and the other on a worm.”
Kerstetter won $3844, as well as a new Triton 17 Pro, thanks to his 23.17-lb., 2 day total.
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
