For the second straight year, anglers from around the state embarked on Lake Toho and the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes for the Rat-L-Trap Open. The tournament held by Bill Lewis Lures, makers of the original Rat-L-Trap, Slap-Stick, and new Echo 1.75 squarebill crankbait, limits anglers to throw one of the aforementioned baits. The event is still fresh to Florida and in it’s sophomore year over Memorial Day Weekend, had a showing of 19 teams.
Many anglers who competed in the inaugural event returned this year, including Bob McDaniel and Rick Browning. McDaniel and Browning swept the field with a 21.33-pound, five-bass limit. Included in their bag was the big fish of the tournament, a chunky 7.80-pounder.
Second place team of Eric Conant and Michael Foster
“The majority of our fish we got on the new Echo,” stated McDaniel. “We were fishing some real heavy grass and it surprised both of us.”
McDaniel went on to explain why the Chrome Shad colored Echo 1.75 worked for them as well as it did.
“We didn’t think we were going to be able to fish that area,” referring to how thick the cover was. “With the wide wobble [the Echo 1.75] has, it just goes right through the grass.”
The duo earned $1,000.00 for the win, as well as $380.00 for the Big Bass side pot.
Eric Conant and Michael Foster were the only other team to break the 20-pound mark. The central Florida team weighed a 20.74-pound, five-bass limit to finish in second place, and earn a $500.00 check. Conant and Foster focused on two baits to put together their limit, keying on offshore hydrilla and Kissimmee grass lines. To coax bites early in the day, the team relied on 1/2-ounce High Def Rat-L-Traps in Threadfin Shad color. As the day wore on, they switched to the Echo 1.75 in Sexy West color.
Ray and Karen Trudeau boated a 17.78-pound, five-bass limit to finish the event in third place, earning $400.00 for their efforts. The husband and wife team found that a baby bass colored Slap-Stick would be key to their finish. The floating jerk bait style lure is unique in the fact that it sits upright at water level, due to the tail-weighted design. The Trudeau’s caught their fish early in the day, including the 6.26-pound kicker that anchored their bag.
Bill Fugate and Darrell Cranor, winners of the inaugural Rat-L-Trap Open at Lake Toho, earned a fourth place finish for the day. Their 13.65-pound, five-bass limit earned the duo a pair of Duckett Fishing Macro-Magic rods.
Securing the final spot in the Top 5 was the team of David Tripp and Charles Haserill. The fifth place team weighed an 11.68-pound, five-bass limit on the day, winning a pair of Duckett Fishing Macro-Magic rods.
For more information on Rat-L-Trap and their products, visit www.rat-l-trap.com.
Click here to view photos of the event.
