Russ Osborne and Micah Silverman weighed a 30.85-pound, five-bass limit at Lake Kissimmee on Saturday to win the Xtreme Pro Team Open presented by Toho Marine and Outdoors. The tournament, which features a limited field and higher than average entry fee was a hit amongst competitors.
“Competition with a capital C,” stated Xtreme Fishing Series President Mike Blocher in regards to the Pro Team Open. “The objective is to have a smaller field, bigger money, bigger payouts, and stiff competition.”
Jason Smith shows off his 9.55-pound Big Bass
Stiff competition is exactly what showed up. Fifteen of the most competitive teams in bass fishing throughout the State of Florida arrived at Camp Mack, vying for the bites that would earn them the first place prize of $1,500.00. Teams pay a $250.00 entry fee to compete, with the field being limited to 50 teams. Though the first event didn’t fill the field, Blocher says he’s confident future events will see even better competition. The tournament fell one day removed from the ICAST tradeshow that took place in Orlando last week. Many anglers had to fulfill sponsor obligations, resulting in anglers not being able to prepare for the tournament. On a full field of 50 teams, the Xtreme Pro Team Open advertises a $4,000.00 first place prize, with the Top 10 earning cash prizes. Two big bass prizes are also awarded at each event.
With a 1-in-5 payout, the Top 3 teams earned cash prizes at Saturday’s event. Osborne and Silverman anchored their winning bag with fish weighing 8.55 pounds and 7.45 pounds, respectively, to earn $1,500.00 in their victory. The second place team of Gary Niemi and James Dyer are known for flipping, but Niemi stated they struggled for a flipping bite. Regardless, they were able to piece together a solid 25.45-pound, five-bass limit to earn $1,000.00. The team of John and John Myers rounded out the Top 3. The father/son team weighed a 24.95-pound, five-bass limit to finish in third place and earn $605.00. They anchored their bag with an 8.95-pound TrophyCatch, claiming an additional $100.00 for the 2nd Big Bass of the tournament. The overall Big Bass was weighed by the fourth place team of Jason Smith and Joe Kremer. Smith, owner of the Buddha Bait Company, stated he caught the lunker on a new bait the company has launched, earning the team $200.00.
“I was flipping a Buddha Bait Co. SOB Flipper,” stated Smith. “It has shorter appendages, so when they eat it, they get the whole bait and not just the tail.”
Details for future Xtreme Pro Team Opens are still being planned. Check xbseries.com for more information.
