Anglers attempting to qualify for the 2015 Xtreme Bass Series Championship have a narrow window to do so, if they haven’t already. Qualified teams will be competing at Lake Okeechobee November 5-7, 2015 for a new Blazer 595 Pro Elite bass boat powered by a 200 HP Mercury outboard. To qualify, teams must have competed in seven tournaments in a single division, or eight tournaments throughout all divisions, including the Lake Guntersville division in Alabama. There are only three months left for anglers to qualify, with a few divisions only having two events left in the season after their July tournaments.
Joey Wood and Lee Kitchens inked their second victory of the season at the Xtreme Bass Series divisional event at the Suwannee River on July 19th. The top three weights were separated by mere ounces, but he 15.72-pound, five-bass limit that Wood and Kitchens set on the scales would prevail over the 28-boat field. Jason Pate and Michael Graham locked in a second place finish with a 15.28-pound, five-bass limit. Donnie Feagle and Josh Lester round out the top three spots with a 15.24-pound, five-bass limit. The Big Bass of the event was decided by ounces as well, but Chris Lee and Ben Israel’s 5.82-pound kicker earned the honor.
On the same day across the state, Jeremy Smith and Jim Folks would secure their third win of the year at the Lake Toho divisional event. Smith and Folks weighed a solid 21.66-pound, five-bass limit in their victory over the field of 14 teams. Rich Patterson and David Smith finished in second place, less than a pound behind Smith and Folks, with a 20.72-pound, five-bass limit. Terry Friend and Colin Munns followed up in third place with an 18.44-pound, five-bass limit. Jimmie Murphy and Joe Clements caught the Big Bass of the tournament, a 7.44-pound toad.
The St. Johns River division launched from Crystal Cove Marina on July 25th, as 18 teams ran up and down the river in search of a limit. Man teams caught their five bass to bring to the scales, but the team of Frank Streeter and Donnie Hewett had the heaviest bag of bass. Strata and Hewett weighed an 18.44-pound, five-bass limit to win their first event of the 2015 season. John Chaney and Kevin Dufur took home a second place finish by catching a 13.84-pound, five-bass limit. Eric Lewis and Phil Cury put a 13.52-pound, five-bass limit in the boat to take third place. Lewis anchored their bag with the tournament’s Big Bass, an 8.33-pound TrophyCatch.
The following day, about 200 miles to the south, anglers competing in the Lake Istokpoga division would try their luck for a win. 16 teams set out from Istokpoga Park on July 26th, on a lake that was once the hottest fishery in the state. Tom McGinnis and John Wood topped the field with an 18.89-pound, five-bass limit, anchoring their bag with a 7.36-pound toad. Jesse Mizzell and Greg Jones only boated four bass weighing 13.97 pounds, but their bag was heavy enough to finish in second place. One of their four bass weighed in at 9.38 pounds and secured the Big Bass award. Donnie Bass and Mike Keyso locked in the final spot amongst the top three teams with a 13.87-pound, five-bass limit.
More information can be found at xbseries.com.
Photo: Eric Lewis
