Bassmaster Weekend Series Kicks Off With A Bang

Winning angler Raymond Trudeau

Raymond Trudeau started the new season right by winning the first American Bass Anglers Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series event of 2012.

Trudeau brought in a five-bass limit of 23.19 pounds in the Florida Division 6 season opener on Lake Ohopekaliga, A part of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. He anchored his bag with an 8.11-pound bucketmouth.

“I was fishing a hard jerkbait in about six feet of water all day,” Trudeau explained. “We just happened to stumble across a good area in the morning. After the wind cranked up, we caught nothing. We were done by 9:30 a.m.”

Bobby J. Johnson of Gainesville placed second in the 54-boat field, bringing in a limit weighing 19.64 pounds, topped by a 6.60-pounder.

“We fished Cypress Lake and caught fish throughout the day, but we had to keep moving,” Johnson said. “I caught all my fish on worms in three to four feet of water. I caught some swimming the worm and some on Texas rigs.”

Chuck E. Pippin Jr. of Orlando finished third with five bass and 17.93 pounds. He caught most of his fish early on Carolina rigs, but flipped for his biggest catch of the day.

“My biggest fish got hung up in the grass,” Pippin said. “My co-angler went to lip it and fell in head first. His foot hit the line and I thought he knocked my fish off, but he just loosened it from the grass. I helped him get out of the water – after the fish was in the livewell.”

Tom Welgos of St. Cloud caught the biggest bass in the boater division, a 9.18-pound mossback.

“I caught that big one with my first bite,” Welgos said. “It hit at about 10 a.m. We targeted Kissimmee grass with hydrilla on the outside edge. She picked up a senko, really light, but when I set the hook it was game on. I was using 12-pound fluorocarbon line on a spinning rod.”

He finished in sixth place with 12.84-pounds.

Winning co-angler Judith Foxx Johnson

In the Co-Angler Division, Judith Foxx Johnson of Gainesville showed the boys how to do it. Fishing with Trudeau, the wife of second-place finisher Bobby J. Johnson landed a three-fish division daily limit going 15.11 pounds, but anchored her catch with a 10.78-pound sowbelly, her second fish of the day. It took tournament big bass honors.

“I just felt a little tick and thought it might be a fish,” Johnson recalled. “I set the hook and it came out of the water twice. I couldn’t believe it. It was the biggest bass I’ve ever caught. The fish hit a worm. I was using a spinning rod and hoping the line didn’t break.”

In second for the co-anglers, Steven Davis of Palmetto brought in three bass for 9.99 pounds. He went south, fishing Lake Kissimmee.

“I caught my fish on a green and white Skinny Dipper in about two feet of water,” Davis explained. “I caught most of my fish later in the day.’

Nik C. Kayler of Apopka also caught fish later in the day. He followed in third with three bass and 7.38 pounds.

“I caught my fish on a Speed Worm, working it with a steady retrieve around scattered vegetation and stickups in about 3.5 feet of water,” Kayler said. “I primarily caught fish between 10:30 a.m. and noon.”

In all, the anglers caught 261 bass for a total weight of 526.89 pounds. For more information on this tournament, call Billy Benedetti at (256) 230-5632 or call ABA at (888) 203-6222. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.

For more information on other fishing tournaments, click here.