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2006 Region 3 Tournament of Champions

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The Region 3 Tournament of Champions was held on beautiful Table Rock Lake . Table Rock Lake is nestled in the rugged hills of the Ozarks and the timing was perfect for an awesome fall display of brilliant foliage. The crystal clear main lake surrounded with the fall colors was truly a classic stage. The stage was set but the bite however was not quite as pretty as the lake seemed to be turning over in areas and the fish were really spread out. Teams reported catching fish from depths ranging from ten inches to eighty plus feet. They were caught on the bottom and suspended in all areas in between. With this being said everyone knew that with the quality of anglers fishing this event there would be some who would figure it out.

The first place team of Ronnie and Van Siress both of Benton , Kentucky did just that. They reported catching good fish throughout their practice with the exception of Wednesday. Even though they were catching fish and some of quality size they did not believe they had enough to take a win. They were spending most of their practice in the off colored water of the James arm fishing around docks.

On Thursday (The day prior to the start of the event) they decided to run up the Kings arm. It was a good decision as they located a concentration of healthy largemouth. The area was about a mile and a half stretch of pea gravel bank that had isolated wood and a few docks. Ronnie reported that the area should have produced twenty pounds a day but the fish were just not taking the bait well. Often the team would have to make repetitive cast to very small isolated wood targets to draw their strikes. Sometimes it would take six to eight cast before the fish would hit. On day one the team had their limit by 9:30am and went on to cull through another limit by days end. The teams five fish limit on day one saw the scales tip to 18.63lbs and it was anchored by the day one big bass that weighed in at 5.37lbs. With the catch they had nearly a five pound lead over the second place team.

Day two the team returned to the same stretch of bank and even though it was somewhat slower they were still able put four solid keepers in the well. Those four largemouth weighed in at 11.05lbs and secured the win with a total weight of 29.68lbs. Ronnie stated that through out the day fish would move up on this area and their weight did not reflect what the area was capable of producing as they lost several large fish. They were fishing water depths from less than a foot to three feet deep. The baits of choice were buzzbaits and spinnerbaits and multiple cast to single targets was a must.

1st Place Ronnie and Van Siress in their new BassCat Cougar FTD

For their efforts the team takes home a new BassCat Cougar FTD equipped with a Mercury 225 Opti Max, Lowrance and MotorGuide. They also earned $650.00 for the day one big bass and will be known as Angler’s Choice Region 3 Champions! Ronnie added that the year fishing with Angler’s Choice has been great and looks forward to next season.

The second place team of Mark Wiese from High Ridge , Missouri and Jay Hulsey of Bourbon, Missouri caught fish in many different ways during practice. They caught fish both up the rivers and in the clear water depths near the dam area. By the end of their practice they came to the conclusion that the deeper spotted bass would be a more consistent bite and believed it would produce a good limit each day.

Day one the team motored to the main lake dam area and dropshotted four inch worms. They concentrated their efforts on main lake points and channel drops in water depths of forty to fifty feet. Most of the fish were suspended off the bottom with schools of shad within that depth range however some fish were caught on the bottom also. The team had a day one weight of 12.53lbs and had them securely positioned in fourth place.

Day two the team found the main lake bite to be somewhat slower so decided to move to the mouths of creeks although still focusing on a deeper bite. In fact the team actually went a little deeper on day two finding fish in the fifty to sixty foot depth range. The team culled through 16 keepers during this day. A white ¾ ounce spoon was the primary weapon as it produced all but two of the teams keepers which came on a dropshot. They weighed in the largest day two bay weighing in at 13.62lbs and took the second place position with a total weight of 26.15lbs. The position earned them a new BassCat Classic equipped with a Mercury 200 Opti Max, Lowrance and MotorGuide.

2nd Place Mark Wiese and Jay Hulsey in their new BassCat Classic

Jay and Mark also claimed the Angler of the Year honors by finishing higher than any other divisional champions. For their efforts the team takes home an additional $2,500.00 in cash and prizes. Mark wanted to thank Bill Cannon for running the Angler’s Choice events at Lake of the Ozarks and hopes to see more people come out and fish the circuit in 2007. Mark Wiese is sponsored by: Ranger Boats, Yamaha, Nameoki Village Marine, AAA Remodeling. Jay is sponsored by: Nitro, The Fishin’ Hole, Mercury, Bass Pro Shops.

The third place East Tennessee team of Brandon Coulter and Jarreth Bain did their research and made the commitment early on to practice deep and fish deep. Jarreth stated “It’s been a pattern that’s been dominate from the BassMaster Elite Series until now” He went on to say “Without a thermocline these fish are suspending at various depths” The team reported fishing depths ranging from fifty foot to eighty foot of water.

Day one the team culled through four limits of fish as Brandon at the front of the boat would use his Lowrance 332c to locate and pick off individual fish with a jigging spoon while Jarreth would watch the Lowrance X17m and try to pick off the bottom fish with a drop shot. The majority of the fish on day one came on the jigging spoon on channel swings. The team had a day one weight of 12.91lbs and was setting in the third place position.

Day two the team used the same approach with a jigging spoon fished by Brandon at the front of the boat while Jarreth utilized the dropshot from the rear. On this day the dropshot would pay bigger dividends as they culled through two limits of keeper fish on their way to 11.04lb bag. The teams total weight was 23.95lbs and earned them the place and a new BassCat Sabre equipped with a Mercury 150 EFI, Lowrance and MotorGuide.

3rd Place Brandon Coulter and Jarreth Bain in their BassCat Sabre

Brandon went on to say “A good partner is key in these, without utilizing both approaches we would not have been successful” The team is sponsored by: Yamaha, Skeeter Boats, Black Oak Sports, Madisonville Marine, National Coal and Yamamoto.

 
Dee Embry and Don Asbury set in their new BassCat Sabre won by draw

The draw boat went to the Mark Twain team of Dee Embry and Don Asbury. The team just had one of those weekends that things seemed to go their way. On day one they weighed in the second heaviest bag of the event and when asked how they did it they stated we had nothing going into the day, for some reason we just caught them today. The team didn’t catch-em quite as well on day two but still ended in the eighth position and won $1,300.00 to go along with the draw boat. The two were the final team standing after starting with ten drawn teams. The look of disbelief was priceless as the team stepped into their new BassCat Sabre equipped with a Mercury 150 EFI, Lowrance and MotorGuide.