A HUGE SUCCESS STORY ON A TOUGH LAKE - HOOAH!
April 14 - The 3rd Annual Hooters Bass Fishing Tournament was held again on Canyon Lake. This lake is not known for its phenomenal fishing, so it is a good thing the scenery is great, especially when the Hooters staff are running a tournament. Right up front, the most important success story of the day was the $4500 donation that was raised for Returning Heroes Home, the charity organization responsible for the Warrior and Family Support Center on Fort Sam Houston, TX. Please visit them at http://www.returningheroeshome.orgto learn more and especially to donate to an extremely worthy organization,
Many ArmyBassAnglers Pro Staff and Coalition teams were on hand to spread the word about the charities they support as well as get embarrassed by the weights of the three fish limits. Cody Roberson, President of the ArmyBassAnglers, summed up the general feeling about the day. "This is the kind of event that we love to participate in. There is no stress involved in this tournament, it is truly meant to be an enjoyable day on the water. I was blessed enough to fish it with my Dad and the general manager of Hooters." But Cody was the champion of last year's event and was talking quite a bit of trash during the registration Friday night. The rest of the team teased him that he is successful because the lake tends to be very receptive to tiny spinner baits and baby crank baits, his favorite techniques. He and his Dad caught their limit and weighed in enough fish to place 8th place out of 34 teams.
Along with the theme of the day, two other teams were experiencing something they do not often get to in the big Basschamps events and other tournaments they fish. Dale Hughes was fishing with his son, Dalton, and Chad Nelson was fishing with his wife, Kacy. This was Dalton's first tournament and only Kacy's second. It so happens that Dale and Chad fished their way to second place last year together and agreed to share the same stretch of water this year. By all accounts, it was hilarious to witness Dalton and Kacy talking trash back and forth throughout the day. Kacy's politeness to the "kid" ended when he threw his Texas rig at the same tree she was working. When she jerked a largemouth from that very spot a few minutes later, she was sure to make him aware of it. Both teams caught a lot of fish throughout the day and brought two keepers each to the scales for a respectable showing.
Efrem and Missy Dicochea, Vinney Adler and Randy Blanchard, Chuck Guthrie and Jim Byars, Don and Chris Bailey, Rodney Thompson and Mario Valenzuela, Don Brunson, Mike Carroll, and Chris Albertson were just a few of the ArmyBassAnglers and Coalition to participate in the event. For the most part, they all caught many fish and could only get a small number to stretch to the 14 inch requirement. Chuck Guthrie's team used ten inch Lake Fork Trophy Lures worms, Vinney's team used Lake Fork creatures, Cody threw Fury Lures crankbaits, and Chad threw Lake Fork Hyper Sticks. But at the end of the day, the ArmyBassAnglers Coalition member, Craig Andrews, and his partner would be crowned the 2012 Hooters Champs and receive the $1000 first prize.
Again, the most important part of this event is the funds and awareness raised for Returning Heroes Home. But for the ArmyBassAnglers, it is still a competitive fishing event and bragging rights are always at stake. So, the trash talking continues until the next season to determine who can figure out the fish most effectively on that day.
HOOAH!
SUPPORT.DEFEND.FISH.
