FLW reports that Albert Collins of Nacogdoches, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Texas Division event presented by Evinrude on Sam Rayburn Reservoir with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 52 pounds, 7 ounces. For his victory, Collins earned $31,071.
“Going into day three, it wasn’t a sure thing that I would win,” said Collins, who won by a near 11-pound margin. “I wasn’t even sure that I would catch a limit because of that cold front that came through. Luckily the first three fish I caught in the morning were my biggest, and I got to cull a couple of times throughout the day, so it all worked out really great.
“I have a lot of knowledge about Sam Rayburn and it helped,” said Collins, whose win was the first of his career with FLW. “Once I keyed on something, I knew where more like it was. I didn’t have to spend my practice finding spots, I just had to run and check them.
“I was mostly concentrating on main-lake points and channel swings,” Collins continued. “I fished the bottom all week and threw Texas-rigged worms. I just tried to keep in contact with the bottom, but that was pretty tough with the wind.
“I was targeting breaks. Most of the breaks had stumps and brush on them, but that was just for a target,” added Collins. “I think the fish were relating to the drop off. I fished some areas that ranged from 8 to 12 feet deep, and some areas that were from 20 to 22 feet deep.
“It feels great to win,” Collins finished. “I’ve been to Wheeler Lake before and I’m looking forward to going back for the Rayovac Championship.
Collins said that his primary bait was a blue fleck-colored Missile Baits Tomahawk worm, but he also threw a Mister Twister HANG 10! worm. He Texas-rigged both with a ½-ounce weight.
The top 10 pros on Sam Rayburn Reservoir were:
1st: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 52-7, $31,071
2nd: Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, 15 bass, 41-8, $12,040
3rd: Clark Reehm, Huntington, Texas, 15 bass, 41-1, $9,321
4th: Nick Prvonozac, Warren, Ohio, 14 bass, 40-9, $7,768
5th: Charlie King, Coushatta, La., 15 bass, 39-11, $6,991
6th: Nick Lebrun, Tyler, Texas, 15 bass, 39-1, $6,214
7th: Randy Despino, Colfax, La., 13 bass, 36-10, $5,437
8th: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 13 bass, 36-4, $4,661
9th: Philip Crelia, Center, Texas, 14 bass, 36-0, $3,884
10th: John Hatton, Buna, Texas, 13 bass, 33-14, $3,107
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Crelia caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday – a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $200.
Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Sam Rayburn Reservoir were:
1st: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 15 bass, 40-10, Ranger Z117C with a 90-horsepower outboard
2nd: Corbett Ross, Port Neches, Texas, 15 bass, 38-7, $3,927
3rd: Robert Davis, Lufkin, Texas, 15 bass, 37-7, $3,141
4th: Tim Fox, Meridan, Miss., 13 bass, 31-8, $2,749
5th: Mike Power, Conroe, Texas, 14 bass, 31-1, $2,356
6th: Johnny Manning, Arkadelphia, Ark., 10 bass, 28-12, $1,963
7th: Travis Kelehan, Broussard, La., 11 bass, 24-4, $1,571
8th: Neil Herline, Silsbee, Texas, 11 bass, 23-12, $1,374
9th: Brett Rachal, Monroe, La., seven bass, 23-0, $1,178
10th: Kevin Carter, Spring, Texas, 11 bass, 22-12, $982
Mark Mowery of Longview, Texas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Friday – an 8-pound, 13-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $133.
