Albert Collins of Nacogdoches, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament of 2015 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For his victory, Collins earned $5,271.
“I spent a lot of time practicing for this tournament so to start the week off with a little more money in my pocket is great,” said Collins.
The Texas angler said he targeted postspawn bass that were pulled back in front of bushes near mid-lake points.
“They congregated near where the shad were spawning,” said Collins. “I was getting a lot of bites but most of them were too small. In fact, I never caught multiple good-sized fish in one spot so I ended up running to a lot of different points.”
Collins said nearly every fish he caught came on a California Love-colored Missile Baits D Stroyer.
“I focused on two different depth ranges - 9 to 12 feet, and 18 feet. In those depths, the D Stroyer worked really well,” said Collins. “I caught around 20 keepers throughout the day so it was very productive.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 22-2, $4,271 + $1,000 Mercury Bonus
2nd: Cody Martin, Goldonna, La., five bass, 19-14, $2,136
3rd: Charles Hammack, New Caney, Texas, five bass, 16-6, $1,424
4th: Clint Lipham, Conroe, Texas, five bass, 16-2, $997
5th: Chris McCall, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 15-13, $854
6th: Cole Garrett, Winnfield, La., five bass, 15-12, $783
7th: Blake Schroeder, Whitehouse, Texas, five bass, 15-9, $712
8th: Kevin Lasyone, Dry Prong, La., five bass, 15-5, $641
9th: Colt Farris, Joshua, Texas, five bass, 14-7, $569
10th: Craig Frilot, Breaux Bridge, La., five bass, 14-2, $498
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Martin caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $595.
Russell Lewis of Pineville, Louisiana, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $2,064 in the co-angler division.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Russell Lewis, Pineville, La., five bass, 17-7, $2,064
2nd: Steve Phillips, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 13-10, $1,032
3rd: Jose Santana, Diboll, Texas, five bass, 13-8, $688
4th: Joshua Dupree, Haughton, La., five bass, 13-5, $482
5th: Clay Phillips, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 12-15, $413
6th: Cody Canerday, Welsh, La., five bass, 12-12, $378
7th: Henry Trotty, Kountze, Texas, five bass, 12-9, $344
8th: Brian Tolley, Katy, Texas, five bass, 11-12, $310
9th: Steve Lee, Conroe, Texas, five bass, 11-1, $275
10th: Larry Corley, Bentley, La., five bass, 10-15, $241
Kyle Guidry of Opelousas, Louisiana, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $287.