Austin Weaver wins $10,000 on Pickwick in the American Bass Anglers Open Series Area 1 Championship
Austin Weaver wins $10,000 on
Pickwick in the Area 1 Championship
Austin Weaver of Sheffield, Alabama took home the win in the American Bass Anglers Open Series Area 1 Championship, held on Lake Pickwick October 6th & 7th, 2018. Launching out of McFarland Park Weaver caught five-bass on day one weighing 15.75-pounds. On day two, Weaver weighed in another five-bass limit weighing 18.09-pounds for a total of 33.84-pounds. With a 2.58-pound lead over second place, Weaver took home a check for $10,000.
“Started both days, fishing up river throwing a spinnerbait and was able to catch a few in the morning and then decided to make a run-down river to my afternoon spot to finish out my limit with a shaky head,” said Weaver.
Coming in second place in the boater division was Gil Summerlin of Guntersville, Alabama weighing in two five-bass limits for a total of 31.26-pounds. Summerlin took home a check for $700 dollars for his efforts.
“I fished in the mid-lake area using a bull shad and a mean mouth walking bait on grass points in 5-8 foot of water. I ended up finishing out my limit with a green pumpkin mean mouth rocker jig,” said Summerlin.
Tony Tidwell, of Horton, Alabama finished third for the boaters also weighing in two five-bass limits for a total of 30.69-pounds. Tidwell took home a check of $500 for his efforts.
“I ran downriver fishing shallow water areas that had grass in them. I was throwing a ½ oz. jig on day one and had to downsize to a ¼ oz. jig on day two because the bite was tough,” said Tidwell.
In the boater division, the big bass was caught by Mike Jones of Brandon, Mississippi weighing 5.24-pounds. Jones took home a check for $520 for his catch.
“I was downriver and made my last cast at 1:17 pm using a Lucky Craft Sammy around shallow water,” said Jones.
Finishing fourth place was Bryan Dowdy of Florence, Alabama. Dowdy brought two five-bass limits to the scales for 27.81-pounds. Dowdy took home a check for $425 for his efforts. Rounding out the top five was Randy Vires of Olive Branch, Mississippi weighing in two five-bass limits for 26.77-pounds. Vires received a check for $350 for his catch.
In the Co-Angler Division Justin McKee of Pheba, Mississippi brought two-bass to the scales on day-one weighing in at 5.46-pounds. On day-two McKee brought three-bass to the scales weighing 11.09-pounds, for a two-day total of 16.50-pounds. McKee took home a check of $5000 for his catch.
“We were fishing downriver in rocky areas and were able to find schooling fish. I caught one fish on a Zara spook, I caught my second fish on a fluke and fished out my limit with a shaky head,” said McKee.
In second place for the co-anglers was Roy Yother of Red Bank, Tennessee bringing a two-day total of six-bass to the scales for a total of 16.50-pounds. He took home a check for $350 dollars for his efforts.
“On day-one, I was able to catch my fish on a Carolina rig with a Zoom ultra-vibe speed worm and on day-two I used a Ned-Rig fishing in current to catch my limit,” said Yother.
Coming in third place was Daniel Kendrick of Chatsworth, Georgia with a six-bass limit weighing 16.50-pounds. Kendrick took home a check for $300 dollars for his efforts.
“I started out on day one down river fishing grass edges and I caught all my fish using a whopper plopper. On day-two we fished around the dam throwing jerk baits and under-spins to fill my limit,” said Kendrick.
In the Co-Angler Division, the big bass was caught by Mike Gibson, of Gadsden, Alabama receiving a check for $155 for this kicker fish.
“I caught my big bass on a Zoom Horny Toad around 1:30 in the afternoon. It was my last cast before heading back for the weigh-in,” said Gibson.
Finishing fourth place was Mike Allen of Crystal Springs, Mississippi weighing in two three-bass limits for 13.74-pounds. He took home a check for $250 for his efforts. Rounding out the top five in the Co-Angler Division was Duane Parker of Dalton, Georgia, he brought three-bass to the scales on day-one and two-bass to the scales on day-two weighing a total of 13.41-pounds. Parker took home a check of $200 for his catch.
The next tournament will be the Ray Scott Championship. At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance to the 2018 Ray Scott Championship to be held on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
American Bass Anglers Inc. is supported by Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Geico, Berkley, ABU Garcia, T-H Marine, Maui Jim, Garmin, Sirius XM Marine weather and Optima Batteries.
American Bass Anglers can be contacted at (256) 232-0406 or by visiting americanbassanglers.com