Texas Team Trail Presented by Cabela’s Wraps Up First Event of 2013 at Sam Rayburn Lake
OutdoorHub 03.05.13
Huge catch propels Team Mansfield/Flowers to victory
Grover Mansfield, of Devers, Texas, and Brandon Flowers, of Mont Belvieu, Texas, brought 29.99 pounds of largemouth bass to the scales to win the first event of the 2013 season of the Texas Team Trail presented by Cabela’s on March 2. The duo took home a new Triton 18XS powered by an Evinrude 150 HO package for their efforts.
The team added $2,010 to their winnings by taking part in the Angler Advantage Program and another $1,125 for the Big Bass award, which weighed 11.46 pounds.
Even though the anglers were surprised by the high winds, it didn’t affect their day of tournament fishing.
“Luckily, the area we chose to fish was protected out of the wind,” said Mansfield. “It really didn’t change the way we fished. We had fished the same conditions the week before.”
Fishing around the Deer Stand Cove area, the team threw jigs in the first grass line against the bank in 3-4 feet of water to catch their limit. The anglers used their experience gained from fishing the TXTT last year to get their first TXTT tournament win.
“The event was awesome,” said Mansfield. “It was one of those days where you couldn’t do anything wrong. It seemed like there was nothing that could happen that would keep us from winning.”
Second-place finishers Jake Wedel, of Rosharon, Texas, and Jeremy Wedel, of Houston, Texas, weighed a five-fish limit of 25.98 pounds. The team won $5,625 for their performance.
Jared Dean, of Huntington, Texas, and Jason Burton, of Lufkin, Texas, took the $3,375 third-place prize for their 25.37 pounds of bass. The team added an extra $1,474 in Angler Advantage cash.
“The howling winds forced us to stay in pockets and drains,” said Dean. “It actually helped us by forcing us to stay in two primary areas all day.”
The duo threw lipless crank baits early without success. After a mid-morning switch to a Carolina-rigged soft plastic and creature bait, the team started seeing results.
“We transitioned to a deep grass bite,” said Dean. “A little before quitting time we hit a few brush piles and culled a two-pounder with a six-pounder.”
The Sam Rayburn Lake event was the first of four 2013 qualifying events that guarantee a fully-rigged, 18-foot tournament-equipped bass boat package as first place prize – in this case a Triton 18XS powered by an Evinrude 150 HO package.
The next stop for the Texas Team Trail is Lake Ray Roberts on April 6. Competitors who register for the Lake Ray Roberts event by midnight of Thursday, April 4, will be allowed to pre-fish on Friday, April 5, and entered into a drawing for a free Minn Kota Talon.
2013 Scheduled Events
April 6 – Lake Ray Roberts
May 4 – Belton Lake
June 1 – Cedar Creek Lake
Championship – October 12-13 – Falcon Lake
