Tournament News

Championship 2010

I said last year not to bet the farm on returning to Amistad and I want to emphasize this year that if you are fishing because you think we are going back to Falcon that you might want to re-think your reasoning. Falcon was as good of fishing as I have ever experienced and everyone has a story about the one that "got away" but we have not contacted Falcon and my intent is to do the same as last year and visit with 3 to 4 Chamber of Commerce representatives and make a decision in May or June. I still have 2 lakes from last year that we did not go to, and have had recommendations in favor of another 3. It is important to keep an even playing field as much as possible and for that reason even if we knew I would not announce the site. I believe all of you would agree that by not knowing it keeps us at that "grass roots" level and some very enjoyable competition.

 

 

Falcon Lake, Zapata Texas

2009 Championship Recap

Championship was all most of us expected and a little more. The fish at Falcon are plain mean. If you catch them deep they fight in the rubble before giving up and then right as you get them to the boat another run as they jump to make fun of you from the other side. If you hook one in a drain or on a flat they will wrap you up in the brush as fast as you can react and then you can only hope for them to unwrap themselves so you can appreciate the size of the fight. With all this in mind a big round of applause should go out to to Kyle Beckner and Mike Pullen as well as Mike Chisum and Joe Bennett and Lawrence Roybal and Alan Bauder. Kyle and Mike didn't put a 30 plus pound sack together but consistently put 26 to 27 pounds in the boat to lead wire to wire. Kyle and Mike weren't Super Team qualifiers and fished the 3 tournaments they had to to qualify and then showed up blind, broke down, borrowed a boat and put 79.99 pounds in the boat to win it all. Mike and Joe and Lawrence and Alan put 33 pound sacks in the boat which moved them way up the leader board and ultimately a second place finish for Mike Chisum and Joe Bennett who also didn't qualify for Super Team but weighed in almost 76 pounds for the 3 days. These sacks were as impressive as I have seen as they weren't quite bookends but solid 6's with a 9 kicker usually. I think after 6 days and 2 distinct patterns a lot of people had started dialing it in and all are looking forward to going back outside of the drive! Trent and Alek Loukas took third place with consistent fishing as well as they just couldn't put the big sack together, their 73 pounds were as consistent as Kyle and Mike as they went from seventh place on Wednesday to 3rd on Thursday and holding onto third overall. There were 3 fish over 10 pounds weighed in as well as a 9.78 and countless eights and sevens. 4th through 6th place were separated by just a half a pound with Jeff and Sheri Jorde holding on to 4th (Jeff and Sheri blew up an engine on Thursday morning and were forced to fish off the trolling motor) and Lawrence Roybal and Alan Bauder taking 5th anchored by their 33 pound bag on Friday. Kenny Hansel and Bob Lechel took sixth place but the 4 dead fish over 3 days ultimately cost them 2 places as they would have erased the half pound and had 4th place honors instead. Big fish for the Tournament honors went to Buddy and Mary Sanfor with a 10.77 pound largemouth and unfortunately for the Gizzi's they had a 10.19 that same Thursday. 7th through 10th place all were in the 69 pound range with the Colantonio's taking 7th, Kevin Smith and Josh Tidenberg in 8th, Adrian Yeo and Jim McCormick in 9th and Steve Schneider and Leon Pulliam in 10th. The rest of the top 20 goes as follows - Fritz Staver and Brian Stangel in 11th 66.34 pounds, Terry Scarafiotti and Dale Cillesson in 12th 66.19 pounds, Rod Hasseloff and Randy Massucci in 13th 65.01 pounds, Randy Dixon and Landon Carter in 14th 64.90 pounds, Billy Havens and Harry Dalton in 15th 64.07 pounds, Buddy and Mary Sanford in 16th place with 61.53 pounds, Todd Town and Jerry Greer in 17th 59.93 pounds, Doug Stewart and Steve DelValle in 18th 59.32 pounds, Ron Pigg and Danny Mitchell in 19th 57.56 pounds and John Meyers and Brett Britton in 20th with 57.13 pounds.


Fritz Staver and Brian Stangel took Angler of the Year honors by beating out Randy Dixon and Landon Carter. Todd Town and Jerry Greer took Ranger Cup Champions with Fritz Staver and Brian Stangel in second and Kevin Smith and Josh Tidenberg in third place overall for the year.


I can't begin to tell all of you how appreciative we were of the job of the Zapata Chamber of Commerce and James and the guys at Falcon Lake and Tackle. Paco Mendoza and his staff did an outstanding job of representing the community and having facilities for us for meetings and awards ceremonies. The meals were outstanding and the coffe and donuts were enjoyed by all. James and the guys at Falcon Lake and Tackle helped at weigh in working fish and posting results. I will include links to both later this week. Tony and Leah took on a new role and did a great job as well and we will be glad to have them back fishing next year.

Welcome to The 2010 SCBA Tournament Schedule

Each Lake and its date is shown below for the 2010 Tournament schedule. Interactive links are included in case you haven't fished the lake before. Hopefully this will allow all to research further the lakes for 2010.  This weekends tournament at Amistad will kick off the 2010 season.  Contestant/Team meeting will be Friday night at the Ramada Inn in the Sunflower Room just off the restaurant at 7pm.  Check in will start at 6pm, we will see you all in Del Rio.  Drive safe and watch out for the snow!

 

2010 Team Tourney Info

I have had a lot of inquiries regarding the Team Tournament format and rules. The Team Tournament is a tournament inside the normal qualifier that qualifies 15 teams to fish for the pot monies at Championship within their division. The Top Ten overall teams plus the 5 Teams with best 3 of 4 finishes fish for the Total Team entry fees throughout the year at Championship with the Top 5 splitting the monies. 100 percent payback and a 1 in 3 payback at Championship can mean for some extra travel money at the end. Last year's first, second, third and fourth place finishers didn't fish or qualify for Team and the fifth place overall team of Bauder and Roybal might have taken as much home as the third place team. And teams like Staver and Stangel and Hansel and Lechel actually did quite well because even though their overall finish wasn't as high as they may have wanted they won monies in Overall, and East and West Team standings by qualifying on both sides. If you plan on fishing Championship then the extra Team entry can pay off big if you qualify and finish high at the tournament in October even if you don't pull a Beckner.

 

 

Click here for SCBA Ranger Cup Tournament Results 2009

 

2010 Tournament Schedule

Lake Amistad (East and West) - February 27th and 28th

First Tournaments of the year for each division. East and West divisions get started at a lake well known to most of us but fishing has been anything but friendly lately. Might have a few early spawners but look out for the cold winds.

 

Ute Lake (East and West) - March 27th and 28th

Second Qualifiers for each division at New Mexico's eastern most lake. East and West divisions will compete together for one last time before Championship. Might be a little early for the spawn but the Smallies should be ready to bite. Windy and cold so keep the Goretex out from the first tournament.

 

Conchas Lake (East only) - April 17th and 18th

Third Qualifier for the East division brings us back to Conchas Lake hoping for better overall results with being a month earlier. The first lake along the Canadian River has been very tough to all anglers and hopefully she will treat us a little better than 2009.

 

Elephant Butte Lake (West only) - June 12th and 13th

Third Qualifier for the West division takes us to an old friend on the Rio Grande. Elephant Butte is still down compared to the 80's and 90's but the fishing is definitely coming back. Warm weather and plenty of action this time of year.

Ute Lake (East only) - June 26th and 27th

Fourth and Final Qualifier for the East division takes us back to Logan, NM and Ute lake. Final chance to get your 3 tournaments to qualify to championship.

Navajo Lake (West only) - July 31st and August 1st

This is the one tournament that could change date and lake as we look to membership in the first 3 tournaments. Although the fishing is always good, facilities are a challenge and the travel is long. We will keep you posted.

 

Championship Tournament
TBA October 10th thru 15th

I know everyone enjoyed Falcon and the Zapata Chamber was great but don't bet the farm on going back this year. I will announce for sure in June as we will send out letters of interest and work with local Chambers before we make a decision and announce where we are for 2010.