This years Specktacular tourney has come to an end and what a good one it was. My partner and I made a good run but just fell short of team of year honors. Overall we ended up in 2nd place behind Capt. John Havens and his partner Eric Renteria. Congrats go to John and Eric for taking home the Team of Year honors as they are always a tough team to beat. Congrats to Randy Weaver and Dean Stevens for pulling out a win for the championship. It was some tough conditions but they battled through it and brought in some solid Trout.

This tourney was run really well this year and Capt. Lynn put together a great tourney series that I look forward to fishing again next year.  Great job Capt. Lynn

Here how the weekend championship went down

CHAMPIONSHIP
Day one- As the day started, with a light northwest breeze; 52 anglers or 26 teams were set to fight it out for $12,800.00 in total prize money and the championship crown. There were also 4 teams with a legitimate shot at taking home the coveted TOY (team of the year) award (a prize package valued in excess of $10,000.00), so we thought. With the points being doubled for this 2 day event and 3 teams within 10 points of the TOY leaders and a few more a little farther back, things could get interesting to say the least. As the weights started coming in, and the weigh line not set to close until 5pm, the leader board began to take shape and the TOY race was getting real interesting. After sorting through it all the Team of Cubbage/Soule (Mike Cubbage and Steve Soule) were sitting on top with an impressive 3 trout stringer of 16.08 lbs., which included a fish that tipped the scales at 7.52 lbs. In second was the Team of Anderson/Stillwagon (Steve Anderson and Aaron Stillwagon) with a nice stringer that weighed in at 13.67 lbs. Crossing the scales in third was Team Wild ride (Jimmy Love and Jason Applebee) with a total weight of 12.49 lbs. Rounding out the top five on day one were the Teams of Ramsey/Vacek (Chris Ramsey and Michael Vacek) with 12.42 lbs. and Team Gunslinger (Taylor and Tracy Griffin) with 11.67 lbs. Big trout honors for the day went to Mike Douglas of Team Baad Marine with a pig weighing in at 8.26lbs. The TOY the year race was starting to get real interesting also with the leaders Havens/Renteria (John Havens and Eric Renteria) only able to bring in a 3 trout stringer of 9.70 lbs. landing them in 10th place after day one and Team Saltwater Assault (Greg Francis and Daniel Popovich) was applying the pressure by landing 2 places in front of the leaders with a sack that weighed in at 10.49 lbs. Team Generation Gap (Brent Juarez and George Knighten), only 3 points behind when the day started, found themselves completely of the leader board and Team Shake & Bake (Daniel Marshall and Mike Pickell) were sitting in a paltry 18th place, setting up a showdown on day two between Havens/ Renteria and Team Saltwater Assault for the TOY bragging rights. With the top 7 teams on the leader board after day one virtually out of the TOY race, pulling out the TOY race could become reality for Team Saltwater Assault if they could move themselves up 3 more spots in front of Havens/Renteria and come to the weigh line first. (All ties are broken by first to weigh in). With conditions set to change drastically on day 2 things were about to get real interesting both for the championship crown and the TOY race, and without a doubt, probably a sleepless night for a few teams to say the least.

CHAMPIONSHIP
Day 2- As the sun broke the horizon and the wind blowing from the southeast with wreck less abandon, day 2 of the championship promised to be an exercise in futility. With conditions doing a complete 180 degrees from the day before, the leader board quite possibly could completely turnover and the TOY race was there to be had for the team that showed the most patience and intestinal fortitude. Weigh lines were set to open at 12pm and closing 2 hours earlier than the day before at 3pm. With less time to fish, and the strong southeast wind, teams were forced to get to there spot and pretty much stay there for the majority of their day, if not all day. As the teams started to arrive, it promised to be exciting all the way to the end. When the dust had settled, Team Ninja (Randy Weaver and Dean Stevens), the reigning TOY, had climbed all the way from 6th place on day one to win the championship with a day 2 stringer of 15.33 lbs. and a 2 day total of 26.89 lbs. garnering themselves a nice pay day of $6060.00. Making it close and standing pat from day 1 was the team of Anderson/Stillwagon with 3 fish that hit the scales at 13.00lbs., giving them a 2 day total of 26.67 lbs. only 0.22 behind the winners and taking home a check for $2650.00. Holding onto third for the 2nd day in a row was Team Wild ride with 3 fish totaling 12.03 lbs. and a 2 day total of 24.52 lbs. earning themselves a check for $1755.00. Rounding out the top 5 were day 1 leaders Cubbage/Soule with a 2 day total of 24.26 lbs. and a check for $1000.00 and Team Saltwater Assault moving up 3 spots to finish in 5th with a 2 day total of 23.62 lbs. to take home a check for $735.00. Big trout honors went to Mike Douglas with that hefty 8.26lb pig from day 1. Steve Soule took second with his 7.52 lb fish from day 1 also. In third was Aaron Stillwagon with a nice 6.67 lb. trout. TOY of the year leaders Havens/ Renteria were able to move up 4 spots from day one to secure the title of TOY finishing a mere 8 points in front of Saltwater Assault, who made a valiant effort and put a lot of pressure on Havens/Renteria when all was on the line, but in the end John and Eric were not to be denied. They fished their rear ends off during the series and will tell you to this day that there were no easy days during this series and that at times thought that they had blown it only to keep fishing. They eventually ended up getting all the bites that they needed to take home the prize. Congrats to Team Ninja for their championship win and to John and Eric for busting down that door and taking home the TOY title for 2011. Thanks to everyone who fished this year’s series and hope to see you next year.

Capt. Lynn

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I really wish I had a good report to make but to be honest its been really tough out there on the water. The fish are on there usually spring time spots but our spring time winds are keeping us from hitting most of the areas we like to fish this time of year. Most of my trips the past two weeks have been canceled to to wind forecasts of  20 knots or more. On the days we try to get out and brave the windy conditions we are forced to seek  protected shorelines or coves. The numbers have been way down on these days as most of them turn into a grind it out type of day. When we do get that small window of light winds we have been doing real well. The San Luis Pass has been holding high concentrations of fish that have been just crushing  topwatersl. Two weeks ago me and my Trout tourney partner caught well over a 100 Trout on topwaters. Most were in the 1 to 2lb range but we did manage several in the 4 to 5lb range. The mid bay reefs have been holding good numbers of trout but the wind has been way to strong to get out on the open bay reefs most days. Once the wind starts backing off these reefs in Galvestons West Bay will be producing a lot of good Trout for us. Hopefully the winds will give us a break real soon so I will have something better to report. As of now the only advice I can give is try to find a good protected area with good water and key in on areas with lots of bait and look for slicks. Slicks will be a good sign of feeding Trout in the area. Areas with rafting mullet is another good area to try as hungry Trout and Reds wont be far behind. All the fish we have caught at thePass the past few weeks have alot of nervous bait in the area. Topwaters in the Jimmy Houston pattern Super Spook, Chrome/ blue back Super Spook, and the bone Super Spook Jr. Have been the best producers the past several weeks.  

Tight lines and full limits

Capt. Greg Francis

Saltwater Assault Guide Service

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April 12th

Fishing the last few days has been very tough!!!! The wind has been our biggest enemy limiting the areas we can fish. Yesterday we had a hard westerly wind and today it was comming northeast. The two directions make most of the areas in West Bay difficult to fish. On the few days we have had light winds we have done pretty well on Trout and Reds. On days with high winds our numbers have been cut way down. The San Luis Pass has been showing good signs of feeding Trout and Reds on topwaters but you really half to have light winds to have a good day in this area. The most consistant bite has been finding Trout over shell in 2 to 4′ of water. Bass Assassins in plum/Char has been been very effective along with topwaters early. The north shorelines has had steady action on the Reds on the smaller Super Spook Jrs. When this wind decides to give us a break look for some more solid reports comming from down San luis Pass way as this is an area I will been focusing in on the most.

Capt. Greg Francis

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