Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - April 2017

"Thefirstonewasourbigbas, a73/4, thenwecaughta71/2andthenwecaughta63/4. Itcompletelyturnedourday around." Creliadescribedtheareaasbare, hardbotomed, andaboutthesizeofaboat. "I'veknownaboutitforacoupleyears, butI'veneverrealycaughtthemthatwelthere.Wedrovebyityesterdayinpractice,madeonecastandcaughtan 8-pounder. Butwethoughtthatwasmoreofaflukethananything." CreliaandGoodwynusedCarolina-riggedStrikeKinglizards(grenpumpkin,watermelon)and5/8-ounceStrikeKing StructurejigswithRageCrawtrailers(watermelonred). Whilebothproducedfish, thelizardsworkedbest-acounting forfourofthefiveweighfish. Thesebaitswerepresentedinanywherefrom8outto20fetofwaterontheaforemen- tionedhardbotoms, channel swingsandsecondarypoints. "Weweresolelytargetingprespawnfish,"reiteratedCrelia.CreliaandGoodwyn'sofficialweightwas30.09pounds, whichearnedthemaTriton189TRXwitha225-horsepowerMercuryoutboard. Combinedwith$3,105ofAnglersAdvan- tagecash, theirtotal prizepackagewas$38,600. "Everythingwentrighttoday. Wedidn'tlosebutonefish. I'mamechanicandI wasworiedwewerehavingmotorprob- lemssoafterwecaughtthethrebigoneswetookiteasyandstayedclosejustincase. Afterweigh-in, ourlowerunit cameofonthewaytogetthetrailer. Talkaboutgoodtiming. "It'sgoodtobebackwinning. We'vebensocloselately; somebodycatchesonegiantandbeatsus. Eventodaywefelt wenededonemorecul-onemore6-or7-pounder. Itfelsgreatanditcouldn'tcomeatabetertimeforusboth. It getsourconfidenceback. TheTexasTeamTrail isjustsohardtowinbecauseit'ssuchastoutfield."

Thethirdqualifierofthe2017TexasTeamTrail seasonisslatedforApril 1onBeltonLake.

TOPTENRESULTS: ToledoBend 1st: PhilipCreliaandTJGoodwyn, 30.09 2nd: MikeGibbsandDennisRutherford, 27.97 3rd: ClintFountainandRobertGlende, 25.67 4th: BenMatsubuandBrannonMire, 25.37 5th: DavidMongandDerekMong, 24.55 6th: MyronBeachyandJoeMann, 23.64 7th: LaryFitsandJamesDuton, 23.50 8th: JasonConnandRobertBrockJr., 23.03 9th: ColeTempleandTylerBradfield, 22.83 10th: StephenJohnstonandDanWilson, 21.93