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The timing was perfect during the fifth event of the 2007-08 Heartland Team Series season sponsored by Tracker Marine / Nitro Boats and O'Reilly Auto Parts. Even though the water was over 20 feet high at Truman Lake, perfect weather conditions put all of the heavy weight fish in the mood to feed.
The post-spawners were chasing shad around flooded bushes and on points, feeding up during the late spring heavy cloud cover. The weigh-in was exciting as bag after bag raised the bar with solid Truman largemouths.
Heartland Team Series points leaders, Jerry McCutchen and Sonny Chafin continued to maintain their margin with another top finish but with one tournament remaining on the schedule, anything can happen at Grand Lake. The top 40 teams are jockeying for position to reach the $130,000 Heartland Team Series Championship and every fish is important.
Long time Truman Lake guide Fred Baraks and teammate John Krewson waded through about 20 Truman keepers to knock out their first Heartland victory with an arm straining 21.46 lbs. This formidable team worked the lower Grand, Tebo and Pomme arms, looking for humps and points that had deep water nearby.
The weapons of choice were the typical post-spawn fair, Carolina-rigged worms and brush hogs plus a shad pattern deep diving Chow Hound crankbait that John custom paints himself. Their Carolina rigs were set up for battling heavy Truman bass with a 1 oz weight tied to 25 lb Berkley Big Game on their main line and 20 lb Big Game as the leader. To give the fish some variety, they also fished a 5/16 oz Megastrike Shak-E2 head tipped with a Zoom baby brush hog or a seven inch Culprit worm.
The key to their bite was finding schools of fish on very small, specific locations in 16-21 feet of water and working the area thoroughly before moving on. Some of the locations were as small as a bass boat but were loaded with multiple fish. The team split $3400 for the victory and also added a $200 Solar Bat incentive as well. Fred is sponsored by Alron Lures, Cul-M-Rite Scales, Mercury Marine, Motor Guide, Triton Boats, Zebco, Quantum, Pro’s Choice Marine, Autoland Parts.com, Benton County Enterprise. John is sponsored by War Eagle Baits, Autoland Parts.com, Quantum and Culprit.
2nd Place – Jeff Combs, Friend, NE and Paul Combs, Olathe, KS
A 21.12 lb limit put the father/son team of Jeff and Paul Combs in 2nd Place. They stayed in the lower Grand all day to beat the bushes for an outstanding limit that would have won most any tournament on Truman. They pocketed $2050 while pitching a black and blue craw tube made by Wolf Tackle of Lincoln, Nebraska.
They started in 3-4 feet and worked out to bushes in 7-10 feet of water later in the day on primary points. Their baits were pegged with a 1/4 oz texas rig with a 3/0 Mustad hook. The team is sponsored by Falcon Rods, Mustad Hooks, Plano Tackle Systems, Charger Boats, Yamaha Motors, MinnKota and Maui Jim Sunglasses.
3rd Place – Jim Davidson, Arma, KS and Butch Still, Flippin, AR
Coming off a recent victory in the 2008 Kim Patek Benefit tournament, Jim Davidson and Butch Still racked up another high finish with 20.32 lbs. Working the 15 foot zone, they worked Carolina rigs tipped with lizards and brush hogs to sift through 35 keepers. They pocketed $1450 for their work. Jim is sponsored by Bomber Bait Co., Mercury Marine, Ranger Boats, Silver Thread, Smithwick Lures, Dave Mungenast MotorSports, Riverside Lures and Rebel Lures. Butch is sponsored by Bull Shoals Boat Dock, Jewel Bait Co., Ranger Boats, Chompers and Crooked Creek Tackle.
Fred Baraks —Warsaw, MO
John Krewson —Overbrook, KS
Lake level: 727.15', rising, 706' normal pool.
Air Temp: 76-79º Cloudy. SW wind 0-10mph
Water Temp: 50-53 º
Water Color: Heavy Stain Osage & Grand arms, light staine on Pomme Arm.
• Fish were feeding on primary pointsw after the swpawn.
• Bass were tightly schooled on small "sweet spots".
• Caught bass on a deep diving crankbait and Caolina rigged plastics.
Home Water Advantage Leads Baraks & Krewson to Team Series Victory
