Team Series Grand lake Recap

The tournament determined the Top 40 teams who would go on to fish the $130,000 Heartland Team Series Championship at Truman Lake in mid-October. Jerry McCutchen and Sonny Chafin held on to their lead to end a stellar year as the Team Series point champions. This formidable team only had one tournament out of the Top 6 and posted two wins. Congratulations on a great season!

Dave Barker and Billy Bird worked up 17.84 lbs of Grand Lake bass to notch their first Team Series victory. The consistent team worked the mid-lake area with a combination of bottom bouncing lures to cull up a win.

In practice leading up to the event, Dave had found fish out deep on ledges in 18 to 20 feet of water. During the tournament, this depth didn’t produce and they slowly moved shallow until they found fish in 6 to 10 feet. Another problem they had was the popularity of a number of fruitful points with other fishermen. They had to run by their first few choices before finding a point which wasn’t covered up with a boat.

Not every location was productive but when they had a bite, more fish were located on that spot. A mixture of baits milked each spot for all it was worth. A Carolina rigged Zoom brush hog, Jewel PB&J football jig and 8” Texas rigged Luck “E” Strike worm were money for Dave and Billy. The team split $3550 for the victory.

Dave is sponsored by Luck "E" Strike USA, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Pro Craft Boats, Pro Guide Batteries, Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World and Jernigan Jigs. Billy is sponsored by Luck "E" Strike USA, Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Motors.

2nd Place – Tim Sherrill of Harrison, AR and Scott Boaz of Harrison, AR

A 17.77 lb limit narrowly put the team of Tim Sherrill and Scott Boaz in 2nd Place. A structure bite worth $2150 was found on main lake points. Tim and Scott felt they were fishing a little deeper than the rest of the field and worked the 15 to 20 foot range in search of a better quality of fish. The morning bite was the best and they had culled up to their best fish by 10 am.

Not all points were productive which left Scott and Tim wondering why identical points would not product identical results. Some points would kick out a fish or two and then they had to move on to new water. Cover numerous location with a Jewel 5/8 oz brown/purple flash football jig tipped with a green pumpkin Paca chunk trailer was the key to their success. The team is sponsored by Bass Cat Boats, Bull Shoals Boat Dock, Fall Creek Custom Lures, Pro Guide Batteries and Mercury Marine.

3rd Place – Wes Endicott of Joplin, MO and Greg Wood of Branson, MO

Sometimes a turn of bad luck is really a blessing in disguise. Wes and Greg had a small limit of schooling fish in the livewell when their boat broke down.

Instead of letting the problem become a hindrance to their day, they idled to a nearby deep flat with small, scattered brush piles to cull up to 17.73 lbs and cash a $1500 check.