SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. - Chad Brauer's mastery of the Red River continued Saturday and left even local anglers shaking their heads in disbelief. Boating the week's heaviest catch, 21 pounds, 3 ounces, to the scales as the last angler to weigh in, the Osage Beach, Mo., pro totally blew away the competition in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open here. His three-day total of 56-14 easily bested runner-up Craig Schuff by more than 16 pounds; Schuff weighed in 40-12.
"Tournaments like this don't happen very often," said Brauer, whose only other win in BASS competition came in 1996. "I had a large area completely to myself the entire week, so all I had to do was figure out what the bass were doing. I never had to fish defensively at all."
Concentrating in an off-river oxbow he found on Internet maps and visited this past February, Brauer flipped a black/blue flake Strike King Rodent and cranked a Strike King Series 4S crankbait around various types of flooded timber. With water levels dropping daily, he followed the bass as they moved from the shoreline out to about 10 feet where they suspended in fallen timber.
"I had my limit today by 9 a.m.," said Brauer. "But it only weighed about 10 pounds. Then, between 9:30 and 11 a.m., everything I caught was in the 3- to 4-pound range. I left the area at 11 a.m to come back to the weigh-in."
Schuff, winner of the Central Division's opening event at Lake Amistad, fished within site of the launch ramp, but had to work much harder. Rather than fish a floating frog over lily pads as most were doing, he swam a 5/16-oz. Eakins Finesse Jig with a NetBait Paca Craw trailer through the pads a foot under the surface. As unusual as the technique may have been, it kept Schuff in the top five all week.
James Biggs of Bedford, Texas, followed in third with 38-11; he was fishing laydown timber with nearby deep water and catching 15 to 20 bass a day with finesse-type plastic worms and light line. Keith Combs captured fourth with 32-10, after spending his tournament fishing a shallow backwater area with floating frogs and shallow-running crankbaits.
Dianna Clark, a former Women's Bassmaster Tour champion and one of several former WBT anglers in the tournament, claimed fifth with 31-5, flipping a Lake Fork Trophy Tackle finesse lure to shallow stumps and laydowns. Rather than run to different areas, Clark, who's known for her flipping skills, stayed in one small area and worked it thoroughly all three days.
Thomas Tysdal, an IBM program manager, won the co-angler division with four bass weighing 20 pounds, 14 ounces. More than half that weight came with one bass, an 11-pound, 3-ounce, giant he caught on a Spro Bronzeye Frog Jr. on Friday.
Saturday's final weigh-in was conducted at Bass Pro Shops in Bossier City where an overflow crowd watched as each pro and co-angler partner were pulled to the weigh-in stage in Toyota Tundra trucks.
The next Central Open tournament, to be held on Lake Texoma on Oct. 21-23, will close out the series and determine the two 2011 Bassmaster Classic spots and the seven qualifying berths into the Bassmaster Elite Series.
Leading the race is Schuff, who is followed by Texan Keith Combs and Bassmaster Elite Series angler Clark Reehm. The full standings can be found below.
BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN STANDINGS- RED RIVER- PRO- FINAL
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Chad Brauer Osage Beach, Mo. 15 56-14 310 $47,571.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 18-12 Day 3: 5 21-03
2. Craig Schuff Watauga, Texas 15 40-12 295 $21,143.00
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 14-14 Day 3: 5 10-06
3. James Biggs Bedford, Texas 15 38-11 290 $14,800.00
Day 1: 5 11-07 Day 2: 5 14-10 Day 3: 5 12-10
4. Keith Combs Del Rio, Texas 13 32-10 285 $10,571.00
Day 1: 3 5-10 Day 2: 5 11-06 Day 3: 5 15-10
5. Dianna Clark Bumpus Mills, Tenn. 14 31-05 280 $9,514.00
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 4 6-05 Day 3: 5 13-02
6. Frank Scalish Cleveland Heights, Ohi 15 30-04 276 $8,457.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 8-02 Day 3: 5 8-12
7. Russell Parrish Riesel, Texas 10 30-02 277 $7,400.00
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 2 4-09 Day 3: 3 6-15
8. Brian Clark Haltom City, Texas 15 29-09 268 $6,343.00
Day 1: 5 9-07 Day 2: 5 9-09 Day 3: 5 10-09
9. Ryan Piersdorf Forest Lake, Minn. 13 29-00 264 $5,286.00
Day 1: 3 7-08 Day 2: 5 11-08 Day 3: 5 10-00
10. James Stricklin Jasper, Texas 13 28-07 260 $4,757.00
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 3 6-00 Day 3: 5 9-07
11. Scott Mcgehee Madison, Miss. 14 28-06 257 $4,229.00
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 4 6-06 Day 3: 5 10-11
12. Scott Dean Terrell, Texas 15 28-04 254 $3,700.00
Day 1: 5 6-02 Day 2: 5 11-07 Day 3: 5 10-11
13. Jim Dillard Houston, Ark. 14 27-08 251 $3,171.00
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 4 5-10 Day 3: 5 9-07
14. Jared Miller Cookson, Okla. 11 27-08 248 $2,643.00
Day 1: 5 8-07 Day 2: 5 18-00 Day 3: 1 1-01
15. Lee Sisson Winter Haven, Fla. 14 27-07 245 $2,379.00
Day 1: 5 9-03 Day 2: 5 10-10 Day 3: 4 7-10
16. OT Fears Sallisaw, Okla. 12 27-05 243 $2,114.00
Day 1: 4 10-02 Day 2: 3 6-14 Day 3: 5 10-05
17. Derick Kuyrkendall Bergheim, Texas 13 27-01 241 $2,009.00
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 7-07 Day 3: 3 6-06
18. Clark Wendlandt Leander, Texas 14 26-10 239 $1,903.00
Day 1: 4 7-08 Day 2: 5 10-04 Day 3: 5 8-14
19. Tommy Martin Hemphill, Texas 13 25-06 237 $1,797.00
Day 1: 5 9-10 Day 2: 4 6-09 Day 3: 4 9-03
20. Tim Skelton Sallisaw, Okla. 13 23-06 235 $1,691.00
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 7-15 Day 3: 3 4-02
21. Robbie Latuso Gonzales, La. 13 23-04 233 $1,533.00
Day 1: 5 6-03 Day 2: 5 10-09 Day 3: 3 6-08
22. Cody Bird Granbury, Texas 13 23-03 231 $1,480.00
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 7-09 Day 3: 3 3-06
23. Mark Pack Mineola, Texas 14 22-07 229 $1,427.00
Day 1: 5 8-05 Day 2: 4 7-03 Day 3: 5 6-15
24. Marvin Ettredge Shreveport, La. 9 21-08 227 $1,374.00
Day 1: 5 7-02 Day 2: 3 10-11 Day 3: 1 3-11
25. Dave Parsons Yantis, Texas 10 21-07 225 $1,321.00
Day 1: 3 10-00 Day 2: 5 7-13 Day 3: 2 3-10
26. Billy Hurt Spring Creek, Tenn. 11 20-05 223 $1,269.00
Day 1: 4 9-10 Day 2: 5 7-00 Day 3: 2 3-11
27. Mark Kirkpatrick Wichita, Kan. 8 20-05 221 $1,216.00
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 1 2-01 Day 3: 2 2-14
28. Spencer Mcalester Denison, Texas 10 19-07 219 $1,163.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 2 2-07 Day 3: 3 3-10
29. Brian Kanke Spring, Texas 8 19-00 217 $1,110.00
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 1 5-00 Day 3: 2 3-00
30. Dewayne French Mammoth Spring, Ark. 10 16-15 215 $1,057.00
Day 1: 4 8-09 Day 2: 5 7-05 Day 3: 1 1-01
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 41 455 904-11
2 28 393 757-15
3 15 112 235-06
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84 960 1898-00
BASS PRO SHOPS BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN- RED RIVER- CO-ANGLER- FINAL
(NON-BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Thomas Tysdal Lawton, Okla. 4 20-14 310 $34,000.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 2 14-06 Day 3: 2 6-08
2. Bryan Cox Shreveport, La. 9 20-11 295 $5,286.00
Day 1: 3 6-04 Day 2: 3 7-10 Day 3: 3 6-13
3. Randy Skelton Greenbrier, Ark. 8 18-04 290 $4,229.00
Day 1: 3 8-06 Day 2: 2 2-05 Day 3: 3 7-09
4. Bryan Hester Bossier City, La. 8 17-13 285 $3,171.00
Day 1: 3 6-11 Day 2: 2 5-09 Day 3: 3 5-09
5. Dustin Wood Keithville, La. 7 17-12 280 $2,643.00
Day 1: 3 8-13 Day 2: 1 2-09 Day 3: 3 6-06
6. Todd Gibson Haughton, La. 7 16-07 276 $2,379.00
Day 1: 3 8-09 Day 2: 2 2-12 Day 3: 2 5-02
7. Ronnie Terry San Angelo, Texas 8 15-14 277 $2,114.00
Day 1: 3 10-02 Day 2: 3 3-02 Day 3: 2 2-10
8. Dale Jamison Vidalia, La. 8 14-05 268 $2,009.00
Day 1: 3 5-00 Day 2: 3 4-07 Day 3: 2 4-14
9. Dan Stevens Dry Prong, La. 8 14-04 264 $1,797.00
Day 1: 3 4-13 Day 2: 3 4-02 Day 3: 2 5-05
10. Adrian Smiley Bossier City, La. 7 14-04 260 $1,374.00
Day 1: 1 2-08 Day 2: 3 6-00 Day 3: 3 5-12
11. Raul Cordero Del Rio, Texas 6 14-00 257 $1,163.00
Day 1: 2 3-03 Day 2: 1 5-01 Day 3: 3 5-12
12. Gilbert Herald Pittsburg, Texas 6 13-15 254 $1,057.00
Day 1: 2 2-14 Day 2: 3 7-05 Day 3: 1 3-12
13. Russell Lohman Pineville, La. 8 13-14 251 $951.00
Day 1: 3 4-05 Day 2: 2 4-02 Day 3: 3 5-07
14. Bobby Sharpley Haughton, La. 6 12-03 248 $846.00
Day 1: 1 1-12 Day 2: 3 7-01 Day 3: 2 3-06
15. Randall Vaughan Blanco, Texas 7 12-02 245 $740.00
Day 1: 2 4-15 Day 2: 3 5-03 Day 3: 2 2-00
16. Raleigh Todd Lexington, Tenn. 5 11-10 243 $714.00
Day 1: 3 5-09 Day 2: 1 4-13 Day 3: 1 1-04
17. Heath Willard Brookhaven, Miss. 4 11-00 241 $687.00
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 3 9-03 Day 3: 1 1-13
18. Rodney Floyd San Angelo, Texas 5 10-13 239 $661.00
Day 1: 2 4-08 Day 2: 2 4-12 Day 3: 1 1-09
19. Joseph Sestak Tabor, S.D. 6 10-06 237 $634.00
Day 1: 2 3-01 Day 2: 3 5-08 Day 3: 1 1-13
20. Brian Tolley Katy, Texas 6 10-05 235 $608.00
Day 1: 3 5-03 Day 2: 3 5-02 Day 3: 0 0-00
21. Buz Craft Vidalia, La. 7 10-02 233 $581.00
Day 1: 3 4-05 Day 2: 3 3-15 Day 3: 1 1-14
22. John Moon Brookeland, Texas 7 10-00 231 $529.00
Day 1: 3 5-15 Day 2: 3 3-02 Day 3: 1 0-15
23. Austin Abadie Saint Amant, La. 5 9-13 229 $502.00
Day 1: 2 4-04 Day 2: 3 5-09 Day 3: 0 0-00
24. Steven Duty Collins, Miss. 6 9-10 227 $476.00
Day 1: 3 4-07 Day 2: 3 5-03 Day 3: 0 0-00
25. Allen Wares Austin, Texas 4 9-09 225 $449.00
Day 1: 3 8-02 Day 2: 1 1-07 Day 3: 0 0-00
26. Barry Gray Bastrop, La. 4 9-05 223 $423.00
Day 1: 3 8-00 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 1 1-05
27. Travis Gray Princeton, La. 5 9-04 221 $396.00
Day 1: 2 5-12 Day 2: 2 2-05 Day 3: 1 1-03
28. Jubal Cannon Lufkin, Texas 4 9-03 219 $370.00
Day 1: 1 2-15 Day 2: 2 5-00 Day 3: 1 1-04
29. Kevin Culpepper Seminary, Miss. 5 9-00 217 $344.00
Day 1: 3 5-15 Day 2: 2 3-01 Day 3: 0 0-00
30. Frank Polley Henderson, Texas 4 8-13 215 $317.00
Day 1: 3 7-01 Day 2: 1 1-12 Day 3: 0 0-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 0 242 467-02
2 0 181 341-13
3 0 45 89-13
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0 468 898-12
BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN POINTS STANDINGS- PRO
Boater Points After Red River, Shreveport, La. Ending 06-05-2010, Day 3
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Place Name St Pts
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1 Craig Schuff Texas 600
2 Keith Combs Texas 545
3 Clark Reehm Ark. 502
4 Dean Alexander Texas 484
5 James Stricklin Texas 479
6 Ray Hanselman Texas 476
7 Frank Scalish Ohio 467
8 Lee Sisson Fla. 460
9 Jared Miller Okla. 455
10 Russell Parrish Texas 454
10 Aaron Johnson La. 454
10 Randy Allen La. 454
13 Cody Bird Texas 444
14 Mike Kernan Texas 442
15 Clark Wendlandt Texas 434
15 Todd Castledine Texas 434
17 Trent Huckaby Texas 433
18 Jimmy Mize Ark. 424
19 Ricky Campbell Texas 419
20 Tommy Martin Texas 418
21 Bo Middleton Okla. 416
22 Timmy Reneau Texas 411
23 Tim Skelton Okla. 410
24 Jimmy Johnson Texas 398
25 Jami Fralick S.D. 396
26 Dicky Newberry Texas 390
27 Jim Dillard Ark. 388
28 Chris Burnham La. 386
29 Chad Griffin Texas 379
30 Dillon Lee Texas 378
31 James Biggs Texas 377
32 Derick Kuyrkendall Texas 374
32 Dave Parsons Texas 374
32 Homer Humphreys La. 374
35 Rob Burns Texas 373
36 Scott Mcgehee Miss. 362
37 Scott Dean Texas 361
38 Roger Boler La. 352
38 Darrell Newman Texas 352
40 Joey Nania Wash. 344
41 Chad Brauer Mo. 343
42 Spencer Mcalester Texas 342
43 Lendell Martin Texas 336
44 Bob Weaver Okla. 324
44 Myron Beachy Texas 324
46 Brian Clark Texas 320
47 Charles Hammack Texas 314
48 OT Fears Okla. 308
49 Lisa Sternard Tenn. 306
50 Craig Hatchel Texas 298
51 Dianna Clark Tenn. 294
52 Chad Martin Calif. 290
53 Monty Fralick S.D. 289
54 Matt Michel La. 286
55 Dustin Lester Texas 284
55 Robbie Latuso La. 284
57 Brandon Mosley Okla. 280
58 Kenta Kimura Texas 278
58 Tommy Durham Texas 278
60 Brian Kanke Texas 276
60 Michael Yoder Ark. 276
62 Billy Hurt Tenn. 273
63 Zack Gagnard La. 270
63 Ray Brazier Tenn. 270
65 Stephen Johnston Texas 269
66 Chris McCall Texas 268
67 Ryan Piersdorf Minn. 264
68 Lance Vick Texas 262
68 Thomas Redington Texas 262
70 Randy Pitre La. 259
71 Ernest Smoak La. 256
71 Wayne Brown Okla. 256
73 Ed Whaley Texas 255
74 Preston Johnson Wisc. 253
74 Dewayne French Ark. 253
76 Mark Kirkpatrick Kan. 250
77 Wade Leblanc La. 249
78 Dave Mansue Texas 245
79 Jacky Hawthorne Texas 240
80 Austin Terry Texas 236
81 Bob Sealy Texas 232
81 Brent Broussard La. 232
83 Mark Pack Texas 231
84 Logan Sherrer La. 230
84 Mike Burns Texas 230
86 Marvin Ettredge La. 227
87 Mike Bates Texas 226
88 Jerry Dolezal Texas 224
89 Porter Trimble La. 221
90 Robert Gann La. 217
91 Patrick Pierce Fla. 215
92 Ryan Dupriest Texas 212
92 Jamie Narramore Ark. 212
94 Bryan Schmidt Texas 210
95 Josh Guess Fla. 208
96 Ryan Lovelace Texas 205
97 Pam Martin-Wells Ga. 202
98 Debra Hengst Texas 201
99 Michael Randolph Texas 199
100 Larry Byrd La. 198
101 Dru Smith Okla. 196
101 Eddy May Kan. 196
103 Chris Weaver Okla. 190
104 Harold Allen Texas 186
105 Teb Jones Miss. 182
106 Jamie Laiche La. 178
107 David Sherrer La. 177
108 Chris Wilkerson Texas 173
109 Trent Durst Texas 172
110 Bill Lee Texas 171
111 Josh Bertrand Ariz. 166
112 Ken Iyobe Japan 163
113 Mike Edwards Texas 162
114 Arnie Lane Fla. 154
115 Mark Smith La. 151
116 Austin Banks Miss. 149
117 Jonathan Brown La. 146
118 Mark Peiser Ind. 141
119 Lisa Johnson Ala. 140
120 Paul Pagnato Va. 135
121 Janet Parker Texas 134
122 Terry Peacock Texas 132
123 Bink Desaro Nev. 129
124 Robert Chandler La. 127
125 Jerry Barnett La. 125
126 Tony Chachere La. 124
127 David Cooper La. 123
128 Ryan Brown La. 121
128 Robert Byrd Texas 121
130 Jim Culp Okla. 117
131 Brannon Long Texas 115
132 Jay Fuller Okla. 113
133 Cliff Crowder Ark. 112
134 Quinn Peacock Texas 110
135 Blake Foret La. 109
136 Helen Gordon Texas 107
137 Andy Gaia Texas 99
138 Ben Rude Okla. 91
139 Meta Burrell Texas 89
140 Kyle Fox Fla. 88
141 Sandi Karnes Texas 85
142 Ronald Rogers Texas 83
143 Vincent Parello Texas 82
143 Richard Crozier Texas 82
145 Tim Blanchette Texas 81
146 Tim Webb Kan. 80
147 Reed Sartin Texas 79
148 David Mullins Texas 76
149 Randy Qualls Ark. 75
149 Mark Child Texas 75
151 Darold Gleason La. 74
152 Kenny Rooke Texas 73
152 Jeff Blankenship Ill. 73
154 Gary Key Ariz. 72
155 Shane Hilton La. 70
156 Gary Vining La. 68
157 T. Isaacs Okla. 67
158 Perry Powell Texas 66
159 Keith Bryan Calif. 64
160 Cody Malone Texas 62
160 Mike Hawkes Texas 62
162 Darrell West Ark. 61
163 Dale Jackson Texas 60
164 Joseph Lancaster Texas 58
165 Claude Rabb La. 57
166 Chad Vosburg La. 55
166 Kevin Ledoux Okla. 55
168 Jason Berg Minn. 54
169 Judy Wong La. 52
169 Rick Hanna Texas 52
171 Scott Suggs Ark. 47
172 Barry Bennett Texas 46
173 Chuck Moore Texas 45
174 Monty Kirby Texas 44
174 Johnny Grice Texas 44
176 Gilbert Coats Texas 43
177 Jeff Wade Ark. 41
178 Johnny Graham Okla. 37
178 Christiana Bradley Va. 37
180 Mike Pharr La. 35
181 Jeff Cloud Texas 32
182 Bobby Bolton La. 29
183 Mike Bakutis Ill. 28
183 Doug Vahrenberg Mo. 28
185 Charles Thompson La. 25
186 Larry Triplett Colo. 24
187 Kathy Crowder Ark. 22
188 J.C. Worley Okla. 20
189 Cheryl Spencer Okla. 19
190 Sandy Gaudet La. 18
191 Buck Carraway Texas 14
192 Yukinari Uchiyama Texas 13
193 Trey Cloud La. 9
194 Wade Middleton Texas 8
195 Michael Hubbard Colo. 7
196 Douglas Watkins Ark. 6
197 Dustin Cotten Texas 3
198 Sammy Burks Mo. 0
198 Chris Brimager Kan. 0
198 Bill Watts Texas 0
198 Steven Lynam Texas 0
198 Brandon Collins La. 0
198 Theron Caldwell Texas 0
198 Kevin Ricks La. 0
198 Steve Hayden Texas 0
198 Jerrel Pringle Texas 0
198 Dwight Dickerson Texas 0
198 Joe Papa La. 0