The Bud Light Fall State Team Championship was held on Lake Sam Rayburn on November 12 and 13 at the Umphrey Family Pavilion. The tournament invited the top 50 percent from all other regional team tournaments to participate; however only 58 teams showed up to fish. The reason for the poor turn out could probably be blamed on the low lake levels and the handful of open boat ramps that are left.

Charles Bebber and Keith Caka cast their first lines on Saturday morning at 6:20 am and by 7:30 am had returned to the BLT weigh station at Umphrey Pavilion with a huge sack of fish. The guys only fished 25 minutes and caught a stringer weighing a total of 37.27 lbs with a 10.01 lbs big fish!

Caka said, "We fished with a Sixth Sense deep diving crank bait prototype in 28 feet and throwing about 7 feet." He also said that they fished ledges on the first day and "we had all our fish in 25 minutes, they [the fish] just happened to be there, it was unbelievable." Caka also said that they had a tougher second day and eventually moved to fishing more grassy areas.

 

Bebber and Caka may have had a slower second day, but their bag was nothing to balk at, for day two they brought in a total of 20.31 lbs with a 9.12 lbs big fish giving them a two day total of 57.58 lbs and in the end, an 18 lbs lead over the competition. The duo won a Legend Alpha 191 with a 200 horsepower Mercury motor, a $52,000 value. They also won $470 and a Navionics Chip (worth $150) bringing their total take home at $52,620 worth of cash and prizes. "As always, we want to thank God for being our #1 sponsor." Their other sponsors that keep them running smooth include: Tiremax, Big Bite Baits, Costa, Seaguar, Power Pole, MinnKota and Humminbird.

David Curtis and Butch Carmack took home second place for the two day tournament with a day one stringer of 21.24 lbs and day two stringer of 17.79 lbs for a total of 39.03 lbs. Curtis and Carmack took home $1,600 for their weekend's fishing. A familiar set of faces to the Bud Light Trail took home the third place spot. Harold Allen and Albert Collins won third place with a two day total of 36.76 lbs; they won $1,300.

Randall and Julie May took home the overall second largest big bass with a 9.12 lb fish in their day one sack and took home an American Rodsmiths Rod.

The tournament paid out the top five places and two big bass awards. It's safe to say that there are still plenty of big fish in Lake Sam Rayburn, and although the water levels may not be friendly to boats it is certainly an opportunity for anglers to catch some record-breaking fish.

Total results and more information about the tournament series' for next year can be found at http://www.budlighttrail.com/

Final Results:

57.58 lbs Charles Bebber and Keith Caka39.03 lbs David Curtis and Butch Carmack36.76 lbs Harold Allen and Albert Collins34.35 lbs Billy Ferguson and Sonny Booth32.56 lbs Clayton Boulware and Chris McCall32.30 lbs Bruce Anderson and John Anderson32.11 lbs Darold Gleason and Kevin Jeane29.98 lbs Jeff and Tyler Fisher29.37 lbs Larry Vick and Dwain Burns28.71 lbs Philip Crelia and Dennis Permentor