Fork 10-3-09

Bob Sandlin 9-12-09

Winnsboro 8-22-09

Hawkins 7-18-09

Cypress Springs 6-27-09

Quitman 5-9-09

Fork 4-25-09

Tyler 3-21-09

Welsh 2-21-09

Monticello 1-24-09

Welsh 12-6-08

Winnsboro 11-8-08

2007 - 2008 Tournament Season

Texas Trails Bassmasters held sixteen tournaments this year, beginning in September 2007 at Lake Fork and ending with our two one-day events at Lake Tyler in October.  Participation ranged from a high of 11 anglers at Winnsboro in May to five fishermen at Tyler.  The average attendance was around seven anglers.  Three members – Lew Conder, Don Hampton and Albert Jordan  – entered every tournament.  We had seven different winners in the sixteen events:  Albert Jordan (4), Lew Conder (3), Don Hampton (3), Mark Johnson (2), Jack White (2), Curtis Jordan (1), and Kelly Perry (1).  No angler achieved the milestone of weighing at least one fish in every tournament this season.  This big stringer of the year was claimed by Albert Jordan with his 18.77 limit at Winnsboro in May.  Big bass honors went to nine fishermen this season, with Albert Jordan leading the field with his 7.47 pounds at Hawkins in July.  Of particular note is Jack White’s .9 lunker that took big bass at Monticello in January. 

Five anglers weighed more than 20 fish for the season, accounting for more than 76% of fish brought to the scales – Albert Jordan, 53; Don Hampton, 49; Lew Conder, 34; Kelly Perry 31; and Mark Johnson, 30.  Jeff Davis had the highest average weight per bass at 3.38 pounds, but of anglers fishing at least half the tournaments Albert Jordan averaged 2.11 pounds per fish weighed.  Albert Jordan weighed in a massive 111.57 pounds over the season, besting second place Don Hampton (88.88 pounds) by more than 22 pounds. 

Over the course of the year the club weighed 264 fish totaling 494.12 pounds, an average weight of 1.87.  Almost 97% of the bass were released alive to fight again.  Twenty-four limits were recorded, as well as 28 water hauls.  Anglers recording limits during the season were Albert Jordan (6), Don Hampton (5), Kelly Perry (3), Jack White (3), Lew Conder (2), Mark Johnson (2), Curtis Jordan (1), Mac McDaniel (1), and Chuck Turner (1).  The “average” angler caught 2.24 bass per tournament over the season. 

Winnsboro in May was far and away the most productive lake for total weight (last season the best month was May, but at Lake Quitman); the club weighed 25 fish weighing 68.33 pounds, an average of 2.73 pounds per bass.  At Cypress Springs in June the club weighed 29 fish weighing 49.79 pounds.  Lake Welsh produced average weights over three pounds – 3.40 in December and 3.37 in February.  Other than the power plant lakes, Hawkins in July had the best average bass at 2.96 pounds.  Tawakoni in October 2007 was tough, producing only two fish for six anglers.  Monticello was also a tough tournament in January 2008, with anglers bringing in an average weight of only .63 pounds.  The biggest margin of victory was Albert Jordan’s massive 10.15 pounds at Welsh in December, followed closely by his 10.12 margin at Winnsboro in May.  Lew Conder squeaked out a .04 pound win at Welsh in February and Jack White squeezed into first by .05 pound at Monticello in January.

2006 - 2007 Tournament Season

Texas Trails Bassmasters held thirteen tournaments this year, beginning in September at Lake Winnsboro and ending with our two one-day events at Richland Chambers in August.  Participation ranged from a high of 15 anglers at Quitman in May to seven fishermen at Richland Chambers.  The average attendance was 11 anglers.  Five members – Lew Conder, Don Hampton, Mark Johnson, Albert Jordan, and Mac McDaniel – entered every tournament.  We had seven different winners in the thirteen events:  Don Hampton [4], Fork (October), Bob Sandlin, Welsh, and Quitman (May); Lew Conder [2], Quitman (November) and Richland Chambers; Jeff Davis [2], Winnsboro and Monticello; Mark Johnson [2], Gilmer and Cypress Springs; Harold Burns, Fork (April); Albert Jordan, Richland Chambers; and Kelly Perry, Caddo.  No angler achieved the milestone of weighing at least one fish in every tournament this season.  The big stringer of the year was claimed by Don Hampton with his 15.89 limit at Bob Sandlin in January.  Big bass honors went to nine fishermen this season, with David Mann leading the field with his 7.72 lunker at Cypress Springs in July.

Seven anglers weighed 25 or more bass for the season, accounting for almost 71% of fish brought to the scales – Don Hampton, 36; Kelly Perry, 32; Lew Conder, 31; Albert Jordan, 31; Sam Hooten, 27; David Mann, 27; and Mark Johnson, 26.  Don Hampton had the highest average weight per bass – 2.29 pounds – of all anglers fishing six or more tournaments..  Don weighed in a total of 82.60 pounds of bass at the thirteen tournaments, besting second place Lew Conder in this category by almost 24 pounds. 

Over the course of the year the club weighed 296 fish totaling 525.15 pounds, an average weight of 1.77.  More than 98% of these fish were released alive.  Twenty-six limits were recorded, as well as 43 water hauls.  Five members had three or more limits – Don Hampton, 5; Sam Hooten, 4; Lew Conder, 3; Jeff Davis, 3; and Kelly Perry, 3.  The “average” angler caught 2.18 bass per day over the season. 

Quitman in May was far and away the most productive lake (last season the most productive lake was also Quitman, but in March); the club weighed 38 fish weighing 79.55 pounds, an average of 2.09 per bass. However, Monticello again produced more numbers (51 bass, 50.46 pounds, .99 average) and Welsh repeated (9 bass, 34.76 pounds, 3.86 average) the best average.  Other notable lakes for the season were Winnsboro in September (20 bass, 44.87 pounds, 2.24 average) and Bob Sandlin in January (25 bass, 61.60 pounds, 2.46 average).  Notorious was Gilmer in June, which produced one bass for 10 anglers; at least it was a good one, weighing 3.63 pounds.  The largest winning margin was Don’s 5.40 pound advantage at Welsh, and Harold Burns squeaked out his Fork win in April by .07 pound. 

 2006 Tournament Season

Texas Trails Bassmasters held nine tournaments this year, beginning in January at Lake Monticello and ending with our two one-day events at Richland Chambers in August.  Participation ranged from a high of 17 anglers at Monticello to nine fishermen at Richland Chambers.  Six members – Lew Conder, Jeff Davis, Don Hampton, Sam Hooten, Albert Jordan, and Kelly Perry – fished every tournament.  We had six different winners in the nine events:  Jeff Davis, Fork and Hawkins;  Mac McDaniel, Welsh and Richland Chambers 2; Kelly Perry, Monticello and Richland Chambers 1; Sam Hooten, Quitman; Don Hampton, Cypress Springs; and Lew Conder, Tawakoni.  Recognition should be given to Don Hampton and Kelly Perry, who both weighed at least one fish in every tournament, and to Albert Jordan, who won big bass of the tournament a remarkable four times.  The big stringer of the year was claimed by Sam Hooten with his 22.21 limit at Quitman in March.  The largest fish weighed this season was the 8.54 lunker Albert Jordan caught at Quitman. 

Four anglers weighed 25 or more bass for the season – Jeff Davis, Don Hampton, Sam Hooten, and Albert Jordan.  Sam Hooten edged Lew Conder for the highest average bass weighed, 2.37 pounds to 2.36.  Sam weighed in a total of 61.51 pounds of bass at the nine tournaments, besting second place in this category by more than six pounds. 

Over the course of the year the club weighed 268 fish totaling 481.15 pounds, an average weight of 1.80.  More than 93% of these fish were released alive.  Twenty-eight limits were recorded, as well as 19 water hauls – five of those at Lake Welsh with its more restrictive length limit.  The “average” angler caught 2.53 bass weighing 4.54 pounds per day over the season. 

Quitman in March was far and away the most productive lake; the club weighed 37 fish weighing 117.70 pounds, an average of 3.18 per bass.  However, Monticello produced more numbers (74 bass, 49.74 pounds, .67 average) and Welsh (9 bass, 35.12, 3.90 average) showed the best average.  The largest winning margin was Sam's 3.06 pound advantage at Quitman, and Kelly got his Monticello win by .27 pound.