The first annual Red River Big Bass Extravaganza presented by Legend Boats is officially in the books. 230 anglers hit the Red River and gave it all they had. Wesley Beshea bested everyone and is the proud new owner of an Alpha 211 Legend bass boat powered by a Mercury 250 motor. Under some tough fishing conditions, Wesley’s caught a 5.57 pound bass on the second day of competition that was only challenged once by a 5.25 caught in the very next hour.
The Red River was high and muddy, not uncommon for this time of year. What made fishing conditions very tough is that the Red River had risen several feet in just a couple days and pushed muddy waters in to the far reaches of the oxbows. Red River bass are not “afraid” of muddy water but they do need time to settle in. Since it had only been a few days and the river was still on the rise, fisherman found that catching a bass weighing more than 2 to 3 pounds was difficult. Many anglers reported catching numbers of fish but that solid keeper, that would make the run to weigh in worth it, was hard to come by.
The scales proved this, many hourly winning spots were taken on fish between 2 and 3.5 pounds. One hour it only took 1.69 pounds to get in the money. A couple anglers were on hot spots bringing in bass to be weighed several of the hourly weigh ins each day. Cody Dollar earned $1,500 in payouts as did Buddy Varnadore, very close to them was Wesley Beshea who not only took home the Alpha 211 Legend bass boat but also had $1,200 in cash winnings to go with it. From there the money spots were spread out among the 230 entries.
Wesley Beshea said he caught the winning bass and many others on a white and black homemade buzz bait. He showed me one and while there really isn’t anything special to it, the lead design is set lower on the hook creating a deeper presentation. Throwing his buzz bait all day long working lilly pads and stumps along a large flat, Wesley was able to pull the slightly larger bites.
The next Red River Big Bass Extravaganza presented by Legend Boats is scheduled for March 2012, make sure to check the Legend website www.legendmarine.com for updates.
Get the Net it’s a Hawg
Mike Cork
Ultimate Bass
Ultimate Bass
Legend Boats
Mercury Marine
Dobyn’s Rods
