Grand Bayou, The 2011 UBCS was held on Grand Bayou in Coushatta Louisiana. This was the 8th annual UBCS and was hosted by the Twin Cities Team Club. The actual tournament dates were Saturday March 19th and Sunday March 20th but most participants showed up on Thursday and some even earlier to get in on some pre-fishing.
This is by far my favorite tournament of the year and like me many of the anglers look forward to this event every year. Susie and I arrived on Thursday and found most everyone was already out on the lake. We launched the boat and went do a little fishing while waiting on our cabin to become available. The water level in the lake was very low and the grass was nonexistent. We fished for about 2 hours then headed in to get set up in our cabin and start cooking.
Thursday evening was pretty tame. Keith Kibodeaux Bar-b-qued up some pork steaks, ribs, and t-bones for our cabin. We played a few rounds of washer boards and visited with some of the TCTC crew and some of the new guys. We did a little boat repair on Ken’s boat, he had some fuel line problems. Tabby was going around taking pictures and everyone was sharing stories about their day on the water. Everyone finally settled in for a good night sleep to prepare for another day of pre-fishing.
Friday morning everyone seemed to be getting a little more excited as the tournament date was right around the corner. Boats were running from one end of the lake to the next. Everyone was out looking for that winning pattern. I talked to several guys from TCTC and LJBC and everyone seemed to be catching a few fish. Friday’s fishing ended early for most the LJBC boys as they had to head in to get the Friday night meal prepared. John LeDoux cooked some deer in a gravy, Keith Kibodeaux served up some ducks in a gravy, and I rounded out the Friday night meal with some fried fish, French fries, and corn nuggets. After everyone stuffed themselves we had the coin toss to see who would leave out first on Saturday morning. LJBC won the coin toss and decided to leave out first on Saturday which gave TCTC the first out on Sunday. Friday night was a late night as everyone told lies and tall tales.
Saturday morning came early as we all got to the launch early to beat the crowds of other tournaments. Everyone checked in and we waited for the tournament director to give us the Ok to blast off. We started at safe light and weighed in at 4pm. Here is how the tournament is lined out: The UBCS is a club against club tournament however there are trophies given for the 1st, 2nd , and 3rd place teams, as well as cash prizes given for the two biggest bass caught in the event. Each team can weigh up to 5 fish. After a team weighs their fish they hold on to them in order to put them with the rest of the club‘s fish. From there the clubs will take the best 10 fish and weigh them in for the club competition. The teams with the best weight over two days will get a trophy and the club with the best weight over two days will be champions and will also receive a trophy. There is also a place for those who do not belong to a club. We call these anglers “orphans”. The orphan teams are placed with the club who has the least amount of teams.
This is what it looked like after Saturday’s weigh in:
On the team side of things Trey Harold and Barry Carter of TCTC were in 1st with 17.85 lbs. Jimmy Brown and Kevin Manuel of LJBC was in 2nd with 13.83lbs. John LeDoux and Max Richard of LJBC rounded out 3rd with 12lbs. Dwight Croak had the big bass at 6.26lbs and Josh Richard had the second biggest bass at 6.12lbs. On the Club side of things LJBC lead day one with 39.53lbs but TCTC was right on their tales with 39.28lbs.
After weigh in we all retreated back to our cabins to put the boats on charge and get everything line out for the next day. We all made it over to one of the cabins TCTC was staying in for our Saturday night meal and door prizes. When we got there a pitching contest had been set up and everyone got a shot at testing their skills at pitching to a target at various distances. The winners received some great prizes. After the pitching contest was over we all ate a great meal prepared by members of TCTC. Everyone stuffed themselves and then added on even more with desert. There wasn’t much talking going on as everyone was too busy eating their pork loin sandwiches and sides. Once everyone had their fill, TCTC started the drawing for door prizes. Everyone got a door prize and they ranged from Dobyns rods to Shimano reels to bait organizers and various packs of baits. With prizes in hand everyone went back to their cabins to relax and settle down from a long day.
Sunday morning arrived and once again everyone was at the launch early to beat the crowds. Everyone checked in and it was TCTC to blast off first this time. The weigh in on Sunday was at noon so the fishing day was short and you had to get it done early. Here are the results of Sunday and the winners of the 2011 UBCS:
Josh and Kenneth Kingrey of LJBC had the biggest weight Sunday with 10.89, followed by Keith and Bobby Kibodeaux of LJBC with 10.26 and a close weight of 10.21 by John LeDoux and Max Richard of LJBC. The Club weights for the day were LJBC at 38.27 and TCTC at 32.54. The big bass stood ground from Day 1.
The combined weights of day 1 and 2 determine the winners and they were:
1st place went to Trey Harold and Barry Carter of TCTC with 26.44lbs. 2nd place went to Josh Richard and Kenneth Kingrey of LBJC with 22.30lbs. 3rd place went to John LeDoux and Max Richard of LJBC with 22.21 lbs. The winning club with 77.80lbs was the Lock Jaw Bass Club.
With the 2011 win the Lock Jaw Bass Club has tied it up. Next year will be a very interesting year. The 2012 UBCS will be held on the Calcasieu River where it all started and it will be hosted by the Lock Jaw Bass Club. With everything at steak and the return to its first tournament waters the 2012 UBCS promises to be one of the most exciting ones yet. Hope to see you there.
Jared LeBlue
