Todd
Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18
pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Texas Division
event on Toledo Bend with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 65
pounds, 2 ounces. For his victory, Castledine earned $27,842.
“Seems like every week I come up against these guys,
[Bird and Martin], but I love the competition. It makes me a better
fisherman†said Castledine. “This really has been an incredible week.
This morning after my boat broke down I was real nervous, but then
everyone came out to help and I knew I was prepared for this moment and
everything worked out.
“I was sight fishing all week long,†Castledine went
on to say. “I never strayed and stayed 100 percent committed to that. I
love to sight fish and know that it is one of my strengths. All my fish
were caught off beds using a sweet beaver. I was mostly in about two to
three feet of water.
“The fish weren’t plentiful, but I was able to catch
the quality ones that mattered. On the first day I only had five
keepers. On day two I think there were only six keepers and today I had
the most, about 10.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Lendell Martin Jr., Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 62-7, $9,546
3rd: Cody Bird, Granbury, Texas, 15 bass, 54, $7,955
4th: Tim Reneau, Del Rio, Texas, 15 bass, 52-12, $7,159
5th: Chris Wilkerson, Conroe, Texas, 15 bass, 50-8, $6,364
6th: Joe Elkouri, Lawton, Okla., 15 bass, 48-15, $5,568
7th: James Caldemeyer, Gilmer, Texas, 15 bass, 48-15, $4,773
8th: Eric Wright, Scurry, Texas, 15 bass, 47-13, $3,977
9th: Robert Brown, Round Rock, Texas, 15 bass, 47, $3,182
10th: Cecil Russell, Willis, Texas, 10 bass, 36-9, $2,386
Christopher Brasher caught the biggest bass of the
tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 9-pound, 4-ounce bass – that
earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of
$214.
Rick Parker of Kaufman, Texas, won the Co-angler
Division and a Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor
plus $5,000 with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 50 pound, 4
ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Steve Hope, Ovilla, Texas, 15 bass, 47-4, $3,755
3rd: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, 13 bass, 43-15, $3,338
4th: Brent Broussard, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 42-12, $2,920
5th: Eric Richey, Paradise, Texas, 15 bass, 42-8, $2,503
6th: Robert Moffett, Silsbee, Texas, 14 bass, 38, $2,086
7th: Randall Coyle, Nederland, Texas, 14 bass, 34-11, $1,669
8th: Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, 12 bass, 33-9 $1,252
9th: Kevin Carter, Spring, Texas, 11 bass, 32-10, $834
10th: Stephen Francis, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 30-10, $668
tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass –
that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $142.
