Johnston Wins BASS Open at Sam Rayburn

JASPER, Texas – Texas’ Stephen Johnston had to abandon his preferred pattern during the second day of the Bassmaster Central Open on Sam Rayburn Reservoir after thick clouds moved in, but he was excited when he awoke for the last day of competition to see the cloud cover breaking.

 

“When I woke up there was moon and stars shining, and I was smiling,†said Johnston, who lives in nearby Hemphill.

 

When the scales settled the local guide had clinched his first Bassmaster victory with a three-day total of 57 pounds, 5 ounces.

 

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Todd Faircloth moved up one spot to claim second-place with a 47-pound total, and Texas’ Kris Wilson moved up from sixth place to third on the strength of a 46-14 total.

 

Rounding out the top five were Texas anglers Landon Ware (42-14) and Todd Castledine (42-4).   Full standings are below.  

 

Johnston said he needed the bright sunlight to drive fish back to a few bare ridges from which he snatched a Thursday catch of 22 pounds, and Saturday the pattern again worked out perfectly.

 

“I had a game plan this morning that I was going to stay deep and make them bite,†he said.

 

His limits on the first and third days came from the same set of three bare ridges, on which he flipped Texas-rigged Grande Bass Mega Tail worms and ½-ounce Falcon Lures football head jigs.

 

“The shad early in the morning would come up and feed on the tops of those bare ridges, and the bass would follow them,†Johnston said. “I was sitting in the deep water and casting on top of the ridge, and I was just hopping the baits over the edge of those ridges.â€

 

Johnston went into the last day with a comfortable 8-pound cushion, and was helped when the bite turned tough for his nearest competitors.

 

“In the past on Rayburn, the fish would get on the edge of a grass bed, and when you found one there’d be five or six right there,†said Faircloth, who has fished tournaments on the Reservoir since his early days. “Now, it’s like there’s just one bite here and there.â€

 

After the second event in the Central Open circuit, the points race is beginning to shake out.   Pros are vying for two Bassmaster Classic spots and seven Bassmaster Elite Series berths.   The final Central Open event will be on Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin in November.

 

Castledine is leading the points race with 570 points, but nipping at his heels is Bassmaster Elite Series pro James Niggemeyer. Faircloth is in fifth and those standings can also be found below.

 

On the co-angler side of the Rayburn event, Louisiana’s William Loftin pushed ahead of the competition with a three-day total of 26 pounds, 5 ounces.   His final-day limit was anchored by a fish weighing 9-1.   For his efforts, Loftin earned a won a Triton/Mercury boat package valued at $32,000.

 

Colorado‘s Michael Hubbard, the second-day co-angler leader, dropped to second with 24-10, while Bobby Lanham of Arizona claimed third with 24-8.

 

The last stop on the 2009 Central Open trail is Nov. 5-7 on Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin.

 

Fans also can find coverage from the Opens on Bassmaster.com.

 

Up next for the Central Opens is the final stop in the Central Open division, the Nov. 5-7 event on the Atchafalaya Basin out of Morgan City, La.

 

Sponsors of the 2009 Bassmaster Opens: Toyota Trucks, Berkley, BOOYAH Baits, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury, OPTIMA Batteries, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Marine.

 

 

About BASS

For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing.   The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and its expansive tournament structure while championing efforts to connect directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.

 

As the flagship offering of ESPN Outdoors, the Bassmaster brand and its considerable multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer; comprehensive Web properties in Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com, ESPNOutdoors.com and ESPN360.com; and ESPN2 television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.

BASS oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour, BASS Federation Nation and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.

 

BASS offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.

 

 

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Media contact: Doug Grassian, 407-566-2216 or [email protected]

 

FINAL STANDINGS - 2009 BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN - SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIR
  

 

2009 Central 2 – Sam Rayburn, TX BO 09/03-09/05 Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Sam Rayburn   Texas

(BOATER) Standings Day 3

 

    Angler                                     Hometown                           No./lbs-oz   Pts     Total $$$

 

1.   Stephen Johnston             Hemphill, Texas               15   57-05   315     $49,629.00

  Day 1: 5     22-00       Day 2: 5     19-06       Day 3: 5     15-15    

2.   Todd Faircloth                 Jasper, Texas                   15   47-00   295     $22,057.00

  Day 1: 5     18-04       Day 2: 5     13-13       Day 3: 5     14-15    

3.   Kris Wilson                       Montgomery, Texas           15   46-14   290     $18,749.00

  Day 1: 5     12-03       Day 2: 5     17-15       Day 3: 5     16-12    

4.   Landon Ware                       Jewett, Texas                   15   42-14   285     $13,786.00

  Day 1: 5     15-10       Day 2: 5     14-15       Day 3: 5     12-05    

5.   Todd Castledine               Nacogdoches, Texas         15   42-04   280     $11,029.00

  Day 1: 5     13-07       Day 2: 5     17-15       Day 3: 5     10-14    

6.   Todd Littleton                 Bossier City, La.           14   41-08   276       $9,926.00

  Day 1: 5     14-04       Day 2: 4     11-04       Day 3: 5     16-00    

7.   Cliff Crochet                   Pierre Part, La.             15   41-05   272       $8,823.00

  Day 1: 5     13-02       Day 2: 5     14-01       Day 3: 5     14-02    

8.   Bradley Hallman               Norman, Okla.                   13   41-01   268       $7,720.00

  Day 1: 5     20-05       Day 2: 4     12-15       Day 3: 4       7-13    

9.   James Niggemeyer             Van, Texas                         15   39-15   264       $6,617.00

  Day 1: 5     13-09       Day 2: 5     12-07       Day 3: 5     13-15    

10. Gary Key                             Laveen, Ariz.                   15   39-05   260       $5,514.00

  Day 1: 5     15-04       Day 2: 5     12-09       Day 3: 5     11-08    

11. Jimmy Mize                         Ben Lomond, Ark.             15   38-05   257       $4,411.00

  Day 1: 5     10-14       Day 2: 5     17-04       Day 3: 5     10-03    

12. Russell Parrish               Robinson, Texas               15   38-05   254       $3,860.00

  Day 1: 5     17-05       Day 2: 5     12-01       Day 3: 5       8-15    

13. Jerrel Pringle                 Hemphill, Texas               15   38-05   251       $3,309.00

  Day 1: 5     12-13       Day 2: 5     14-02       Day 3: 5     11-06    

14. Jason Berg                         Minnetonka, Minn.           14   37-06   248       $2,757.00

  Day 1: 5     11-08       Day 2: 5     15-04       Day 3: 4     10-10    

15. Sandy Gaudet                     Belle Rose, La.               15   36-07   245       $2,481.00

   Day 1: 5     13-08       Day 2: 5     12-12       Day 3: 5     10-03    

16. Justin Haynes                   Tulsa, Okla.                     13   36-04   243       $2,206.00

  Day 1: 3       9-02       Day 2: 5     17-11       Day 3: 5       9-07    

17. Chris McCall                     Jasper, Texas                   15   36-00   241       $2,151.00

  Day 1: 5     12-11       Day 2: 5     12-09       Day 3: 5     10-12    

18. Corey Waldrop                   Fort Worth, Texas           15   35-11   239       $2,095.00

  Day 1: 5     15-07       Day 2: 5     10-04       Day 3: 5     10-00    

19. Mike Michalec                   Willis, Texas                   13   31-09   237       $2,040.00

  Day 1: 5     11-07       Day 2: 5     15-02       Day 3: 3       5-00    

20. Charles Hammack               New Caney, Texas               9   31-03   235       $1,985.00

  Day 1: 3     12-15       Day 2: 5     15-09       Day 3: 1       2-11    

21. Cody Bird                           Granbury, Texas               13   30-06   233       $1,930.00

  Day 1: 5       9-05       Day 2: 5     15-15       Day 3: 3       5-02    

22. Billy Hurt                         Spring Creek, Tenn.       11   30-01   231       $1,875.00

  Day 1: 5     14-09       Day 2: 5     14-00       Day 3: 1       1-08    

23. Bryan Talmadge                 Moody, Ala.                       12   29-10   229       $1,820.00

  Day 1: 5     15-05       Day 2: 5     10-07       Day 3: 2       3-14    

24. Dave Mansue                       Hemphill, Texas               10   29-06   227       $1,765.00

  Day 1: 4     12-05      Day 2: 5     14-14       Day 3: 1       2-03    

25. Tony Chachere                   Opelousas, La.                 11   28-10   225       $1,709.00

  Day 1: 5     17-03       Day 2: 5       9-10       Day 3: 1       1-13    

26. Marvin Ettredge               Shreveport, La.               12   28-09   223       $1,654.00

  Day 1: 5     13-01       Day 2: 5     11-09       Day 3: 2       3-15    

27. Brannon Long                     Longview, Texas               12   28-05   221       $1,599.00

  Day 1: 5       9-06       Day 2: 5     16-01       Day 3: 2       2-14    

28. Rob Burns                           Plano, Texas                     11   27-03   219       $1,544.00

  Day 1: 5     14-07       Day 2: 5     10-13       Day 3: 1       1-15    

29. Tim Carmouche                   Gonzales, La.                   11   26-15   217       $1,489.00

  Day 1: 5     10-11       Day 2: 5     14-07       Day 3: 1       1-13    

30. Chad Sposito                     Gray, La.                           10   25-03   215       $1,434.00

  Day 1: 5     11-02       Day 2: 5     14-01       Day 3: 0       0-00    

———————————————————————–

 

———————————————————————–

Totals

Day     #Limits       #Fish           Weight

 1             87             690           1607-08

 2             96             690           1650-13

 3             16             106             248-07

———————————-

              199           1486           3506-12

 

FINAL NON-BOATER STANDINGS- CENTRAL OPEN- SAM RAYBURN

2009 Central 2 – Sam Rayburn, TX NB 09/03-09/05 Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Sam Rayburn   Texas

(NON-BOATER) Standings Day 3

 

    Angler                                     Hometown                           No./lbs-oz   Pts     Total $$$

 

1.   William Loftin                 Youngsville, La.               8   26-05   305     $32,000.00

  Day 1: 3       6-10       Day 2: 3       8-10       Day 3: 2     11-01    

2.   Michael Hubbard               Loveland, Colo.                 6   24-10   300       $5,514.00

  Day 1: 3       6-07       Day 2: 2     12-05       Day 3: 1       5-14    

3.   Bobby Lanham                     Cave Crek, Ariz.               9   24-08   290       $4,411.00

  Day 1: 3       6-06       Day 2: 3       7-11       Day 3: 3     10-07    

4.   Travis Pattillo               Silsbee, Texas                   9   23-07   285       $3,309.00

  Day 1: 3       9-03       Day 2: 3       7-02       Day 3: 3      7-02    

5.   David Ozio                         Beaumont, Texas                 9   23-06   285       $2,757.00

  Day 1: 3     10-12       Day 2: 3       5-02       Day 3: 3       7-08    

6.   David Koret                       Houston, Texas                   8   23-05   276       $2,481.00

  Day 1: 2       5-06       Day 2: 3       9-15       Day 3: 3       8-00    

7.   Gary Robicheaux               Centerville, La.               7   22-14   272       $2,206.00

  Day 1: 2       8-07       Day 2: 3       9-00       Day 3: 2       5-07    

8.   Claude Rabb                       Vidalia, La.                       9   22-08   268       $2,095.00

  Day 1: 3       7-15       Day 2: 3       6-07       Day 3: 3       8-02    

9.   John Hayen                         Hurst, Texas                       8   22-05   264       $1,875.00

  Day 1: 3       8-14       Day 2: 3       8-14       Day 3: 2       4-09    

10. Gary Mumphrey                   Gonzales, La.                     9   22-02   260       $1,434.00

  Day 1: 3       6-00       Day 2: 3       9-09       Day 3: 3       6-09    

11. Bill McCarty                     Morgan City, La.               8   21-10   257       $1,213.00

  Day 1: 3       9-15       Day 2: 2       5-14       Day 3: 3       5-13    

12. Jean Trahan                       Lafayette, La.                   8   20-15   254       $1,103.00

  Day 1: 3