Cowboy Church Bass Club

2023 Northern Division Tournament Recap 

 

Lewisville

4/22/2023

By Jon Griffin and Al Kohutek

 

WOODDELL/MCMILLAN EARN THE DUB ON GRAPEVINE

 

Team Brandon Wooddell & Keith McMillan went super shallow with a limit of 3 pounders for 8.95 and the win on a tough Lake Grapevine Saturday April 22nd.

The winning team caught their bass throwing senkos & mojo finesse baits in less than 5 feet of water. Interesting note, although they won the 2021 AOY, this is their lone tournament win after 7 second place finishes since fishing together since 2018. Brandon did win Fairfield in 2020 but with a substitute partner in that event.

Charley David & Dave Heckethorn scratched out 2nd by aggravating a bed fish.

Mike Thurman & Joe Lee exploited their dam expertise with a limit among the crowds for 3rd.

4th place went to a consistent Doyle Ray and Thom Wilkins doing the shaky head dance.

Unfortunately, since we had under 20 teams, 5th place was dropped from the money, so the “sister kiss” award goes to Gene Collins & Daryl Hester with a 6.51 sack.

One side note, the Tarrant Open was happening on the same day as we shared the lake with another 70+ boats.

Jon & Pierce were not really bothered by any crowds as they (we) fished up north and took the big ole zero. Apparently, there is only 1 LMB in north Grapevine, the one we accidentally threw back.

 

1st Brandon Wooddell/Keith McMillan 8.95

2nd Charley David/Dave Heckethorn 7.53

3rd Mike Thurman/Joe Lee 6.94

4th Doyle Ray/Thom Wilkins 6.63

 

Big Bass Doyle Ray 3.66

 

Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QJcc4sCyTJcbEXHk6

 

Results (see the lake tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet)

http://www.cowboychurchbassclub.org/ccpoints23NorthDiv.htm

 

 

LAKESIDE DEVO

 

Longtime member Kevin Davis shared the devotional beginning by modeling his “Net Man” cap. He started wearing this as he captained his daughter Reagan during her high school fishing team career. Kev shared that in team fishing it’s always a huge bonus to have a good net man. He ask how many of us have lost a good fish in the clutch? We all have of course! It’s crushing, we all still are affected deeply by a good fish we lost years ago. We do tend to never forget the ones we lost. Fact is, it’s difficult to handle hardship all on our own. But a good net man, always there with a perfectly timed and untangled net, is a huge part of team fishing success and mental stability! So in life, outside of tournament fishing, who is your net man? The one who said will never leave you nor forsake you? The one who is always there to back you up in the toughest of times? Obviously Jesus is the answer the world needs. Kevin shared that he’s been fishing with his best friend Byron for over 30 years. He wants Byron to succeed as much as Byron wants Kev to succeed because of their love for one another. Christ is the same, he wants us to grow, he wants a relationship with us, He wants us to succeed as any father desires for his children. And success in this world is simply a daily walk and relationship with Jesus. God made this extremely clear and perfectly simple to understand in His word.

 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM, shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

Just like a good net man, there when you need him the most, Jesus is here to rescue us all!

 

Luke 19:10

For the Son of man came to seek and save the lost.

 

Make Jesus your net man in life. Why not ask him today!

 

JG closed us in prayer.

 

 

 

 

The Classic on Lake Waco

4/14 – 4/16/2023

By Al Kohutek

 

Congratulations to Kory Grelle and Eric Olson from the Central Division.  

 

They take first and win $1,650.00. Kory’s anchor bass weighed 10.49-lbs and was caught on a fluke. They limited both days around chunk rock and weigh-in a total of 25.96 pounds. So far Kory has big bass of the year in both clubs. 

 

Second was won by Charley and Donna David. They took home $700.00.  15 teams competed for $4,000.00.  11 of the 15 teams took home moola.

 

See the place, payout, and winning details on the website.  Click on the lake tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet.  The Classis tab is the last one on the bottom.

http://www.cowboychurchbassclub.org/ccpoints23NorthDiv.htm

 

Pictures

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HRK7zqcgh39V97oQ8

 

 

Lake Conditions

 

Practice Day 1 – air temperature 59-72, wind 0-25 MPH.

Tournament Day 1 – air temperature 63-82, wind 6-24 MPH cloudy in the morning, cold front hit.

Tournament Day 2 - air temperature 44-70, wind 0-12 MPH, sunny.

 

Water temperature – 67-70

Lake Level – 10.88 ft low

Water Clarity – murky

No grass, very little structure other than rocks, very low water conditions with most of the boat ramps closed.

 

Scatter Shooting

 

Some teams stayed at local Airbnb’s…….Joe Lee fished as a separate team with Charlie David on day 1 and then regrouped with their normal partners on day 2……Darren Coslin was thrown out of his boat during takeoff. See his fb page for the details……Charley had motor problems on day 2……Al Kohutek received some very bad news at the start of the tournament. He lost his son-in-law in a car accident……..There was no lights at the ramp so some of the guys helped out by shinning their flash lights to guide boats down the long steep ramp.  It was much appreciated……There was a 3 fish limit on day 1 (6 of the 15 caught a limit). There was a 5 fish limit on day 2 (5 of the 15 teams limited)……Gus and Toby were in the lead on day 1, but their hot spots turned muddy on day 2 due to the winds at the end of day 1.

 

Sundy Morning Service Notes

 

Outlaw! Or In-law? Charley David delivered the Sunday Morning Message

 

Christ took care of the law for us.

 

Romans 10:4 - For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

 

Do you believe? 

 

Romans 10:9-10 - If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

 

How do you openly declare?

 

Galatians 3:26-27  - For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

 

John 15 4-7 - Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

 

John 15:4-6  - For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

 

Ecclesiastes 10:14 - “they chatter on and on. No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future.”

 

 

******

 

 

Next Tournament will be on Grapevine.

 

 

 

Lewisville

3/25/2023

By Jon Griffin

 

TEAM POWELL/CORPORON WIN LEWISVILLE EVENT

Doug Powell & Jerry Corporon snagged a decisive 1st place with their 3 fish limit @ 14.92 including a 5.37 lb kicker on Lake Lewisville Saturday March 25th. 

Conditions were near perfect, but Lewisville lived up to its stingy self with only 8 limits weighed in out of 22 teams.  Near all of the fish weighed in were caught relatively shallow, and it would appear as of late March the Lewisville bass were in a pre-spawn phase.  Also impressive were 5 of the weighed bass were in the 5-6+ pound range.

 

1st  Doug Powell/Jerry Corporon   14.92   $455

2nd Rodney & Billy Pickard              12.45   $230

3rd Pierce Johnston/Jon Griffin      11.80   $140

4th Doyle Ray                                     11.49   $50

 

Big Bass Billy Pickard                          6.08    $130

 

Pictures   

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bACud1g3yTkycwUr6

 

Results (see the lake tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet)

http://www.cowboychurchbassclub.org/ccpoints23NorthDiv.htm

 

Lakeside Devo

 

Longtime club member Les Smith shared his insight and what he has learned from the book of Job.  In a nutshell, the book of Job describes the man Job as one of the world’s most wealthy men.  He had it all, money, livestock, land & a wonderful loving family.  Satan was given full reign by God to do whatever he wished to Job, yet not kill him.  Job lost everything, as in everything.  But…STILL refused to blame or curse his God. 

 

These are the lessons of Job that Les shared:

1-Suffering is inevitable.  Hardship is not punishment.  Bad things do happen to good people (if you even consider any of us are actually good).

2-Worship of God does not mean you will be removed from hardship.  Rather God will walk us through any difficulty, as He has said “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

3-You can have a right theology, but miss a true connection with God because life is filled with so many distractions.  The devil is really good at producing distractions!

4-God never, ever, ever leaves you, even in the deepest suffering.  In fact, most often, the deeper the valley, the deeper the relationship with God.  Or it should be!

5-Job shows us clearly about suffering, just as Jesus suffered.  He knows our pain because he endured and overcame for us all.  When you suffer, it’s fair to ask God why?  He has a reason, we should trust Him, and live in obedience. 

 

How do you need to trust God today?

 

Jon Griffin closed us in prayer.

 

 

 

Fairfield

2/25/2023

By Al Kohutek

 

Doyle Ray and Tom Wilkins lead the club

Doyle Ray and Tom Wilkins caught the winning weight with 14.31 pounds using C-rigs with blue fleck power bait, Zoom Ol' Monster 10.5", and Berkley Chigger Craws.  Their hot spot was in the cove to the right of the boat ramp where they could see hikers walking on the bank closest to them.   The C-rig’s weights were light and that kept their baits above the grass.  They caught about 19 nice size bass, including 7 that were over 18 inches long. 

Big bass – Matt Love caught the big bass of the tournament on a hard body swim bait at 2:00 pm

 

Team

#of   fish

Big bass

Team Weight

Total points

Winnings

 

Notes

Doyle Ray              Noah Ray             

3

 

14.31

200

$528.00

 

1st Tom Wilkins sub for Noah Ray

Corey Panky           Pierce Johnston            

3

 

14.27

199

$307.00

 

2nd

Maurice Williams    Scott Hill

3

 

13.87

198

$184.00

 

3rd

Brian Redman     Marty Redman

3

 

13.37

197

$122.00

 

4th

AJ Settle              Pat Settle

3

 

12.70

196

$85.00

 

5th

Albert Love            Matt Love

1

6.89

6.89

187

$175.00

 

Big Bass

 

 

Pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SjqEaTfy83kAkSST8

 

Full results. See the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet in the link below for the individual lakes:

http://www.cowboychurchbassclub.org/ccpoints23NorthDiv.htm

 

SCATTERSHOOTING

This will be the last time that Cowboy Church Bass Club fishes Lake Fairfield because our State Park was sold to a developer.  The lake officially closes on 2/28/2023.  It is very sad that our Texas elected officials didn’t step up and figure out a way to keep this park……. A few teams got mixed up on which boat ramp to use…… Phil Hickle fell and had to make a trip to the hospital.  Please keep him in your prayers……   2nd place Pierce Johnston and Corey Panky were less than 1 ounce out of first.  They caught their fish on chatter baits and 3 inch swim baits…..3rd place Maurice Williams & Scott Hill caught their fish on square bill crank baits ……4th place Brian Redman & Marty Redman caught their bass on rattle traps…...5th place, not sure what they used….Al Kohutek and Lee Davis caught their bass on giant senkos around stumps in old lily pad stems…. The park gate was open very early in the morning, so there was no waiting in line at the park gate and the lake was not as crowded as we thought it was going to be for the last Saturday it was open…… Brian and Heather Hopkins had to leave early to go to a wedding……27 teams fished, and the average fish weighed in was 4.23 pounds.  That high average was due to the 18 inch minimum……Several of the teams saw bald eagles chasing the coots..… Keep Steve Reynolds in your prayers.  He is facing some medical challenges and was unable to fish…..Lee Davis had to make an emergency wheel bearing repair at the weigh-in.  Big thanks to Kevin Davis for having the tools to fix the wheel..…..  All the fish caught were very healthy…….We are going to miss fishing this lake in future tournaments.  

 

 LAKE CONDITIONS

Air temp 48-56; Drizzle most of the day and cloudy; winds mostly NNE 5-10 mph; water temp 58; water clarity 3 ft; lake level full; grass everywhere.

 

LAKESIDE DEVO

Charley David gave a short message on forgiveness.  It was exactly 16 years ago that we lost a member of the club practicing on Lake Fairfield for our opening tournament in 2007.  You never know when your last day on earth will be, so get your forgiving done before it is too late. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3fKw1kDkCyiobNdM6

Joe Lee closed us in a prayer, and we were dismissed.

 

 

 

For more information about the Bass Club email cowboychurchbassclub@hotmail.com or contact Charley David at 214-878-3354

 

 

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