1st Place

Results

Stacy Boggs and Monk Anderson spooled up 50lb. Spider Wire and clawed there way through the buck brush to the center of Cypress Island to do battle with the big sow bass that were gathering there. A three-foot rise on the lake had covered the island with enough water to allow the big fish to freely move around in search of the many crawfish that live there. Pitching Brush Hogs and jigs the team fought with the big fish all day and when they finally emerged from the jungle of cypress trees and buck brush they had culled to a five fish limit that they knew weighed over 20lbs. Would it be enough to best the other 40 teams in the event, or would some of the day's battles that ended in favor of a big fish cost them the first place prize ?

Jerry Silmon and Benny Hedgepeth had each won tournaments on D'Arbonne in the three weeks leading up to the Angler's Choice event. They decided to team up for the event to see if they could add to there string of wins. Fishing spinner baits and jigs in the Cypress Island and State Park areas of Little D'Arbonne, they quickly caught a good limit of fish. By noon they had amassed a weight of close to 20lbs. If they could only cull up one more time in the afternoon they felt they had a chance. That bite did come and as Silmon and Hedgdepeth pulled into the weigh-in site they felt confident that the string of wins might be extended.

Joe Ellinberg is a farmer so he doesn't get to fish very much after March, but during the month of March he is a force to be reckoned with. Joe and his partner Scott Still pitched a jig to the buck brush around the islands at the Mixing Hole and as they headed for the weigh-in site they had culled to a 20 plus pound limit.

Billy Joe and Trey Patton are a new team on the North Central Louisiana Angler's Choice circuit this year. They both live near D'Arbonne Lake and are known to be exceptional fishermen. By the end of the day Saturday they knew that the Angler's Choice veterans would not be able to overlook them as a team to be reckoned with for the rest of the year. Their weigh-in bag was heavy as they made there way to the scales. At 10:00 AM Louis Book pitched a jig to a cypress tree and was instantly doing battle with a huge fish. When his partner, Kindall Parent, slipped the net under the fish and brought it into the boat they knew that they were in the hunt. Sponsored by Stump Jumper, Diamond Dodge and Bar B Q West, Louis and Kendall were fishing in the Mixing Hole area and had a good limit of fish by quitting time.

The father and son team of Gerald and Chad Williams fished spinner baits in the Cypress Island area where they had caught 19lbs. In last year's early D'Arbonne event. They were able to cull most of the day and felt that they were in good shape by day's end. They knew they had not done as well as last year, but they did have a hefty bag of fish. I could go on and on describing how team after team caught fish after fish on this exceptional day at D'Arbonne Lake. The 41 teams entered in the event brought 151 bass to the scales that weighed a total of 412 lbs. We released 147 fish back into the lake.

The next North Central Louisiana Angler's Choice event will be April 10th out of Pleasure Point Marina on Lake Claiborne. Entry fee is $160 per team and Angler's Choice annual dues is $35 per person. Come out and join us at the lake. 2004 North Central Louisiana Team's Local Sponsors : V&M Lures Bayou Outdoors Magazine Farmerville Motors Depot 33 Linh John's Marine Legacy Star Farmerville 1st National Bank Toledo Tackle Brick' Body Shop Tan Depot The Old Bait Store EK's Marine Bar B Q West D'Arbonne Fiberglass Dale & Gayle Taylor ; North Central Louisiana Team's Directors