Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 29 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday, March 1, to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament of the season on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For his victory, Castledine earned $5,507.
After winning a pair of BFL events on Sam Rayburn last year, Castledine started on the path to a repeat in grand style. “The day started pretty slow, I guess because of the fog,” said Castledine. “I don’t think I even caught anything until about 10 o’clock. Around noon the fog started breaking through,the sun came out, and it was like a light went on. They started eating.”
Most anglers targeted drains and ditches on flats with hyrdilla looking to intercept the bass on their way in to spawning areas. Castledine stayed deep most of the day. Most of his fish were caught on main-lake points in 18 to 24 feet, close to the river channel. “Because it’s been so cold, the right points are still holding a lot of schools still out there. Find the right points and they’re on them.”
Castledine’s win was part of a magical three-week stretch of huge limits for the Sam Rayburn expert.
“I’ve been on a neat little ride. All these weeks are blending together. It’s pretty surreal. I’ve been weighing in over 25 pounds every time these last few weeks. My co-angler said, ‘I’ve never seen someone reel in 7-pounders and not get excited.’ I’m just trying to take it all in now. You never know if it’s the last tournament you’re going to win. It never gets old.”
Rat-L-Traps and other types of lipless crankbaits were predicted to be major fish catching lures, but square-bill crankbaits, jigs and umbrella rigs could catch fish as well. Castledine said he caught most of his weight on a 6th Sense Crush 500DD crankbait and a Carolina rigged prototype 7-inch Kicker Fish Bubble Fry.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Eric Hunt, Buna, Texas, five bass, 26-6, $2,253
3rd: Randy Sitz, Prosper, Texas, five bass, 24-13, $1,502
4th: Randy Deaver, Blanchard, La., five bass, 20-14, $1,052
5th: James Davis Jr., Ferreiday, La., five bass, 19-5, $901
6th: Shane Hilton, Alexandria, La., five bass, 18-5, $826
7th: Jerrel Pringle, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 16-9, $751
8th: Tommy Rascoe, Converse, La., five bass, 15-14, $676 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
9th: C.J. Nichols, Alexandria, La., five bass, 15-13, $$601
10th: Kent Graham, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 15-9, $526
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Jared West of Deer Park, Texas, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to win $2,253 in the co-angler division.
To have a chance to win this tournament at this time of the year, it was going to take a five-bass limit in excess of 24 pounds. Castledine beat the 24 pounds by almost 6.
Photo: Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, won the March 1 Cowboy Division event on Same Rayburn with 29 pounds, 6 ounces. Castledine was awarded over $5,500 for his efforts.