NEWS

Ronnie Ray and Alton Stillwell Win Alabama Bass Trail Lake Eufaula 29.09-pound limit Highlights Impressive Day on Historic Fishery

Eufaula, Ala. – March 15, 2015 – With a bass fishing history as rich as a Rockefeller, Lake Eufaula is one of the premier bass fisheries in not only the state of Alabama, but the country. In the short history of the Alabama Bass Trail, it has been the scene of fireworks, with the lake producing one of the heaviest winning weights as well as one of the heaviest total field weights for the inaugural season.

With much of the state being gripped by freezing conditions for much of the past month, many wondered at just how any event would produce. But, as the weather began to warm, transitioning from freezing conditions to moderate rains and warming skies; Lake Eufaula began to show its potential.

As if on cue, as the second event in the Alabama Bass Trail’s Southern Division neared, Lake Eufaula’s bass began to move. Word was that anglers would be able to run into quality bass on the bank, and some heavyweights would be more readily found in transition.

Even though the morning of the event was gloomy and drizzly, the anglers of the Southern Division did not disappoint. Leading the field was the local team of Ronnie Ray and Alton Stillwell, who brought a limit of Lake Eufaula largemouth bass to the stage weighing 29.09 pounds to win the event.

The impressive catch was reportedly taken mostly in eight to twelve foot depth on transition areas around the mid lake area; with the main basin near the dam contributing as well. Ray, a member of the winning team reported that the winning catch came on Ledgebuster spinnerbaits and Carolina Rigged Big Bite Baits Lizards. “We found the fish in practice, but really only thought we could get 25 pounds,” he said. “We got our first limit around 10:30, then were able to cull up until about 12:30.”

 

The pair has won several events on the lake in the past, but said winning an event like this was special. “We really thought that the entry fee and payouts of the ABT made it a great circuit,” said Ray. “Then the field size and the quality of anglers makes it very competitive; it really feels pretty good to have won this event.”

Ray and Stillwell earned $10,000 for their victory.

 

The second place team of Ralph Moseley and Terry Stevens brought 25.00 pounds to the scales and echoed the thoughts of the winners. “We thought we would be able to catch 22 to 23 pounds, so we really maximized what we had found,” the pair said. “We caught our first limit on topwater and sightfishing with a Big Bite Baits Warmouth, then caught a big one to cull with on a Rat-L-Trap. It was a great day on the water.”

Moseley and Lamar earned $5,000 for their second place finish as well as the Bill Penney Toyota bonus of $1000 and the Alabama Bass Trail Gear bonus of $250 for being the highest finisher in those two contingency programs.

The team of Taylor Lamar and Mac Lamar finished 19^th for the event, but their 18.81-pound limit was anchored by the 7.49-pound Mountain Dew Big Bass of the tournament. The fish earned them a $500 bonus.

The top 10 in the standings were as follows below. For complete standings visit the results page at http://dev-alabama-bass-trail.pantheonsite.io/tournament-series/le-results/

The sponsors of the 2015 Alabama Bass Trail include: Bill Penney Toyota, the Alabama Tourism Department, Phoenix Bass Boats, Inc., Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Alabama Power Company, Buffalo Rock, Inc., Jet-Pep, Inc., Tennessee Valley Authority, and Frogg Toggs, Inc., HydroWaveTM, Alabama Foundation Specialist, Boat U.S., LEER, Vicious Fishing, E3 Sports, Inc., Costa Del Mar, Frogg Toggs, Inc., Power-Pole,  Window World and Yeti Coolers.

PLACE	NAME				FISH	WT		PEN		B/F		PTS		WINNINGS
1	Ronnie Ray/Alton Stillwell				5/0	29.09		0.00		0.00		225		10000
2	Ralph Moseley/Terry Stevens				5/0	25.00		0.00		5.66		224		5000
3	Jeff Aul/Paul Aul				5/0	24.79		0.00		6.00		223		4000
4	Wayne Cox/Jimmy Harrison				5/0	22.86		0.00		0.00		222		3000
5	Ryan Ingram/James Grogan				5/0	22.39		0.00		5.65		221		2000
6	David Caylor/Travis Northey				5/0	21.58		0.00		0.00		220		1000
7	Scott Montgomery/Les Bratcher				5/0	21.56		0.00		0.00		219		900
8	Barry Isbell/Jeff Schatz				5/0	21.38		0.00		0.00		218		800
9	John Pollard/Dallas Weldon				5/0	21.33		0.00		6.10		217		700
10	Keith Dees/Tommy Walley				5/0	21.28		0.00		6.37		216		600