We had 60 teams come out to fish the Rough River Regional to qualify for the Classic to be held in May on KY/Barkley Lakes.

 

Anglers had their work cut out for them. The day started out warm and the sun popped out at day break with little or no clouds to speak of all day. This made it hot with highs in the upper 90’s. There were also strong wind gusts to deal with most all day.

 

The fishing ended up being very tough for most all the teams. Only three teams were able to bring in a limit. Most were unable to catch a keeper or very few.

 

The team of Bratcher/Willoughby are the Rough River Regional Champions with a limit of 12.36lbs and received over $2,000 and a pair of Castaway Series 3 spinning rods for First Place. They were also running a Pro craft 210 Super Pro and won the BPS Tracker Bonus money of $5,000. Talk about an awesome finish!

 

The team caught their fish on shallow points and flats with spinnerbaits, top waters and traps. The bites came at the start of the event to the end of the day.

 

“We had a terrible practice. So we just went out fishing and did something different than we did in practice.”

 

“We are very happy with the bonus money we will receive from the BPS Tracker Rewards Program. This is the second time we have won it fishing with U.S.A. Bassin.”

 

“We feel U.S.A. Bassin will continue to grow and in this area!”

-Bratcher/Willoughby

 

Second Place went to team Sallee/Parrett with a limit of 10.29lbs. The team left before I could interview them.

 

Third Place went to team Henson/Webb with four fish for a total of 9.64lbs. The team managed their bites fishing Points in shallow water using top water baits in the late morning between 9am and 12pm.

 

“It was a tough day of fishing for us. We got the bites by being at the right place and the right time. Rough River is a great fishery and one of our favorite lakes to fish! It was just a tough time of the year to fish it!”

 

“U.S.A. Bassin is a great organization!”

-Henson/Webb

 

Fourth place went to team Gordon/Thorpe with a limit totaling 9.57lbs. The team left before I could interview them.

 

Fifth place and Big Fish went to team Adams/Kehler with a three fish total of 9.17lbs including a 5.61lb largemouth.

 

The team caught their fish on shallow points using Strike King crank baits in the Sexy Shad color. They got their bites in the late afternoon and in the last hour of the event.

 

“U.S.A. Bassin runs a fun and fair tournament trail. We enjoy fishing it!”

-Adams/Kehler

 

Rounding out the paying places at sixth place, team Godby/Butler had four fish totaling 8.89lbs. The team left before I could interview them.

 

Team Blackwell/Rice is our Regional Points Champions for Rough River. They caught two fish totaling 4.22lbs, beating out the other five Divisional Points Champs for the title. The team will receive a free entry into this year’s Classic with a chance at the $1,000 bonus.

 

The team caught their fish at the upper end of North Fork at a depth of 2-8’ using Bluegrass Tackle Lane Tipton Jigs from 11:30am to the end of the event.

 

“This is a great tournament trail to fish! We enjoy fishing the Green River Division! We also really like the updated information and news that is on the web site! We look forward to seeing U.S.A. Bassin continue to grow.”

 

“We would also like to thank our sponsor Wilcher Interior and Porter Paints.”

                        Blackwell/Rice

 

I would to thank all the participants for fishing with us at this Regional. I want to give special thanks out the winners who took their extra time out of their day to let me interview them so this story could be possible! I would also like to thank John Newton, his wife, his brother and wife for helping me run this event.

 

I enjoyed being your Regional Director this year. It was fun to talk fishing with many of you!

 

I am stepping down as Regional Director so I can be free to do more things with U.S.A. Bassin. John Newton will be your new director for next year. I’m sure he will do a good job for all of you.