Autery Opens Season With Win On Lake Palestine
TYLER, Texas. – Ryan D. Autery won the Boater Division in the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, East Texas Division 11 season opener, held Feb. 19, 2022, at Lake Palestine.
Launching at the Villages Marina in Flint after a morning fog delay, the Richardson angler caught his 5-bass tournament limit in a very small stretch of water. He finished with 14.06 pounds, anchored by a 4.94-pounder that took the Boater Division big bass title.
“I got thrown off by the fog in the morning, but I caught some fish early on a crankbait,†Autery explained. “I covered a bunch of water after that. Once the sun got up, there was no wind and it was tough. I just finesse fished after that and caught everything on a dropshot. All of my keepers came from about a 10-yard stretch of water. That last hour helped and I caught my last three keepers after 3 p.m.â€
In second among the boaters, Dalton B. Pratt of Terrell put five keepers on the scales. He finished with 13.61 pounds. He anchored the bag with a 4.76-pounder.
“We grounded it out and did a big loop on the south end of the lake,†Pratt remarked. “We found some small creeks with old rotted docks. I only got five bites. I caught four fish on a dropshot and one on a wacky worm. Using the Garmin Livescope, I found three of the fish before I caught them. The bigger ones were in the brush piles. The deepest I fished was about five feet.â€
Shane H. Gibson from Kilgore took third among the boaters. He landed his 5-fish limit weighed 11.74 pounds. This included a 4.80-pound kicker.
“I caught some of my fish up the lake by flipping a black and blue jig,†Gibson detailed. “About 1 p.m., I made a move and came down the lake to finish my limit by throwing a shad-colored crankbait around some docks. I stayed in shallow water all day, four feet or less.â€
Taking the fourth spot, Scott Jenkins from Tyler found four keepers for 11.59 pounds. Following close behind, Matthew R. Helsley of Duncanville landed a limit going 11.55 pounds.
In the Co-Angler Division, Joe C. Embry of Tyler set the pace, landing a 3-bass division limit. His bag weighed 9.04 pounds.
“I got lucky and had a good boater,†Embry commented. “I caught everything on a plum-colored 10-inch worm. I fished it with no weight in about five feet of water. The water was a little dingy there, but clear in other spots. We stayed in one area all day. We just went back and forth along this sunny bank all day.â€
Taking second place for the co-anglers Robbie J. Carson from Carrollton jumped off to a quick start. He only landed two fish, but finished with an 8.33-pound sack. One of the bass pulled the scales down to 5.60 pounds, giving Carson the lunker honors for the tournament.
“I caught both fish on a green and white spinnerbait 20 minutes into the tournament,†Carson stated. “The water was about four to five feet deep. We moved all over the lake, but they just shut down after that. My boater caught a few later.â€
In third for the co-anglers, Al Longoria of Potsboro took three keepers to the scales. They totaled 7.01 pounds.
“I was fishing with a Zoom ruby red trick worm,†Longoria said. “It was tough at first, but we started going to some spots and the fish were there.â€
Calvin Davis IV of Katy landed one good fish weighing five pounds to finish in fourth place for the co-anglers. Neill A. Beckham from Jacksonville, Texas, did almost the same thing. His one 4.75-pounder put him in fifth place.
The division next heads to Cedar Creek Reservoir on March 5, 2022. The anglers will run out of the Log Cabin ramp, located at 13620 Alamo Road, in Log Cabin, Texas. To register for this event, CLICK HERE.
Each ABA Open Series division offers four one-day qualifying events in a boater/co-angler format. Boaters pay an entry fee of $210 for each event while co-anglers pay $105. The top 20 percent of registered anglers in each tournament receive cash payouts based on the total number of entries. If at least 60 boaters enter the tournament, the Boater Division winner will receive a minimum of $5,000.
In addition, anglers may qualify for bonus money offered by such tournament sponsors as Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, the T-H Marine Atlas Awards program, MotorGuide, and Power Pole. Anyone who qualifies for Caymas Cash rewards could receive up to $7,000 for winning any ABA Open Series event. If the winning boat carries a Mercury motor, the angler could receive an extra $1,000 in cash from Mercury Marine. If that boat comes with a MotorGuide Trolling Motor, the angler could win an additional $500.
See each manufacturer’s website for details, rules, and qualifications for more information on their contingency programs.
The top anglers could also earn invitations to fish area championship tournaments with a guaranteed $6,000 to the winning boater for a field of at least 60 boats. If 100 or more boaters participate, the winning boater in a championship event will take home a guaranteed minimum of $10,000.
For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Chris Wayand at (256) 230-5627. For more information about any American Bass Anglers tournament series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406.American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Garmin Electronics, Power Pole, Lucas Oil, Monster Energy, REKS Sunglasses, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.
This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.