Rayburn Central Stren McCall Wins By A Pound

Saturday, March 25, 2006  BASSFAN.com

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Patrick Baker Chris McCall ditched the hardbait and went with plastics late in the day.

Tour pro Chris McCall had waited a long time for a day like today. He'd been close before, with three 2nd-palce finishes in FLW Outdoors competition. But today at the Rayburn Central Stren, when he delivered 12-11 to the scales, he clinched his first-ever win by a little more than a pound. And he did it in front of a hometown crowd.

David Cochran, of Arkansas, was the only non-Texan angler in the final Top 10, and he began the day in 10th. When the day ended, his 16-07 moved him up to 2nd, but his 25-04 total wasn't quite enough.

Randy Millender caught 14-06 today and finished 3rd with 24-14. Dicky Newberry, who weighed 15-00 today, finished 4th with 24-07. Tour pro Sean Hoernke finished 5th with 12-10 today and 22-15 total.

The weather today was calmer and sunnier then the previous 3 days, which likely helped the sight-fishermen, but boat traffic and pressure have been factors all week.

McCall Made a Change

McCall led the event for the first 2 days, then dropped to 2nd place on day 3. Throughout, he said he'd been covering a lot of water and catching his fish over hydrilla with a variety of baits.

Today he noted his primary bait all week had been the Rat-L-Trap, but he changed at the 11th hour.

"I only had two fish at 1:30 today," he said. "I switched to a green-pumpkin and red-flake Gambler Sweebo Worm and was culling by 1:45. I had no idea my two biggest fish were as large as they were because I was fishing so fast. One was probably 4 1/2 pounds and one was a little over 3 pounds.

"The conditions were calm and slick, so the fish didn't want to chase a Rat-L-Trap. It was time to make the switch."

2nd: Cochran Switched Spots

Cochran was on a pile of fish and made his move today.

"Today I continued to fish the grass, but decided to hit another location that paid off for me during practice," he said. "Due to the wind I didn't get to make it back to the area until today.

"I had my limit by 10:30 but continued to search for bigger bass – only culling about a 1 1/2. I threw a Senko and wacky worm on tops of flats from start to finish.

"I produced some great catches moving to bare spots since the wind wasn't a factor and I could locate the fish."

5th: Hoernke Happy

Hoernke stuck to his gameplan and flipped his way to a 2-day total of 22-14, which was only about 3 pounds shy of the win.

"Basically I continued to flip to anything and everything that was in heavy cover," he said. "I used a jig for the duration of the tournament, plus, I didn't really have a specific pattern I was using – just searching for cover and fishing for quality bass."

While heavy on-the-water traffic affected others, he fished by himself. "I never saw another boat. I had the area all to myself. Life for me was good."

He noted he fished the main lake and focused on dirty water, where he often connected with cruising bass.

"I lost several good fish and landed several good ones. But I'm very happy with my 5th-place finish. Now my goal is to make the (Stren) Championship."

Notable

> David Cochran is the son of veteran George Cochran.

> Bill Guillory, a local, won the co-angler division. He weighed a limit yesterday, but only one fish today – a dinky 1-pounder – and finished with 23-05.

Final Standings

Pl.	First Name | Last Name	City / State	Day 3		Day 4		Day 3&4		Winnings
			Fish	lbs-oz	Fish	lbs-oz	Fish	lbs-oz
1	CHRIS MCCALL	JASPER, TX	5	13-08	5	12-11	10	26-03	$10,000  +  Ranger Boat Motor, Trailer
2	DAVID COCHRAN	ROYAL, AR	3	8-13	5	16-07	8	25-04	$10,000
3	RANDY MILLENDER	TEAGUE, TX	5	10-08	5	14-06	10	24-14	$8,950
4	DICKY NEWBERRY	HOUSTON, TX	4	9-07	5	15-00	9	24-07	$7,950
5	SEAN HOERNKE	MAGNOLIA, TX	5	10-05	5	12-10	10	22-15	$7,450
6	TRENT HUCKABY	FORT STOCKTON, TX	5	11-01	5	11-10	10	22-11	$6,450
7	TOBY HARTSELL	LIVINGSTON, TX	5	15-10	4	7-00	9	22-10	$5,450
8	CODY BIRD	GRANBURY, TX	5	12-04	3	7-12	8	20-00	$4,950
9	ART GARZA	BUNA, TX	4	9-06	4	8-13	8	18-03	$4,450
10	JASON REYES	HUMBLE, TX	5	12-06	2	5-09	7	17-15	$3,950