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Del Rio, TX .... The Texas State Bass Tournament first took place in 1955 on Lake Whitney in central Texas when a young Outdoors Editor for the Waco Tribune-Herald, Earl Golding, invited a number of well-known bass anglers to a competition to settle the argument about who was the best in the state. The first outing was so well received that the tournament was opened to all state residents the following year and dubbed with its current name. Now in it^s 46th year, the Texas State Bass Tournament is the acknowledged forerunner of competitive bass fishing. There have never been any monetary prizes for the winners. Just trophies for the various competitive Divisions and, of course, the bragging rights for those both lucky and good enough to be named "State Champion".
Annually the Tournament moves to one of the state^s numerous fresh water reservoirs. For the first time since 1972, the March 3-4 Tournament was held at Amistad Reservoir on the Texas-Mexico border near the wonderfully hospitable town of Del Rio. Though the weather was mild, the competition was hot with large 5-fish stringers and only ounces separating the top places in two of the tournament^s six competitive divisions. With water in the high 50^s to low 60^s, the bass were generally in a pre-spawn staging pattern near the grass lines. Most were caught with deep diving crank baits near the grass line, or with soft plastics between the grass line and the bank.
When the dust was settled and the fish were weighed, the 2001 State Champion in the Individual Division was Rodney Marbach (Marion). Curtis Olsen (Junction) and Tom Tull (Del Rio) took top honors in the Team Division. Larry and Laurel Ledbetter (Fort Worth) won a very close race to take the Couples Division while Jim Saxton (Houston) and Joe Harris (Huntington) successfully defended their 2000 Senior Team Division title. Eddie Rogers with son Ross (Weatherford) won the Adult/Boy Division, and Delores Murry with daughter Kayla (San Antonio) won the Adult/Girl Division. Arthur Pine (Eagle Pass) captured the Big Bass Award with a nice 8.21 pounder while Allen Montgomery (North Richland Hills) won the Youth Big Bass Award with a 3.02 pounder. In a new competition among the 21 bass clubs represented in the Tournament, the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 276 Bass Club of Arlington edged the San Antonio Bass Club for the Top Bass Club honors.
During closing ceremonies, five new members were inducted into the Texas State Bass Tournament Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes those whose competitive spirit and support has contributed significantly to the success and longevity of the Tournament. They were Jim Brown (Mansfield), Roy Grammer (Longview), Bobby Murray (Fort Worth), Patsy Rabe (Arlington), and Tommy Simmons (Chandler).
The sponsors for the 2001 Tournament were the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, Nitro Boat Company, Remington Fishing Products, Stren Fishing Line, Strike King Lures, and Waypoint Marine of San Antonio.
The State Champions and other award winners in each Division follow.
46th Annual Texas State Bass Tournament
March 3-4, 2001 Amistad Reservoir
State Champions & Top Finishers
Team Division
PL Partner 1 Partner 2 Total
Fish Total
Weight
1 Curtis Olsen (Junction, TX) Tom Tull (Del Rio, TX) 10 36.530
2 Dustin Friesenhahn (Helotes, TX) Bruce Davenport (San Antonio, TX) 10 33.180
3 Dale Rabe (Arlington, TX) Charlie McFarland (Burleson, TX) 10 30.250
4 Mike Murski (Dallas, TX) John Barns (Dallas, TX) 8 30.230
5 Leonard Watson (Fort Worth, TX) Wendell Bond (Burleson, TX) 10 28.250
6 Dennis Asher (Boern, TX) Barry Gooden (Boern, TX) 10 27.310
7 David Bose (Spring Branch, TX) Alan Parks (San Antonio, TX) 10 26.980
8 Bob Hood (Ft. Worth, TX) Freddie Voyles (Fort Worth, TX) 10 26.550
9 Dusty Atkinson (Lorena, TX) Nathan Henderson (Lorena, TX) 9 25.540
10 C.E. Thetford (Del Rio, TX) Keith Southerland (Del Rio, TX) 8 25.520
11 Kerry D. Israel (Arlington, TX) Lance Rabe (Arlington, TX) 10 24.940
12 Wallace Langley (Monahans, TX) Danny Langley (Monahans, TX) 9 23.420
13 Bobby Murray (Fort Worth, TX) Bobby Clark (Azle, TX) 10 23.240
14 Wayne Bell (San Antonio, TX) Joseph Aker (San Antonio, TX) 10 23.070
15 Thomas Haralson (Laredo, TX) Corey Lowe (Laredo, TX) 9 22.400
16 Al Reyna (San Antonio, TX) Anabel Reyna (San Antonio, TX) 10 22.390
17 Ed Parten (Kingwood, TX) John Hope (Palestine, TX) 7 21.650
18 Sam Scroggins (Dallas, TX) Mike McBurney (Jupiter, FL) 10 21.370
19 Tim Plocek (San Antonio, TX) David Glenney (San Antonio, TX) 9 21.040
20 Raul Ortiz (Del Rio, TX) Tom Castloo (Del Rio, TX) 10 20.980
Couples Division
PL Partner 1 Partner 2 Total
Fish Total
Weight
1 Larry Ledbetter (Ft. Worth, TX) Laurel Ledbetter (Ft. Worth, TX) 10 34.660
2 Frederick Berg (Del Rio, TX) Cherrel Berg (Del Rio, TX) 10 34.510
3 Ronnie Poe (Ft. Worth, TX) Donna Poe (Ft. Worth, TX) 10 26.920
4 Ray Christian (Odessa, TX) Linda Christian (Odessa, TX) 10 26.220
5 Gary Garner (Cedar Hill, TX) Susan Garner (Cedar Hill, TX) 9 22.260
6 Pearly McGuire (Del Rio, TX) Harris McGuire (Del Rio, TX) 6 21.710
7 Jurell Thames (Del Rio, TX) Barbara Thames (Del Rio, TX) 8 19.390
8 Dennis McGuire (Weatherford, TX) Jille Crow (Weatherford, TX) 7 17.900
9 William Polster (Perry, TX) Anna Polster (Perry, TX) 6 15.330
10 Thomas O^Pry (Cleveland, TX) Donita O^Pry (Cleveland, TX) 6 13.960
11 Brian Hunter (Cibolo, TX) Kris Hunter (Cibolo, TX) 8 12.650
12 Walt Dudek (Del Rio, TX) Irene Dudek (del Rio, TX) 4 9.870
13 Woody Woodruff (San Antonio, TX) Kathy Woodruff (San Antonio, TX) 3 5.780
14 Mel Sanders (San Antonio, TX) Paula Lawson (San Antonio, TX) 2 4.190
15 Pete Wayland (San Antonio, TX) Randi Wayland (San Antonio, TX) 1 1.600
Individual Division
PL Partner 1 Total
Fish Total
Weight
1 Rodney Marbach (Marion, TX) 9 25.400
2 Arthur Pine (Eagle Pass, TX) 8 23.850
3 Ray R. Murski (Meridian, TX) 10 22.970
4 Jim Murray (Falcon Heights, TX) 10 22.810
5 Mike Robbins (Castroville, TX) 6 19.960
6 Billy Castleberry (San Antonio, TX) 5 15.640
7 David C. Parnell (Lufkin, TX) 7 13.170
8 Richard Drake (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX) 5 12.630
9 William B. Shelton, Jr., M.D. (Lufkin, 6 12.280
10 Paul Stringer (Lufkin, TX) 3 5.810
Senior Team Division
PL Partner 1 Partner 2 Total
Fish Total
Weight
1 Jim Saxton (Houston, TX) Joe Harris (Huntington, TX) 9 28.570
2 Bill Boyd (Colleyville, TX) Hoyt Fincher (Burleson, TX) 10 28.050
3 Jim Dalman (Del Rio, TX) Frank Ford (Del Rio, TX) 10 25.890
Adult/Boy Division
PL Partner 1 Partner 2 Total
Fish Total
Weight
1 Eddie Rogers (Weatherford, TX) Ross Rogers (Weatherford, TX) 10 18.640
2 Danny Montgomery (N. Richland Hills) Allen Montgomery (N. Richland Hills) 8 13.240
3 Mike G. Davis (Katy, TX) Matthew Davis (Katy, TX) 5 10.630
4 Greg Malone (Jasper, TX) Ryan Malone (Jasper, TX) 5 10.520
5 Frank Goll (San Antonio, TX) Bobby Beck (New Braunfals, TX) 3 6.350
6 Brian Beck (Schertz, TX) Brandon Beck (Schertz, TX) 1 2.560
7 Bobby Pepper (Taylor, TX) Davey Pepper (Taylor, TX) 1 1.610
Adult/Girl Division
PL Partner 1 Partner 2 Total
Fish Total
Weight
1 Dolores Murry (San Antonio, TX) Kayla Murry (San Antonio, TX) 5 13.450
2 Kevin Murry (San Antonio, TX) Kristen Murry (San Antonio, TX) 3 6.470
Uploaded: 3/8/2001
Uploaded: 3/8/2001