Robert Stover of Clifton, TX topped a record field of 1802 anglers with a 10.65 lb bass at the the 5th annual RAM Mega Bass on Lake Fork. He took home a new RAM truck and a new Skeeter-Yamaha-Minn Kota-Humminbird rig valued over $60,000.
The tournament is touted as the richest one day hourly big bass tournament in the world. Every hour a Dodge Ram pickup truck is awarded to the lucky angler that weighs in the largest bass of the hour. Second through 15th places received cash awards. At the end of the day the person who caught the biggest bass of the day additionally receives a brand new Skeeter ZX190 bass boat.
The first angler to win a truck was Joe Bray of Marble Falls, TX. He bass weighed 9 lbs, 24 ozs. "I came up with a friend," said Bray. "We went to a creek channel that had a straight line of stumps. We decided to slide in behind there, and within about 30 minutes I got the bite." He was using a Carolina rigged watermelon red lizard with a chartreuse tail. "I had 65 lb. test braid line on, and she tried to break it off!"
Bray's catch was looking good to hold up as big bass of the day.
Robert Stover of Clifton, TX who was fishing with his son Robert Jr. pulled in to an area they had never fished before to make their last casts. "We had fished a lot of different areas throughout the day, and had caught three or four in the slot." They were using a Texas rigged Lake Fork Tackle Hyper Worm. "We were looking for a spot that the wind was blowing into, and there weren't many boats in."
At 2:15 Robert flipped his bait to just the right tree and a monster bass latched on. They quickly made their way to the weigh in and with only five minutes left on the clock. His bass weighed 10.65 lbs to win the hour, the truck and the Skeeter ZX190 bass boat package.
"Dad was just trying to hold the tears back. He was screaming and yelling," Robert Jr recalled. "It was great! This has been a long time coming for my dad. He's been dreaming about it for a long time. I'm just glad I was here to witness it with him!"