More than 2,100 anglers —all of them driving Skeeter bass boats — hit the water early Saturday morning on Lake Fork for their chance to win hourly prizes and a new Skeeter FX 20 or TXZ 190 at the Skeeter Owners Tournament.

When the tournament ended Sunday afternoon, Alba angler Walter Thomas Jr was admiring his new Skeeter FX 20 after bringing a 10.66-pound largemouth bass to the scales on Saturday afternoon. Thomas’ bass was the biggest caught during the two-day event, but it didn’t come without some anxious moments for the local angler.

“I know my side of the lake pretty well, but I haven’t done a lot of fishing recently — just a few times crappie fishing with my son or friends,” Thomas said. “I fish three main creeks on my side of the lake and I caught her around 1 p.m. using a swimbait.”

Thomas said he has caught big fish in the area before, and knew about where the fish were hanging out, although he doesn’t prefish much. He finds it messes him up more than helps when he has a spot in mind before the tournament, only to find other boats or changing conditions on the day of the tournament have caused the fish to move.

“I was fishing in about 35 feet of water and she was suspended in about 15 feet,” he said. “I didn’t realize she was as big as she was. I had the drag all the way down when she went on a run. The first thing I thought was I needed to lighten the drag, but she headed for cover and I was able to get her turned. It actually helped to have the drag set where I did.

“If she would have gotten to the cover, I would have lost her for sure.”

Thomas, who was fishing with his brother, Larry, headed to the weigh-in to turn his big fish in, and then had to wait another day before getting the final word he had won.

“It was awesome,” he said. “This was the first time I have ever spent any time sitting in the first chair. I led for the entire second day. I never really got nervous until that last hour. Finally, with about three minutes to go, my brother looked out on the lake and said, ‘I don’t see any other boats coming.’ That is when I got really excited.” As for the new boat, Thomas said, “I’m going fishing in it!”

Thomas said he has a 2010 Skeeter, but this one has all of the bells and whistles and he can’t wait to get it out on the lake. “This one is so much better,” he said. “I’ve got two boats now, so I need to get rid of one, but that is a good problem to have.”

Also winning a Skeeter bass boat for the biggest bass under the slot limit was Belton angler Steve Meyer. Meyer brought in a fish weighing 2.92 pounds, just edging out the next biggest under at 2.90 pounds.

Meyer fished with his two sons, Travis and Richard, during the tournament.
“I threw a Carolina rig most of the time.” Meyer said. “I’m not sure baits made a big difference, but I went with a Lake Fork Tackle Carolina-rigged Ring-Fry. I had my two sons in the boat with me, and they were beating the front of the boat to death with crankbaits, jerkbaits and everything else. I caught my only fish at 20 minutes before noon on Saturday.”

Meyer said one of his son’s likes to fish shallow water no matter what time of year it is, but he did manage to position the boat where he could target some deeper main lake points. He thought his bass was going to be a slot fish when he pulled it into the boat, but his son measured the fish and told him it was just under.

“We had to sweat it out the rest of the afternoon on Saturday, and then we listened to the radio all day Sunday,” he said. “I’d like everyone with Skeeter to know how much I appreciate this tournament. Bass Champs does a great job, as well. I like to thank everyone, right down to the people working the barbecue line.”

Skeeter Vice President Jeff Stone said the event is a way for Skeeter to thank their clients and they enjoy putting on a great tournament.

“Each year, it just amazes me how much this tournament grows,” Stone said. “The turnout from all over the country is incredible. We had good weather — not too hot — and the anglers caught more overs than in the past tournaments.”

Stone said Skeeter is already working on next year’s tournament, and with the 40-percent year-to-year growth of the event, expect next year to have more boats and more anglers competing.

“This is a great opportunity for us to thank our customers.”