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CRAIG SCHUFF WINS CENTRAL OPEN AT AMISTAD 
 

Story and Photo provided by BASS Media Communications

Posted - April 11th -  11:59pm CST

Del Rio, TX – Some will call Craig Schuff a fast learner. After all, the Watauga, Texas, angler had never thrown a swimbait before coming to Lake Amistad for the Bassmaster Central Open this week, but Saturday his 24-pound limit with one of the big swimming lures propelled him to his first Open win with a three day total of 68 pounds, 9 ounces.

Ray Hanselman, a guide on Amistad the past 17 years, claimed the runne-rup spot with 67-9, while Bassmaster Elite pro Clark Reehm finished third with 66-3. Aaron Johnson finished fourth with 63-3; Dean Alexander, the day two leader, dropped to fifth with 62-4; and Trent Huckaby, last year’s winner here, took sixth with 61-2.

Fishing under cloudless skies with only a slight wind, Schuff targeted prespawn and postspawn bass moving up and down tree and hydrilla-lined ditches leading to a spawning flat in a large cove on the Mexican side of the lake. Keeping his boat in 15 to 18 feet of water and working an Osprey swimbait very slowly in 8 to 10 feet of water depth, Schuff caught a 4 ½-pounder on his third cast, a 5-pounder two casts later, then a 7-pounder en route to his 24-pound day. 

   

“The bass were changing positions each day,” said Schuff, “and today they were more shallow than yesterday. It took me about an hour to fish three key places I had identified, and I occasionally alternated the swimbait with an 8-inch Yamamoto Senko, which also produced some good fish for me.

“I was truly blessed this week,” added Schuff, who won more than $50,000 for his week’s effort. “I watched how Jason Williamson won the Elite tournament here with a swimbait and came determined to fish the way he did. After I caught about 28 pounds with the Osprey one day in practice, my confidence really grew, but today I had to fish it so slow I could barely feel it swimming.”

He fished the Osprey with 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon line on a Falcon Amistad 7’3” heavy action rod and a Shimano Curado reel.

Hanselman fished the same general area as Schuff, working both Zoom Trick Worms and Berkley Power Worms through hydrilla in 12 to 15 feet of water. For him, the key was fishing fresh, growing hydrilla in a spot about 50 yards square; he rigged the worms with 3/16-ounce TruTungsten sinkers and crawled and swam them slowly through the vegetation.

Interestingly, Reehm and Alexander also shared the water with Schuff, as did 17th place finisher Mike Kernan, who finished with 52-10. Although Reehm and Alexander also fished other areas, this one bay produced more than 300 pounds of fish during the tournament.

Sam Koebcke of Austin, fishing his very first Bassmaster Open tournament on only his second trip to Amistad, won the co-angler division with a three-day catch of nine bass weighing 46-9, an average of more than five pounds per fish. He caught them Carolina rigging Zoom Flukes and Zoom Old Monster 10 ½-inch worms between six and 20 feet deep. 

Only the top 30 pros and non-boaters fished Saturday. The series will move from Amistad to the Red River out of Shreveport, La., on June 3-5. The circuit will close out on Oct. 21-23 on Lake Texoma out of Denison, Texas. Open anglers are competing for seven qualifying berths into the Bassmaster Elite Series and two invitations to the 2011 Bassmaster Classic out of New Orleans. 

The local sponsor of the tournament was the Lake Amistad Bassmaster Central Open is the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, www.drchamber.com .

Final Standings
Pl. Name DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 TOTAL
Fish Weight Fish Weight Fish Weight Fish Weight
1 Craig Schuff 5 20- 0 5 24- 9 5 24- 0 15 68- 9
2 Ray Hanselman 5 23- 2 5 18-11 5 25-12 15 67- 9
3 Clark Reehm 5 24- 0 5 20-15 5 21- 4 15 66- 3
4 Aaron Johnson 5 23- 8 5 19- 7 5 20- 4 15 63- 3
5 Dean Alexander 5 22-10 5 23- 1 5 16- 9 15 62- 4
6 Trent Huckaby 5 18- 4 5 19-14 5 23- 0 15 61- 2
7 Rob Burns 5 19-12 5 18-11 5 21-12 15 60- 3
8 Timmy Reneau 5 23- 4 5 18- 3 5 17-15 15 59- 6
9 Joey Nania 5 24- 0 5 12-13 4 20-13 14 57-10
10 Keith Combs 5 20-12 5 16- 2 5 20- 7 15 57- 5
11 Jami Fralick 5 20-15 5 20-15 5 15- 1 15 56-15
12 Chad Griffin 5 21- 1 5 17- 2 5 18- 6 15 56- 9
13 Chad Martin 5 18-10 5 19- 0 5 18-13 15 56- 7
14 Ricky Campbell 5 16- 7 5 21-14 5 17- 6 15 55-11
15 Randy Allen 5 22-13 5 15- 2 5 16- 9 15 54- 8
16 Randy Pitre 4 19- 6 5 19- 9 5 14- 7 14 53- 6
17 Mike Kernan 5 22-11 5 17- 3 5 12-12 15 52-10
18 Todd Castledine 5 19-15 5 16- 0 5 16-11 15 52-10
19 Stephen Johnston 5 22- 3 5 15- 3 5 15- 2 15 52- 8
20 Dave Mansue 5 22- 9 5 15-14 5 14- 0 15 52- 7
21 Jimmy Mize 5 19- 0 5 16-14 5 16- 6 15 52- 4
22 Kenta Kimura 5 17-13 5 19-12 5 14- 4 15 51-13
23 Dillon Lee 5 17- 1 5 20-12 5 13-12 15 51- 9
24 Bo Middleton 5 17-15 5 19- 1 5 14- 2 15 51- 2
25 Wayne Brown 5 15-10 5 21- 0 5 13-11 15 50- 5
26 Dicky Newberry 5 16- 3 5 19- 7 5 13-14 15 49- 8
27 Monty Fralick 5 20-15 5 20- 5 3 8- 3 13 49- 7
28 James Stricklin 5 17- 7 5 19- 7 4 11- 4 14 48- 2
29 Michael Yoder 5 19-14 5 16- 4 5 11- 6 15 47- 8
30 Lee Sisson 5 16- 9 5 20- 6 5 9-13 15 46-12
31 Cody Bird 5 22- 8 5 13- 0     10 35- 8
32 Chris McCall 5 14-13 5 20-10     10 35- 7
33 Mike Bates 5 18- 9 5 16-14     10 35- 7
34 Jared Miller 5 19- 0 5 16- 6     10 35- 6
35 Jimmy Johnson 5 21- 9 5 13-11     10 35- 4
36 Craig Hatchel 5 17- 1 5 18- 3     10 35- 4
37 Debra Hengst 5 16- 2 5 18-14     10 35- 0
38 Preston Johnson 5 21- 7 5 13- 7     10 34-14
39 Josh Guess 5 20-10 5 13-15     10 34- 9
40 Clark Wendlandt 5 20- 5 5 14- 4     10 34- 9
41 Robert Gann 5 12-12 5 21-11     10 34- 7
42 Frank Scalish 5 16- 0 5 18- 7     10 34- 7
43 Chris Burnham 5 14-14 5 19- 8     10 34- 6
44 Bob Weaver 5 16- 4 5 18- 0     10 34- 4
45 Michael Randolph 5 16- 0 5 17-15     10 33-15
46 Wade Leblanc 5 13- 6 5 20- 8     10 33-14
47 Tommy Martin 5 16-14 5 16-11     10 33- 9
48 Tommy Durham 5 21- 3 5 12- 3     10 33- 6
49 Russell Parrish 5 14-11 5 18-10     10 33- 5
50 Tim Skelton 5 17-15 5 15- 6     10 33- 5
51 Roger Boler 5 15- 9 5 17-10     10 33- 3
52 Homer Humphreys Jr. 5 16- 9 5 16-10     10 33- 3
53 Ernest Smoak 5 17-15 5 15- 3     10 33- 2
54 Brandon Mosley 5 22- 7 2 10- 7     7 32-14
55 Myron Beachy 5 19- 2 5 13- 9     10 32-11
56 Charles Hammack 5 15- 6 5 17- 2     10 32- 8
57 Bob Sealy 5 17- 2 5 15- 5     10 32- 7
58 Eddy May 5 15- 8 5 16-11     10 32- 3
59 Lance Vick 5 20-13 5 11- 2     10 31-15
60 Brent Broussard 5 13-11 5 18- 4     10 31-15
61 Lendell Martin 5 20- 1 5 11- 6     10 31- 7
62 Jacky Hawthorne 5 14-15 5 16- 8     10 31- 7
63 Dave Parsons 5 18- 2 5 13- 1     10 31- 3
64 Ryan Dupriest 5 15- 6 5 15-10     10 31- 0
65 Larry Byrd 5 16- 0 5 14-11     10 30-11
66 Austin Terry 5 14-15 5 15-11     10 30-10
67 Darrell Newman 5 15- 0 5 15- 9     10 30- 9
68 Thomas Redington 5 15- 9 5 14-15     10 30- 8
69 Jim Dillard 5 15-11 5 14-12     10 30- 7
70 Ryan Lovelace 3 8- 6 5 22- 0     8 30- 6
71 Derick Kuyrkendall 5 11-13 5 18- 7     10 30- 4
72 Mark Smith 5 17- 2 5 13- 1     10 30- 3
73 Bink Desaro 5 12- 0 5 18- 1     10 30- 1
74 Chris Wilkerson 5 17- 7 5 12- 6     10 29-13
75 Matt Michel 5 15- 7 5 14- 6     10 29-13
76 Spencer Mcalester 5 15-13 5 13-15     10 29-12
77 Ryan Brown 5 16- 4 5 13- 7     10 29-11
78 Lisa Sternard 5 20- 6 4 9- 4     9 29-10
79 Jim Culp 5 13-12 5 15- 9     10 29- 5
80 Teb Jones 5 14- 6 5 14-14     10 29- 4
81 Jay Fuller 5 17- 4 5 11-15     10 29- 3
82 Chris Weaver 5 19- 8 4 9-11     9 29- 3
83 Blake Foret 5 15- 4 5 13-11     10 28-15
84 Scott Dean 5 13-12 5 15- 3     10 28-15
85 Scott Mcgehee 5 18-11 5 10- 3     10 28-14
86 Trent Durst 5 15- 9 5 13- 4     10 28-13
87 Tony Chachere 5 15-11 5 12-14     10 28- 9
88 Mike Burns 5 16-12 4 11-13     9 28- 9
89 Brannon Long 5 14- 6 5 14- 1     10 28- 7
90 Zack Gagnard 5 22- 1 3 6- 6     8 28- 7
91 Ray Brazier 5 16- 9 5 11-12     10 28- 5
92 Pam Martin-Wells 5 14- 0 5 14- 4     10 28- 4
93 Meta Burrell 5 12- 9 4 15- 9     9 28- 2
94 James Biggs 5 12- 8 5 15- 8     10 28- 0
95 Paul Pagnato 5 14- 9 5 13- 7     10 28- 0
96 Logan Sherrer 5 13-12 5 14- 4     10 28- 0
97 David Cooper 5 16- 5 4 11- 9     9 27-14
98 Dustin Lester 5 17- 7 5 10- 6     10 27-13
99 Dru Smith 5 14- 0 5 13-11     10 27-11
100 David Mullins 5 19-11 4 7-15     9 27-10
101 Josh Bertrand 5 16- 5 5 11- 4     10 27- 9
102 Quinn Peacock 5 11- 7 5 16- 2     10 27- 9
103 Kenny Rooke 5 14- 7 5 13- 2     10 27- 9
104 Gary Key 5 18- 8 5 9- 0     10 27- 8
105 Harold Allen 5 16-13 5 10- 7     10 27- 4
106 Ed Whaley 5 11- 1 5 16- 3     10 27- 4
107 Bryan Schmidt 5 13-15 5 13- 5     10 27- 4
108 David Sherrer 5 14- 2 4 13- 2     9 27- 4
109 T. Isaacs 5 11- 0 5 16- 1     10 27- 1
110 Andy Gaia 5 20-15 4 6- 2     9 27- 1
111 OT Fears 5 14-11 5 12- 5     10 27- 0
112 Lisa Johnson 5 12- 5 5 14- 7     10 26-12
113 Jonathan Brown 5 20- 0 3 6-12     8 26-12
114 Janet Parker 5 18-14 4 7-12     9 26-10
115 Darrell West 5 9- 7 5 17- 2     10 26- 9
116 Patrick Pierce 5 13- 3 5 13- 6     10 26- 9
117 Brian Kanke 4 9-12 5 16-11     9 26- 7
118 Joseph Lancaster 5 13-14 5 12- 6     10 26- 4
119 Claude Rabb 5 15- 4 5 10-13     10 26- 1
120 Porter Trimble 5 10-10 5 15- 5     10 25-15
121 Chad Vosburg 5 11-13 5 14- 1     10 25-14
122 Jason Berg 5 12- 2 5 13- 8     10 25-10
123 Tim Webb 5 13-13 5 11-11     10 25- 8
124 Brian Clark 5 13- 7 4 12- 1     9 25- 8
125 Robbie Latuso 5 12- 0 5 13- 3     10 25- 3
126 Billy Hurt 5 14- 6 5 10-10     10 25- 0
127 Cliff Crowder 5 13- 8 5 11- 8     10 25- 0
128 Kyle A. Fox 5 13- 4 5 11-12     10 25- 0
129 Scott Suggs 5 16-12 5 8- 3     10 24-15
130 Barry Bennett 5 12- 7 5 12- 8     10 24-15
131 Jamie Laiche 5 15-13 4 8-15     9 24-12
132 Monty Kirby 5 15- 3 5 9- 2     10 24- 5
133 Gilbert Coats 5 12- 8 5 11-13     10 24- 5
134 Gary Vining 5 13-10 5 10- 9     10 24- 3
135 Randy Qualls 5 13- 8 4 10-11     9 24- 3
136 Ronald Rogers 5 12- 4 5 11-10     10 23-14
137 Jamie Narramore 4 11-14 5 11-14     9 23-12
138 Dewayne French 5 12-11 5 10-12     10 23- 7
139 Johnny Graham 5 12-11 5 10-10     10 23- 5
140 Bill Lee 5 11- 0 5 12- 4     10 23- 4
141 Terry Peacock 5 10- 9 5 12- 8     10 23- 1
142 Vincent Parello 5 13- 8 5 9- 8     10 23- 0
143 Chad Brauer 5 14- 8 4 8- 2     9 22-10
144 Austin Banks Jr 5 16-10 3 5-15     8 22- 9
145 Judy Wong 5 18-10 2 3-14     7 22- 8
146 Reed Sartin 5 11- 6 5 11- 1     10 22- 7
147 Mark Kirkpatrick 5 14- 5 3 8- 0     8 22- 5
148 Mike Bakutis 5 13- 9 5 8-11     10 22- 4
149 Ben Rude 5 13- 9 4 8-11     9 22- 4
150 Keith Bryan 5 9- 4 5 12-15     10 22- 3
151 Kevin Ledoux 5 11- 6 5 10-13     10 22- 3
152 Larry Triplett 5 13-12 5 8- 1     10 21-13
153 Christiana Bradley 4 9-14 5 11-15     9 21-13
154 Jerry Barnett 2 6- 0 5 15-11     7 21-11
155 Richard Crozier 5 11- 9 5 9-15     10 21- 8
156 J.C. Worley 5 16- 2 2 5- 6     7 21- 8
157 Shane Hilton 5 9- 6 5 11-15     10 21- 5
158 Sandy Gaudet 5 11- 7 5 9-13     10 21- 4
159 Mike Edwards 5 15- 7 3 5-12     8 21- 3
160 Jeff Cloud 4 10-12 3 10- 7     7 21- 3
161 Mark Child 5 9- 6 5 11-11     10 21- 1
162 Dianna Clark 5 14-14 3 6- 0     8 20-14
163 Yukinari Uchiyama 5 13- 4 3 7- 8     8 20-12
164 Mark Peiser 5 9- 1 5 11- 5     10 20- 6
165 Jerry Dolezal 5 11- 7 4 8-15     9 20- 6
166 Perry Powell 5 13-14 3 6- 4     8 20- 2
167 Trey Cloud 5 12- 2 4 7-13     9 19-15
168 Wade Middleton 5 12- 8 4 7- 2     9 19-10
169 Michael Hubbard 5 10-10 4 8-15     9 19- 9
170 Douglas Watkins 3 6- 9 5 13- 0     8 19- 9
171 Dale Jackson 5 15- 2 2 4- 7     7 19- 9
172 Cody Malone 5 12-15 3 6- 7     8 19- 6
173 Dustin Cotten 4 11- 5 3 7-11     7 19- 0
174 Mark Pack 3 7- 7 3 11- 3     6 18-10
175 Arnie Lane 5 14-14 2 3- 9     7 18- 7
176 Sammy Burks 5 11-13 3 6- 4     8 18- 1
177 Darold Gleason 5 15- 4 1 2- 3     6 17- 7
178 Rick Hanna 5 12- 3 2 5- 0     7 17- 3
179 Chris Brimager 5 10-12 2 6- 7     7 17- 3
180 Bill Watts 2 4-14 3 12- 3     5 17- 1
181 Steven Lynam 2 4-13 5 10-14     7 15-11
182 Tim Blanchette 5 10- 0 2 5- 5     7 15- 5
183 Brandon Collins 3 6- 0 3 8-12     6 14-12
184 Helen Gordon 3 7-14 3 6-10     6 14- 8
185 Ryan Piersdorf 5 14- 7 0 0- 0     5 14- 7
186 Johnny Grice 2 7- 0 2 7- 3     4 14- 3
187 Theron Caldwell 0 0- 0 5 13-13     5 13-13
188 Kevin Ricks 2 4-10 3 8- 4     5 12-14
189 Mike Pharr 5 12- 6 0 0- 0     5 12- 6
190 Jeff Wade 5 12- 0 0 0- 0     5 12- 0
191 Steve Hayden 3 6- 7 2 5- 7     5 11-14
192 Mike Hawkes 5 11- 3 0 0- 0     5 11- 3
193 Jerrel Pringle 5 11- 0 0 0- 0     5 11- 0
194 Jeff Blankenship 5 9-13 0 0- 0     5 9-13
195 Cheryl Spencer 1 1- 8 3 6-11     4 8- 3
196 Doug Vahrenberg 4 7-11 0 0- 0     4 7-11
197 Charles Thompson 4 7- 6 0 0- 0     4 7- 6
198 Robert Byrd 4 6-14 0 0- 0     4 6-14
199 Sandi Karnes 0 0- 0 3 6-12     3 6-12
200 Robert Chandler 1 2- 2 2 3- 9     3 5-11
201 Dwight Dickerson 2 3-10 0 0- 0     2 3-10
202 Buck Carraway 1 3- 9 0 0- 0     1 3- 9

 

 
 
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