Grove, OK – The XFL-Extreme Fishing League sponsored by Skeeter Boats held its third event of the 2013 season on Grand Lake out of Wolf Creek in Grove, OK. Old Man Winter continues to be a stubborn old fart by continuing his icy grip on the state of Oklahoma. On Thursday prior to this event, Old Man Winter came down upon us once again in the form of a brutal cold front. Temperatures went from a balmy, almost summer-like, high 80’s to lows in the upper 30’s and highs in the mid 50’s by tournament day. The cold temperatures combined with cold north winds and heavy overcast skies pushed the water temperature from the low 60’s early in the week to the mid 50’s by tournament day. To make matters worse, Grand was the host to a large, 550+ boat tournament the day before this event. The bad weather and intense fishing pressure made for a tough bite by Grand Lake standards. However, Grand Lake sticks Curt Warren and John Pilcher dominated the 182 boat field by bringing in a very impressive 5 fish limit of 25.58 lbs,
” alt=”null” /> anchored by the tournament’s big bass of 6.29 lbs. Curt and John took home the $20,000 1st place prize and an additional $1,000 for big bass. Their margin of victory was 6.14 lbs over the second place of Jeremy Walton and Monty Phillips. Jeremy and Monty weighed in 19.44 lbs worth $10,000. The Skeeter Customer Appreciation Bonus money of $5,000 went to the team of Tony Coatney and Cade Alsbury for being the highest finisher competing out of a qualifying Skeeter boat. 99 limits were brought to the scales and over 500 fish were weighed for a 2.77 lb. avg. Total money collected for this event was $36,400 and $57,285 was paid out for an impressive 157% payout. I caught up with Curt Warren and he shed a little insight on how they caught their fish.
Utilizing an Alabama Rig, the Warren/Pilcher team fished two small spots and had all the fish they brought to the scales by 9:00 a.m. Despite catching several other fish during the day, they only culled 1 keeper which they caught before 9:00 a.m. Of particular note, Curt indicated all the fish they weighed were “beat up and bloody” from spawning. He wasn’t sure if they were post-spawn fish or fish that may have been trying to spawn but backed off due to the weather. Either way, he was grateful for the 6 quality bites they got. Congratulations to Curt and John on adapting to the conditions and bringing in an incredible stringer of fish under some very tough fishing conditions.
On behalf of the Skeeter staff I want to thank all the participants in their cooperation with the loading and unloading process at the new Wolf Creek facility. The tournament staff’s suggestions on traffic flow helped things tremendously and made for a much easier launch. We also want to thank Brent Davis with the GRDA in securing a portable light plant for the morning launch. This proved invaluable in providing adequate lighting for boat launch. As a friendly reminder for future events held at Wolf Creek, once you load your boat, please pull out of the launch ramp area and park in the big parking lots across the street. This will ensure that those loading their boats will have adequate room to maneuver their trailers down the boat ramps.
On behalf of the Skeeter staff and tournament sponsors I want to thank all that participated in this event and we look forward to seeing you at our next event on Sunday, June 2nd on Lake Eufaula out of Eufaula Cove-Peters Point ramp.
Capt. Rob