Mathes and Rake win as 3X9 Series anglers face late-spring cold front

There is an old adage which says, “…winds from the north, the fisherman goes not forth,” implying that cold fronts tend to suppress fish feeding activity. This may have been in play on Tuesday evening as the winning weight of 17.38 pounds for a three-fish limit was about eight pounds off the 25-plus-pound limit taken just a few weeks prior.

3X9 Series anglers faced a light northerly wind, dropping humidity levels, clear skies and increasing barometric pressure. The upper end of the reservoir was muddied by recent rains which brought the reservoir up less than a foot, leaving it still over 12 feet low.

That 17.38-pound winning limit was landed by longtime 3X9 participants and partners Donnie Mathes and Tim Rake.

According to Mathes, “It was a pretty slow night. We only caught about six or seven keeper fish and we had to move around a lot trying more than a half dozen places where we normally do well. We were lucky to catch the two big fish and never really thought we had a chance to win given the large sacks that had been weighed in lately. We tried depths from 12 to 20 (feet) and had no specific depth that was working best.”

Mathes and Rake earned $1,050 for their efforts. Their largest fish weighed 8.21 pounds.

One of last week’s winning team members, Justin Rogers, rejoined his usual partner, David Kipp, this week and the two won second-place money with a three-fish limit weighing 15.94 pounds.

Third place and the Big Bass prize went to the father-and-son team of Paul and Justin Garza. Their big fish weighed 9.21 pounds and anchored their 15.73-pound, three-fish limit.

Concerning the capture of this large fish, Paul Garza said, “We caught that around 8 or 8:30. Our bite was slow just using big baits … wouldn't hit on anything else for us.”

Anglers wishing to participate in this event may contact Dean Thompson, tournament director, at Tightlines Premium Fishing Tackle in Killeen during business hours at 254-690-3474. Anglers may participate in as many or as few events as they desire over the course of this March through September weekly series.