Local River Rat Duo Captures Title for Third Time
With warming river temps, the 70 teams knew that the fishing during the 18th annual Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic would be a shootout, and it was, with several 20 plus pound bags coming in on day one of the event. But it was the team of Brent Haimes and Matt Larson to put together nearly identical six fish limits on both days of the event to compile a two day total weight of 42.57 lb’s and grab the win, for a prize total of $7,500!
Before the final day weigh in, the event was already a success as the 70 teams raised $341,483 for the kids of St. Jude; this was yet again another fundraising record for the event! The Saturday night banquet featured a St. Jude patient family, which had a special tie to the event. Mike Auten, is a former FLW and BASS pro angler, whose son Ryan has received treatment from St. Jude.
Haimes and Larson commented that their practice was slow and got even slower, but with the warming temperatures some bass started to move into the shallows to begin spawning. The duo fished both pools 4 and 5 to weigh in 12 smallmouths over both days. Since the team was fishing well known areas with other anglers, they relied on finesse presentations and were extremely patient in getting the big bass to bite. “We used a variety of soft plastic stickbaits, on various finesse set-up’s to catch our bass,” said Matt Larson.
This win is the third time that Brent and Matt have won this event, with their other two wins coming in 2009 and 2014.
Please check back to the Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic Facebook page for photos from the event.
