Mercado Takes $2800 Co-angler Win
Irving Mercado of Davenport, FL takes the win as the co-angler champion of the Ram Truck Open Series event held on March 12, 2016 at the Harris Chain of Lakes. Mercado had a total of 11.77 pounds which included the 6.74 pound co-angler Big Bass. His catch was worth $2500 for first place and $370 from the Big Bass Pot.
“We were fishing around the whole lake, pretty much just cranking a little square bill. I caught the Big Bass on an outside grass line and the rest were in lily pads,” said Mercado.
David Lepsic of Haines City, FL finished in second place on the co-angler side with 9.51 pounds to win $766. “We ran around a lot looking for eel grass. I got one good one on a Rat-L-Trap, a good one on a trick worm, and one on a Chatterbait. All of my fish came on a different bait. It was slow all day and we just randomly caught fish throughout the day,” said Lepsic.
Phillip Smith of Covington, GA brought in 8.60 pounds to finish in third place and win $510. “We pretty much fished grass all day. I was pitching around a Senko for a while and ended up picking up a Chatterbait. Most of my fish came on the Chatterbait this morning,” said Smith.
Top Five Co-anglers:
1. Irving Mercado 11.77 $2570
2. David Lepsic 9.51 $766
3. Phillip Smith 8.60 $510
4. Randall Faber 8.24 $357
5. Andrew Cason 8.23 $306
There were 77 co-angler entries for this Ram Truck Open Series event.
Complete results can be found at this link.
Year to date points standing for the Florida Central division can be found at this link.
For more info on the Florida Central division of the Ram Truck Open Series visit www.ramopenseries.com call ABA tournament manager, Billy Benedetti, at (256) 230-5632. The next event in this division is on April 23, 2016 at Lake Toho.
Ram Truck Open Series anglers can take advantage of the “no boat on boat draw” format along with huge payouts for the 2016 season. First place boaters can win a guaranteed $5000 first place, regardless of number of entries. Payouts will increase to $6000 for the first place boater with a 100 boat field. Over the course of four divisional events and the area championship, anglers will be competing for a spot in the 2017 Ray Scott Championship.
Lots of contingency money is up for grabs during the 2016 Ram Trucks Open Series Series season. Anglers participating in the Triton Gold program can earn up to $7,000 at 2016 divisional events and up to $50,000 at the 2017 Ray Scott Championship. Anglers can also take advantage of other programs such as T-H Marine Atlas Rewards, Power Pole Captain’s Cash, Garmin Grand Giveaway, Livingston Lures Cash for Big Bass, Abu Garcia Revo Big Bass Bonus, Maui Jim Bonus, and Mercury/Motorguide bonus money.
American Bass Anglers, Inc. is supported by Ram Trucks, Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Carlisle Tires, GEICO, Berkley, Abu Garcia, T-H Marine, Hydrowave, Livingston Lures, Best Western Hotels, Maui Jim, Power Pole, Dr. Dan’s, Garmin, and Simms Bass. American Bass Anglers, Inc. can be contacted at (256) 232-0406 or by visiting www.americanbassanglers.com.
