Toyota tourney draws from 27 states

Kevin VanDam found the last man in line was his old friend Carl Svebek. Svebeck is fishing the tournament with one of the owners of B.A.S.S., Jerry McKinnis.

BRANSON, Mo. — Wayne and Lyn England didn’t hesitate to fish this year’s Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Event after fishing last year’s at Toledo Bend Reservoir. Table Rock Lake is 12 hours closer to their Danbury, N.H., home.

“We like to fish,” Wayne said. “That’s why we tried it last year. It was fun, so we’re back. The (24-hour) drive wasn’t so bad. Last year it was 36 hours.”

Fun – that’s the main theme of this fifth-annual tournament. There are approximately 140 two-person teams in the one-day tournament, which begins at 7 a.m. Sunday at Table Rock Lake’s Long Creek Marina.

The anglers registered Saturday afternoon at the Bass Pro Shops Shooting Academy facilities, which are situated high on a mountaintop overlooking the lake. They were greeted by Toyota-sponsored Bassmaster Elite Series Pros Kevin VanDam, Edwin Evers, Mike Iaconelli and Terry Scroggins.

“This is about having a good time,” said Don Goodfellow, who is paired with his wife, Martha, for their third Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Event. “Look around at the number of smiles.”

The Goodfellows are from the Greenville, S.C., area. They stood in the registration line with another husband-and-wife team, Stoney and Kim Hardy from Olive Branch, Miss., who were all smiles, as they were celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary.

“Kim said I could go fishing, so I took her up on it,” Stoney laughed.

This is not a couples-only tournament – far from it. But another couple, John and Jenny Dubois from Portageville, Mo., has fished the previous four Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Events and they’re happy to be competing in their home state this year.

The first Toyota event was at North Carolina’s Lake Norman, the second at Alabama’s Wheeler Lake, the third at Tennessee’s Kentucky Lake, prior to last year’s at Toledo Bend.

While fun in the main theme, it’s only slightly ahead of catching some bass from Table Rock Lake. Iaconelli did an informal survey of what the anglers thought it would take to win Sunday.

“Most of the guesses were between 15 and 9 pounds,” Iaconelli said. “I think it will be close to 15 pounds. Typically at this time of year that’s what it takes to win a one-day tournament here. 

“Of all the anglers I talked to, about 80 percent said it’s tough, and 20 percent said they thought they’d figured out a little something.”

Iaconelli spent three hours on Table Rock Saturday and caught “three fish, one keeper. It’s tough, he said.

There is some serious prize money at stake: first place pays $5,000 and the top 31 places receive checks. There’s a $1,000 Carhartt merchandise big bass prize.

While John Dubois hasn’t fished Table Rock that many times, since he lives on the east side of the state in Missouri’s boot heel, he does fish nearby Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes often. Dubois has fished a few BassmasterOpens. He didn’t mind talking about his game plan for Sunday.

“Our goal is to fish 100 boat docks,” Dubois said. “I’m just flipping docks, and specific spots on those docks. I’m not spending more than three or four minutes on each one.”

So what does Dubois think it will take to win Sunday?

“Sixteen pounds,” he said. “Somebody might run up the James River and catch a bigger sack, but I think 16 pounds will do it.”

That number sounded familiar. Unbeknownst to Dubois, Kevin VanDam’s guess at the winning weight was 16 pounds, 5 ounces.

The weigh-in begins at 2 p.m. at Long Creek Marina.