March 6, 2008

Johnny Watkins, a McNeese State graduate and former Cowboy track and field letterman, teamed up with Bart Blakelock to win the Bass-N-Bucks fishing tournament on Sam Rayburn last weekend.

The duo produced a five fish stringer that weighed 29.23 pounds to win the tournament by almost two full pounds. Victory brought the team the top prize of $15,000.

It was the biggest win for the duo that has been fishing tournaments together for the past four years.

Watkins is a native of Lake Charles and has been a firefighter with the Lake Charles Fire Department for the last five years. He is a 2002 graduate of McNeese State.

Blakelock lives in Moss Bluff and is an electrician with his own company.

The largest fish on their stringer was a 7.59 which Blakelock caught and they also had a seven, a six, a five and a four pounder.

"We had caught those two large fish and I grabbed Bart and told him that it couldn't get any better, that we had a chance," Watkins said. "And then we caught the five and the four."

The fishermen used a Stanley Swimming Jig to catch the bass.

"I don't think anyone else was using this bait," Watkins said.

He said that the team had a seven pounder within five minutes of starting to fish and had a five fish limit by 11 a.m. They began to cull then, continuing to catch large bass.

"We culled three times and when you're putting four pounders back in the water, it's a pretty special day," he said.

A total of 217 teams took part in the tournament on a lake that featured strong winds with 3-5 foot swells in 70 degree overcast weather.

Next up for the Watkins-Blakelock team will be a Bass Champions tournament in April on Toledo Bend sponsored by Skeeter Boats.

Bart Blakelock (left) and Johnny Watkins show off four fish from their winning stringer. (photo courtesy of Bass-N-Bucks)