28 / 40
"Thefirstonewasourbigbas, a73/4, thenwecaughta71/2andthenwecaughta63/4. Itcompletelyturnedourday
around."
Creliadescribedtheareaasbare, hardbotomed, andaboutthesizeofaboat. "I'veknownaboutitforacoupleyears,
butI'veneverrealycaughtthemthatwelthere.Wedrovebyityesterdayinpractice,madeonecastandcaughtan
8-pounder. Butwethoughtthatwasmoreofaflukethananything."
CreliaandGoodwynusedCarolina-riggedStrikeKinglizards(grenpumpkin,watermelon)and5/8-ounceStrikeKing
StructurejigswithRageCrawtrailers(watermelonred). Whilebothproducedfish, thelizardsworkedbest-acounting
forfourofthefiveweighfish. Thesebaitswerepresentedinanywherefrom8outto20fetofwaterontheaforemen-
tionedhardbotoms, channel swingsandsecondarypoints.
"Weweresolelytargetingprespawnfish,"reiteratedCrelia.CreliaandGoodwyn'sofficialweightwas30.09pounds,
whichearnedthemaTriton189TRXwitha225-horsepowerMercuryoutboard. Combinedwith$3,105ofAnglersAdvan-
tagecash, theirtotal prizepackagewas$38,600.
"Everythingwentrighttoday. Wedidn'tlosebutonefish. I'mamechanicandI wasworiedwewerehavingmotorprob-
lemssoafterwecaughtthethrebigoneswetookiteasyandstayedclosejustincase. Afterweigh-in, ourlowerunit
cameofonthewaytogetthetrailer. Talkaboutgoodtiming.
"It'sgoodtobebackwinning. We'vebensocloselately; somebodycatchesonegiantandbeatsus. Eventodaywefelt
wenededonemorecul-onemore6-or7-pounder. Itfelsgreatanditcouldn'tcomeatabetertimeforusboth. It
getsourconfidenceback. TheTexasTeamTrail isjustsohardtowinbecauseit'ssuchastoutfield."
Thethirdqualifierofthe2017TexasTeamTrail seasonisslatedforApril 1onBeltonLake.
TOPTENRESULTS: ToledoBend
1st: PhilipCreliaandTJGoodwyn, 30.09
2nd: MikeGibbsandDennisRutherford, 27.97
3rd: ClintFountainandRobertGlende, 25.67
4th: BenMatsubuandBrannonMire, 25.37
5th: DavidMongandDerekMong, 24.55
6th: MyronBeachyandJoeMann, 23.64
7th: LaryFitsandJamesDuton, 23.50
8th: JasonConnandRobertBrockJr., 23.03
9th: ColeTempleandTylerBradfield, 22.83
10th: StephenJohnstonandDanWilson, 21.93