U.S.A Bassin Claims ICAST Cup
Trio cracks 20 pounds to take the title
For the third year in a row, the ICAST Cup presented by FLW has jump-started the week of festivities surrounding the 2017 ICAST trade show with some friendly competition in which all entry fees and silent auction funds go to support Keep America Fishing. In total, $14,000 was raised during the event.
This year, the record field of 69 boats headed out on Toho for the four-hour derby that pairs industry media, tackle reps and professional anglers together. Topping all of them was the winning team of Richard Patterson, Dave Smith (from U.S.A Bassin) and Glen Cabezas (from AnglerGear.net) sacked up 20-7 to earn the hardware – the largest bag in the history of the event.
“This was my third time fishing [the ICAST Cup] and I’m glad to be here,” says Cabezas, who is the chief content provider for AnglerGear.net. “It was a great day and really showcases what the lake is capable of.”
His partners of Patterson and Smith are locals who fish plenty of tournaments on Toho and help run the U.S.A Bassin Toho Division.
“I nicknamed our team ‘hammer and two nails’ today,” laughs Patterson. “We caught our fish early and then around 8:30 or 9 o’clock it started to slow down. That is when we thought things might be going pretty well.”
“We rolled up on a waypoint this morning and doubled on a 4- and 6-pounder right away,” adds Smith. “It was a great time. When the fishing slowed down, we just slowed down with them.”
The trio targeted clumps of grass with a lipless crankbait, vibrating jig and a big worm rigged on a Texas rig.
Top 5 teams:
1. Richard Patterson, Dave Smith and Glen Cabezas – U.S.A Bassin – 20-7
2. Tom Mahoney and Mike Hardy – T.A Mahoney Co. – 19-12
3. Greg Huff, Candler McCollum and Kyle Wood – C-Map – 16-15
4. Ricky Teschendorf and Jesse Mizell – 13 Fishing – 16-4
5. Steven Pelini, Tim Parker, Les Bendert and Thomas Oltorik – Bob’s Machine Shop – 15-4