First Keith Combs Slam a success

The inaugural Keith Combs Sam Rayburn Slam was held recently out of Cassel Boykin Park at historic Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas. The 160 teams were greeted with great conditions, sunny skies and light north winds with morning temps in the low 60s and afternoon temps climbing to the mid-80s.

See photos from the event here.

The fishing on Sam Rayburn did not disappoint, with most teams bringing in five-bass limits and some teams reporting catches of more than 50 bass on the day. The team of Jerry Hayes and Scott Hassl earned the $10,000 first-place prize with a limit of fish weighing 25.18 pounds. They said they caught their fish off one deep spot they found during practice.

Mark Richards and Doug Lehman finished a close second with 25.05 pounds, earning a check for $4,500, and James Nitschke and Jason Bonds rounded out the Top 3 with 24.95 pounds which earned them $3,000. Clint Wade and Stacy Spriggs finished fourth with 24.35 pounds, earning $2,000.

The Sam Rayburn Slam also included a youth and college division. Taking the top spot in the youth division was the team of Shawn Ramsey and Coby Ramsey with a weight of 23.54 pounds which was also good enough for a sixth place showing overall. They earned $1,850 in cash and $1,000 in merchandise from Pipe and Steel Industrial, Minn Kota, Humminbird and Power Tackle. Zach Sonnier and Jordan Wood claimed top honors in the college division with five fish for 17.85 pounds earning a check for $1,500 from Pipe and Steel Industrial and $500 in merchandise from Minn Kota. Cody Miller and Jerry Finley took the $500 prize from Tackle Addict for overall big bass with a largemouth that weighed 8.97 pounds.

The tournament featured a whopping overall payout of 126 percent.

The main objective of the Sam Rayburn Slam was to raise funds for Warriors Weekend, a Texas-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the veterans of The United States of America with an emphasis on those wounded in The Global War on Terrorism. Warriors Weekend gives our heroes a chance to enjoy fishing and the outdoors through an annual fishing tournament held in Port O’Conner, Texas.

In conjunction with the Sam Rayburn Slam, a silent auction and raffle were held to support the cause. To date, the event has raised over $16,000 to support Warriors Weekend.

This year’s event would was sponsored by Tackle Addict, Strike King Lure Company, Biobor, Humminbird, Minn Kota, LakeMaster, Loving Toyota, Power Tackle Inc., Seaguar Fluorocarbon, Shimano, Yamaha Outboards, Owner Hooks, Basscashbash, Pro Angler Hub, Sack Caddy Fishing, Pipe & Steel Industrial Fabricators, SETX High School Fishing Assn., BLV Enterprises, Pope’s Landing and KV Power.

The Second Annual Keith Combs Sam Rayburn Slam is already scheduled for Oct. 7, 2017

To learn more about the event, check out Keith Combs’ Facebook page.