Hobie BOS – Sam Rayburn (Flooded Rayburn)

The Hobie Bass Open Series next stops finds its way out to East Texas on legendary Sam Rayburn. The Hobie series has not yet visited this amazing reservoir and to welcome its anglers for the first time the lake is throwing a major curveball. We have seen some challenging circumstances on the trail this year, but this will likely take the crown with the lake level rising to 9 ft. over full pool in the recent weeks. Sam Rayburn was built as a flood control reservoir, but I would say it’s having a hard time doing its job this year. The surrounding areas have seen a steady influx of rain over the recent weeks which has most of the surrounding lake area flooded shutting down campgrounds and access ramps.

Just one week before this event was set to take place Hobie BOS tournament director AJ McWhorter held a live broadcast on the Facebook page discussing the possibility of postponing this event till conditions return to normal, however through much deliberation and discussion with local lake manager and Army Corps of Engineers the decision was made to proceed with the event. One point that was made that has a lot of anglers fired up was that all other bass boat tournaments have been cancelled and these conditions will set up for the ultimate kayak bass fishing tournament.

​With the lake levels up so high there will be new grounds, new structure, and new cover that have never been accessible before. This will sure to be interesting. The picnic table bite may be on fire lol. The Lines in crew (Justin and David) will be making their truck down to Texas Wednesday morning to throw their name in the hat on this one-of-a-kind opportunity. Will we see bass caught off swing sets or will the fish stay put and just come up in the water column with the new water over their heads. You’ll want to keep an eye on the Tourney X leaderboard June 5th and 6th as these anglers put the pieces together. 

Top 3 Results:
What an incredible event that took place at the Hobie BOS tournament on Sam Rayburn. Conditions were very unique with water levels reaching an all time record of 11 feet over full pool. Anglers traveled from all over the country to this bucket list fishery for a total of 114 competitors. With the water levels so high it made for some very interesting fishing in areas that are typically dry land. Not only did the water levels generate exciting fishing but very creative launching conditions. The ACOE had most of the public ramps closed down due to the flooding so anglers were forced to find alternative means of launching their kayaks. 

1st Place:
Bryan Scarberry hoisted the coveted 1st place title with a total of 183.25 inches for 2 days.
2nd Place:
Jim Ware (the river goat) put up 177.50 to take 2nd.
3rd Place:
Caleb Helbig rang in the top 3 with 176.25 inches of Rayburn bass.