On Saturday, March 20, the conditions all came together to make The Southern Sportsman Spring Bass Tournament Classic one that may not be repeated for years to come.

It took a whopping of 30 lbs, 11 oz. to claim first place with a 5 bass limit. Thats an average of over 6 pounds per bass. But whats most impressive is having three bass weigh in at over 10 pounds each. That is unheard of in most bass tournaments.

David Stewart of Boiling Springs took the Big Fish Pot with a 10 lb, 8oz earning him $500 and placing him and his partner, Kip Josey of Inman, in 3rd place with a total of 20 lbs, 7 oz.

The team of Ricky Edmonds and Todd Smith also brought in a giant weighing 10 lbs, 7 oz. This placed them in 4th place with a total of 20 lbs, 5 oz.

The father and son team of Spartanburg Steve and Timothy Prosser held the lead for most of the weigh in with a total of 24 lbs, 7 oz and had a bass weight in 9 lbs, 5 oz.

But in the end, the team of Stacy Price and Dennis Thompson of Mill Springs, stole the show. Being one of the last teams to the scale, they shocked the crowd with a five bass limit totaling 30 lbs, 11 oz and a giant bass of 10 lbs, 5 oz.

What was surprising was what most of the larger fish were caught on. Most anglers were throwing large spinner baits&bsp; in the shallows in hopes of catching the big bass. But deep diving crank baits were the ticket this day.

According to those catching the giants, the bass were staging on humps in the middle section of the lake and they were caught by running deep diving crank baits up and over the structure to catch the bigger bass. Many bass were caught on lipless crank baits, shacky heads and small crank baits but just didnt produce the weights to get in the money this year.

The Southern Sportsman will be hosting another tournament April 10 at Lake Bowen to benefit autisim. If you are interested in fishing, contact David Corn at The Southern Sportsman at 864-592-0700.