BAY CITY, Mich. — A late flurry lifted Camden Randall and Peyton Davidson from the Mt. Pleasant Junior Bass Team to the win at the Bassmaster Junior Open at Saginaw Bay with 13 pounds, 15 ounces, edging out Michael Harris and Cannon White from Mount Juliet by an ounce.
“It really went as good as it could go. They fish hard every tournament,” Rick Randall, the duo’s boat captain, said. “They fished hard all day long and they practiced hard and they worked together today. When they work together, this is what happens. Both of them have a lot of potential and they love it. Today was a special day.”
They also secured a spot in the Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake in Tennessee July 29-30. While they enjoy offshore fishing back home on Pickwick Lake, Randall and Davidson used their grass-fishing knowledge to catch largemouth in the Saginaw River.
“Back home, my granddad taught me a lot about buzzbaiting and stuff like that and that’s what we did this week,” Camden said. “I want to thank Yank-Um Custom Tackle, Allusive Baits and Snow Spin Baits.”
They did attempt to find smallmouth during their practice period, but could not find the numbers to justify targeting them during the tournament.
“We went out to Charity Island and didn’t see but four smallmouth and decided that wouldn’t work,” Davidson said.
With a largemouth strategy in place, Randall and Davidson caught around 60 bass throughout the day, but finding a bait that attracted better quality bass was the key.
“We caught one early in the morning that weighed around 3 pounds and after that we went to catching them,” Camden said. “We fished weedlines and (Peyton) picked up a frog and started catching them really well.”
A buzzbait and a swim jig played most of the day, but their most important catch came toward the end of the day when Davidson picked the frog back up and caught their biggest bass of the day.
“It was like a tuna. He really got it,” Davidson said. “(Holding this trophy) feels like success. I want to dedicate this win to my granddad, who passed away in April.”
Lane Lewis and Grant Nore had the Big Bass of the Tournament with a 3-10 largemouth.
The Michigan B.A.S.S. Nation hosted the event.