Steven Ruschmeier of Slidell, Louisiana had to figure out things to keep his mind occupied.  It was early on day one of the Big Bass Splash on Toledo Bend that he weighed in his fish that weighed 9.87 pounds. That put him in first place for the tournament, but then it was all about seeing hundreds of fished weighed on over the next 2 1/2 days to see if his big bass would hold up.

It did, but not without some close calls.  John Bowen of Hemphill brought in a 9.54 fish that first day, and then with less than two hours to go in the tournament Ryan Hebert of Mansura, Louisiana brought in a fish that provided the biggest challenge of all to Ruschmeier's overall lead.  In fact, there was quite a bit of drama with that incident because Ruschmeier was aware that a monster fish was being trailered in to be weighed and we caught that drama all on video (YouTube Video below).

But, after the final weigh in of the tournament on Sunday afternoon, Ruschmeier could finally relax and get ready for the presentation of the awards ceremony.  His fish won him a prize package that included a fully rigged out new boat, new truck and quite a bit of cash.  This grand prize was valued at just a little better than $100,000!

During the closing ceremonies, 5 anglers each were drawn to win $5,000 for exact weight prizes that were not claimed during the 3-day event, Plus, during the featured elimination boat drawing, a woman from Vidor fishing her first tourney ended up winning a boat worth over $34,000.

Here's a look at the overall top five, some pictures from day 3 and a few videos from some of the action of the 35th Annual Big Bass Splash presented by Sealy Outdoors.

  1. Steven Ruschmeier, Slidell, LA - 9.87
  2. Ryan Hebert, Mansura, LA - 9.71
  3. John Bowen, Hemphill, TX - 9.54
  4. Aden Orrin, Sr., Angleton, TX - 9.21
  5. Manton Brock, Benton, LA - 8.90

 

2021 Toledo Big Bass Splash - Sunday

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