Story By: Mike Picou

February 2, 2008 – Palestine, Texas

We’ve all heard the story of how Jed became a millionaire.  Although Triton Pro Scott Dean didn’t luck upon a fortune in oil, he made it through a tough day and doubled his earnings under the new “Triton – Mercury – Motor Guide's Black Gold” program taking home a total of $10,000 for his first place finish.  The Black Gold program is exclusively available during the Toyota Tundra Weekend Series events hosted by American Bass Anglers and Dean is the first angler to earn the contingency cash of $5,000 with his qualifying rig.

Back to Back:
Dean is no stranger to the trill of winning a Weekend Series event; in 2007 Scott won the season opener for the Weekend Series on the same lake and finished the season earning the prestigious Angler of the Year title in the division.  When asked if winning on Palestine last year  or AOY added additional pressure to his fishing day he replied, “Winning one of these things two times in a row is rare and I didn’t feel like I had to come out here and prove anything.  It was just go out and do the best I could.”

The morning action was slow and Dean did not get his first bite until after 10:00AM and landed his last fish about an hour before returning for weigh in.  “I lost a big fish and thought it would cost me the tournament” he explained.  Knowing that it usually takes around 18 pounds to win an event on Lake Palestine this time of year he felt confident that he would get a check with his weight but was pleasantly surprised when he saw the digits continue to climb on the scales.

Putting together the day:
One of the keys to Dean’s successful day on the water was patience.  “Slowing down and having confidence that the fish were in there was critical” stated Dean.  Most of his fish came from a mile long shoreline that has a long creek bend near the edge.  According to Dean, the bite was very soft and almost undetectable, “the sensitivity of the Falcon Cara rods really helped me to detect those light bites” he recalled, “the bait would just stop vibrating.”

Emphasizing the importance of patience Dean explained, “I knew the fish were in there, I just had to give the water some time to warm up.”  He found his fish staged up in three foot of water on stumps.  He targeted the wood structure and took advantage of his knowledge of the lake from when the water was low.  Two of his fish came from lay downs that he could not see but knew were there from previous experience.  “I knew the trees were there, I just had to position the boat right and work at it until I could run my bait down the side” he explained.

Fittingly, one of the baits contributing to the successful finish was a black and gold rattle trap – gold with a black back.  Dean recalled, “Red did not seem to get a reaction in practice, I needed more flash and picked the gold because of the water color.”  The other bait contributing to the limit was a 3/8 ounce Terminator Super Stainless spinner bait with chartreuse white and blue skirt fished slowly around the stumps.

The Building Blocks:
Scott has been fishing bass tournaments for a long time and is well known though out the North Texas area tournament community -- and for good reason.  In 2007 Dean had a solid year with not only his AOY title in the BASS/ABA Weekend Series but also a 3^rd place overall finish in Bass Champs North division with partner Alan Shelton, a 5^th place overall in the CABA Monday Nights division with partner Jay Atkinson, and a 25^th place overall finish in the BASS Central Opens earning him a berth to the BASS Wildcard Event.  With a $10k jumpstart to his 2008 bass tournament earnings after only one event, Scott is excited about the remainder of his season competing in the Weekend Series, Bass Champs North, Central Opens, and the Ignition Bass Series on Cedar Creek.

Along with the support Scott gets from his wife and friends, he is grateful for his sponsors -- Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Motor Guide Trolling Motors, Falcon Rods, Diawa Reels, DoubleZZcustomlures.com, North Texas Marine, Gamakatsu, Spro, and Richmond Communications.

Congratulations on your back to back wins on Lake Palestine Scott and good luck the remainder of your season.

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