The 1st annual summer-long BassCashBash tournament on Toledo Bend was a great success, with anglers of all ages and expert levels participating. For a nominal $50 registration fee, anglers could fish Toledo Bend at their leisure from May 1st thru September 7, weighing their catch at any of several official weigh in sites from the north end of the lake to the south. There was over $250,000 in possible prizes for lucky anglers to catch a part of in two different categories: (a) Tagged fish division, and (b) Lunker division.

Just before the tournament began, an eight man team caught 100 bass on Toledo, tagging them with BassCashBash fish tags and releasing them back into the lake. Each tag was worth a minimum of $1,000 and if the lucky participant who caught it had also purchased a $20 Bonus T-Shirt, then they would receive an additional $500 for their catch.

On May 1st, 2015 the tournament was officially underway. By the end of May, ten tagged fish had been caught but only one of them had registered for the tournament. Gregory Wilson of Florien, LA was the first registered participant to present a tagged bass, and he won $5,000 for his catch. He also had a bonus t-shirt, bringing his total winnings to $5,500. In the Lunker division, four ten pound bass had been caught the first month, but again - none of them were registered to win at the Bass Cash Bash.

By the end of June, fourteen tagged bass had been caught but only two were signed up for the tournament. Josh Peek was the next tagged bass winner, claiming $2,000 for his catch plus a $500 t-shirt bonus. On June 6, Keith Suire of DeRidder, LA brought an 11.02 lb bass to Fin & Feather to be weighed. Later that same day Daniel Burnett of Sulpher, LA weighed his 11.62 lb lunker in at Buckeye Landing.

The month of July really heated up, bringing the angler catch tally to a whopping sixteen ten pound bass being caught and 22 tagged bass. Of the 22 tagged bass catches, only five of those anglers were registered. Adding to the list of tagged bass winners were: Dustin Boyt, John Hrapmann and Andrew Odom.

When it was all said and done on September 7, the winners were:
Tagged bass division - Greg Wilson, Josh Peek, John Hrapmann, David Clingan, Brett Bushnell, Andrew Odom and Dustin Boyt.
Lunker division - (11.62 lbs) Daniel Burnett, (11.56 lbs) Malcolm Franks, (11.02 lbs) Keith Suire Jr, (10.59 lbs) Les Woodall.

"When we started this tournament, we wanted it to be one that did good for others," P.D. Vinson explained. "We set up a place on our website where any agency or group could sign up to be considered to be a beneficiary of the event." All total, 26 organizations signed up, and a selection process began. The first one to receive a $5,000 check was the Give A Wish Foundation. Foundation representative Tanya McGee was very appreciative of the check, explaining that they help terminal and seriously ill kids in both Texas and Louisiana, and each wish average cost is $6,000. "This generous donation will go a long way toward granting a whole wish!"

The next $5,000 check was presented to Ainsleys Angels. The people in this organization travel across the country, lending their legs to those who have no use or limited use of theirs, pushing their wheelchairs to participate in marathons, triathalons, and providing the wheelchairs to be able to participate whenever needed or possible.

The final donation went to the Toledo Bend Lake Association. John Toliver, President, explained that while the Lunker Program was probably the best known project of the organization, it is not the only one by far. They help with a myriad of improvements to not only Toledo Bend, but the area and communities surrounding it. Mr. Toliver and Dinah Medine graciously accepted the non-solicited $1,500 donation from BassCashBash on behalf of the Association.

"I am so grateful for everyone who participated and helped make this first annual event such a big success," P.D. Vinson began. "We are so excited to have had such a successful first event that it will be an annual event to look forward to every year, May 1st to Labor Day."