Eunice angler wins tourney

Most people have to wait until Christmas or tax return time for a new bass boat, but Ryan LeJeune of Eunice earned himself a new vessel by winning the Rayovac Fishing League Worldwide Series Texas Division tournament on Lake Texoma.
“You dream of getting on stage, of having a moment like that,” LeJeune said. “I hope it happens again.”
LeJeune has been a bass angler for more than 30 years, and he’s been a fan of the televised FLW shows for quite some time.
“I’ve seen the tournaments on television, and I thought ‘I’d like to do that,’ but you have to be a professional,” he said. “I found out more about the tournaments and the entry fees to compete.”
The local angler is a regular on the waters of Chicot Lake, Indian Creek, Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn, and he is in his second year of fishing with FLW. This is his first year fishing the Rayovac Series, and the first time LeJeune had ever fished Lake Texoma, located north of Dallas.
“They had lots of rain there before the tournament,” LeJeune said. “The lake was up two feet.”
During the three-day tournament, 300 professionals and co-anglers compete for cash prizes and points used to award Angler of the Year titles and entry into the Forrest Wood Cup fishing event. LeJeune fished the tournament as a co-angler.
On the first day, LeJeune’s stringer weighed 12 pounds, four ounces. The next day, his stringer was 6-5, and the final day his stringer was 3-3. During the tourney, LeJeune threw 5-inch Yamamoto Senkos in Junebug on a 1/4 ounce tungsten weight and a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook and soft plastic frogs for bait.
In addition to a Ranger Z117 boat with a 90 horsepower outboard engine, LeJeune also took home the $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus.
“I’d like to thank my wife Kelli Castagnetta LeJeune,” LeJeune said. “I could not have done this without her.”